TOO MANY MANUAL PROCESSES

DinoSol wanted to optimize the margin control of its products. As an experienced Retail solutions provider, DinoSol commissioned Zoi experts to help implement a system to improve the management of rebate agreements.

DinoSol usually works with rebate agreements linked to both the purchase and sale of its products. Prior to the implementation of this project, the process was managed completely manually and outside the system, posing significant management and time constraints.

The project to improve the management of rebate agreements forms part of a set of initiatives implemented in the company with the aim of optimizing processes and having cohesive information. Due to the volume of operations we handle, it is essential to incorporate data from rebate agreements into commercial management tools. We have eliminated the manual accounting process, which was also conditioned by the sales department. All this results in the reliability of operations and information, as well as gaining efficiency. It is fundamental to have formed a good working team together with the financial, commercial, and technology departments, as well as with our partner Zoi.

AUTOMATION AND TRANSPARENCY AT THE FOREFRONT

The Zoi solution set forth the following objectives for the new system:

• Include the amount of the rebate agreement in the valuation of articles and the updated actual margin for each article
• Simplify the process of managing rebate agreements
• Speed up the settlement and billing processes
• Implement a real-time calculation of the discounts accumulated with each supplier
• Facilitate the export of amounts from rebate agreements to their corresponding reporting systems

In this way, the company would know the real net cost of each item in a simple and automated way.

A NEW REBATE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

In order to achieve the proposed objectives, a multidisciplinary team was set up with the participation of all the departments involved in DinoSol. This team was led by Zoi and over the course of 3 months, a solution was developed and implemented that satisfied all the objectives. 

To achieve the objectives, SAP Retail’s standard rebate agreement management functionality was implemented, enabling these concepts to be included within the price schemas of purchasing and sales documents. In this way, it is possible to keep a close eye on the margins and amounts of cumulative rebate agreements.

The creation and maintenance of rebate agreements were integrated into the tool that the sales department uses regularly, minimizing to the maximum the data that the user had to report and streamlining its maintenance. In addition, users can quickly adapt to the new functionality.

The project was divided into two stages, where rebate agreements play an important role in both buying and selling.

In purchasing, the process is less critical, as the volume of transactions is lower, and all the data is available to determine the discount. The data that allows them to be included in the calculation schemes is, in most cases, the supplier, since they are registered at that level and, therefore, their inclusion in the calculation scheme is simpler. When this data is determined, it has a direct impact on the weighted average price of the item, so that the correct margin is carried forward in the sale.

The consideration of these agreements in the sale becomes the most critical part of the project. The volume of data generated far exceeds that generated by purchases. Every night, tens of thousands of sales tickets from more than 300 stores are integrated into the system, and it is vital that any development or new functionality has the least possible impact on this critical process.

The solution identifies the vendor who sold the article and then determines the rebate agreement in the sales calculation schema and updates the cost of sales. All this without affecting performance and ensuring that discounts are determined correctly.

Another very important point for DinoSol is the visibility of the rebate agreements in the company’s reporting systems.

Thanks to the implemented solution, the cost extraction of SAP ERP articles was simplified so that DinoSol could have the updated margin in its reporting tool without manual processing of the information.

The implementation of the Zoi system yielded several benefits:

• Closer view of actual cost: By including the amount of the rebate agreements in the valuation of the articles, the updated actual margin of each article is provided.
• Simple maintenance: The creation and maintenance of rebate agreements were integrated into the tool that the sales department uses on a regular basis. This minimized the data that the user has to input.
• Simplification of the management process: The solution simplifies the process of managing rebate agreements and streamlines settlement and billing processes.
• Improved reporting: The solution makes it easier to export the amounts from rebate agreements to reporting systems.
• Real-time calculation: The solution is able to provide the discounts accumulated with each supplier in real time.
  

ABOUT DINOSOL

DinoSol is one of the largest Spanish distribution companies and is based in the Canary Islands. They directly employ more than 7,000 people across 224 stores. Currently, the brand is present in five of the seven Canary Islands. Through the DinoSol Foundation, they support the social development of the Canary Islands and always pay special attention to the people who form part of the DinoSol Group.