Industry

Those of us who have served manufacturers that sell through distribution for any length of time have personally experienced the challenges of managing the complex symbiotic relationships that exist among trading partners. Managing contracts, GPO membership, pricing, compliance, renewals, sales tracings, rebates/chargebacks, sales attribution and sales commissions reporting and all of the data translation and identification requirements effectively is a challenge that many companies have struggled with for years.  Regardless of their size, companies must have the right solutions in place to operate effectively in this marketspace.  Even large companies have failed to do this effectively resulting in the loss of business opportunities, key personnel and legal and financial conflicts.

PROBLEMS & CHALLENGES

Every manufacturer that sells through distribution confronts the same challenges in dealing with contract bids, contract administration, sales tracings and rebate reconciliation, etc.  Some of the many challenges that companies face in business today are:

  • A lack of naming and data identification standards

  • Very little use of standardized methodologies

  • No common language/terminologies used across the board

  • Multiple systems and databases for managing and sharing data

  • GPO membership eligibility issues and problems

  • Other barriers to efficient and effective trading partner relationships (e.g. disparate systems, little use of EDI, lack of inter-company cooperation, etc.)

  • Inability to provide the sales organization and management team with accurate data

  • Lack of tools to utilize the rich informational resources emanating from the supply chain

PITFALLs

It takes years to build the infrastructure and solutions to do the job right, let alone acquire the expertise to understand the business and how to apply the appropriate business rules to each individual distributor and their data sources.  At a minimum, several full time employees with health care industry experience and varied expertise are required to accomplish what we do at SalesTracings with our Radius™ Product Line.  The following are some of the pitfalls and challenges of going it alone:

  • Unforeseen Expenses (Scope Creep: Design, Development, Deployment)

  • Unproven Architectures, Business Rules, Formularies, Methodologies

  • Unknown System Reliability & Security

  • Increased Costs & Delays w/Multiple Sources for Components & Solutions

  • Diversion/Diffusion of Resources away from Core Business

  • Continual Redevelopment Due to Technology Cycles, Changes in Business Models & Trading Partner Requirements

CONSEQUENCES

The consequences of being unable to accurately trace sales all the way through the chain of commerce to the end user leads to:

  • An inability to pay accurate sales commissions

  • Inaccurate processing of distributor chargeback claims, operational inefficiencies, potential for lost revenue and manual management of credits and debits

  • An inability to pay GPO fees and GPO Member rebates promptly and accurately

  • An inability to analyze contract profitability to make the right pricing and contracting decisions

  • An inability to properly analyze sales performance, market trends and manage marketplace dynamics; Limited visibility into what is really happening at the end user level…

  • A potential loss of market share due to mismanagement of trading partner relationships, business development opportunities and poor product/market alignment

“Sales Tracings knows the Med/Surg industry, and they know technology. They had little-to-no learning curve when it came to understanding our business and information needs. They even anticipated our issues before they ever arose and were able to meet our needs rather painlessly.”
— CIO/COO North America, Pennsylvania Based Location
 

DISTRIBUTORS

SalesTracings has established good working relationships with all of the major distributors and many of the regional wholesalers and dealers. We provide many options for reporting sales tracings and rebate claims and will work with any standardized or data oriented proprietary structure and format.

GPO/IDN

SalesTracings is working diligently to support our client’s efforts to work more closely with Group Purchasing Organizations and their Members. Our services can really help those manufacturers who struggle with GPO reporting requirements. If your company needs assistance in this area, please contact SalesTracings for additional information and to get started!

We are here to help!

We provide clean, concise translated data back to our clients so that they can accurately pay sales commissions, rebate claims and GPO fees. We also assist our clients by helping them to achieve a greater integration with their trading partner’s data sources and systems through standardization and technology.

Beyond the operational efficiencies that we extend to our clients, reside the greater benefits of strategic and tactical use of sales and marketing information for managing growth and profitability on a macro and micro basis.

SalesTracings has continually demonstrated its extensive knowledge, experience and expertise in all of the areas that are vital to the successful execution and management of the transaction lifecycle fundamental to selling through distribution.  As a result, SalesTracings has become an integral part, trusted partner and reliable source of information, expertise and counsel to all of its clients and partners.