Solution Brief

SAP Customer Relationship Trade Promotion Management

Management
Boost Brand Presence and
Profitability with SAP Trade
Promotion Management
The SAP Trade Promotion
Management application
helps you control your entire
trade promotion process.
This integrated application
In todays fragmented and complex with your back-end systems, the appli-
can help you plan and im- market, savvy consumers who know cation provides accurate accounting
prove the effectiveness of what they want are forcing manufacturers of trade and financial results so you gain
to expand their brand and product offer- insights that help you optimize trade
your promotions, optimize ings. To remain competitive, trade mar- activities and boost brand awareness
profits, enhance apprecia- keters must devise creative plans and and profits.
strategies to manage trade promotions
tion for your brand, and and spending. However, managing trade The application helps your executives
make better funds and promotions presents challenges, includ- and managers gather data during pro-
ing the need to gain insight into high motions so they can monitor compliance
trade decisions. volumes of transactions across multiple with brand strategy. They can capture
categories. Promotional spending con- data in real time and link it with enter-
sumes the bulk of budgets, even though prise data to assess promotion profit-
managers have limited visibility into how ability, make fact-based decisions,
promotion-related activities affect profits. refine strategy, and plan new events.
Trade managers struggle to gather his- Integrated trade promotions and analytics
torical and other data that could help facilitate a complete view of promotions
them adjust strategies and plans. and their impact on profits. Accurate
forecasting and planning help you opti-
Adding to the challenge are disjointed mize funds, while timely access to
sales, marketing, and financial processes correct demand-planning data can limit
that can result in inaccurate and incon- inventory stock-outs.
sistent data. Effective trade promotions
require fact-based planning and timely Maximize Trade Strategies
performance tracking, but incomplete with Integrated Processes
views of customers, products, and
profitability limit your ability to optimize SAP Trade Promotion Management
them. Coordination of trade and con- helps you develop strategies and plans
sumer marketing activities is critical to for trade promotions. The application
maximize their impact, increase brand provides executives with visibility into
recognition, and generate sales. To be consumer marketing plans, which facili-
successful, you must manage trade tates their ability to collaborate. Visibility
funds, account planning, sales execu- also enables sales executives to plan
tion, trade claims, and other intercon- overall sales goals. Integration with the
nected processes. SAP ERP Financials solution provides
real-time expense data for accurate costs
The SAP Trade Promotion Manage- forecasting and promotion planning.
ment application helps you handle your
trade promotion operations more effi- Trade funds management functionality
ciently by providing increased visibility helps account managers use trade
into all related processes. Integrated dollars to drive volume and profitability,
ensuring budget compliance. This func- prove your ability to track promotion
tionality enables you to pay only for allotments, while a fund checkbook can
promotions that meet expected perfor- help you summarize the status of all
mance criteria. You can systematically debits and credits and provide an over-
track and account for all costs related all financial report. You can centrally
to trade activities, which facilitates manage a funds planned and actual
compliance with Financial Accounting expenses as you manage and distribute
Standards Board accounting principles marketing funds more effectively.
and government regulations such as
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Optimize Account Planning
You can develop account and category
You can simplify the annual operating- plans that align with corporate market-
planning process, integrate marketing ing goals to maximize the overall busi-
plans with sales execution, and improve ness impact. The application helps you
visibility into your trade-spending pro- foster consensus among constituents
cess. The use of actual sales data from for planning activities, employ baseline
past promotions helps you plan and data for designing plans, and track mul- With more accurate
forecast future promotions. Access to tiple versions of promotions. Planning
downstream data and the integration and forecasting functionality helps you accounting of trade
of sales volume with demand-planning estimate sales volumes and promotional
operations can increase your planning expenses, including payments to retail- and financial results,
and forecasting accuracy. Analytical ers for their performance. After deter-
functionality helps you assess and opti- mining your plans, you can communi- you gain key business
mize the effectiveness of trade funds cate strategy and direction to field
and activities so you can increase your sales representatives and generate insights to help you
brand presence and maximize profits. account and promotional plans.
optimize trade activi-
Manage Trade Funds You can define plans at several levels,
Support for top-down, bottom-up, and including those involving accounts, ties and boost brand
middle-out budget planning helps you categories, and products. Functionality
optimize the fund-allocation process. helps you design, simulate, and fore- awareness and profits.
Complete financial accrual manage- cast plans based on historical promo-
ment functionality enables you to deter- tional data, planned pricing, discounts,
mine all financial liabilities, and a single promotion types, and other information.
funds repository provides a complete You can generate account-specific pro- Boost Sales Execution
view of all financial transactions. motion planning from templates and use Help your field sales representatives
a calendar view to schedule all trade with sell-in efforts by supplying them
You can attain visibility into trade funds, promotions for specific time frames. The with the results of retailers past pro-
achieve accurate accounting of costs application helps you align your sales motions and insights into planned
and expenses, and assign funds to force and brand strategies to ensure promotional activities. The application
promotional activities. Integrated trade consistent and optimal approaches to helps sales reps design proposals
funds and promotions processes im- trade activities. and calendars, generate deal sheets
and accurate invoices, transmit deal- The SAP Trade Promotion Management application
related orders from their mobile devices,
and capture proof of execution. helps you handle your trade promotion operations more
In addition, sales reps can capture all efficiently by providing increased visibility into all related
orders and requests and ensure the
information is fed into the demand plan- processes and integration with your back-office applications.
ning application. With access to admin-
istrative tools, sales reps can manage
accounts efficiently and monitor all pro- Integration of claims-related data with Close the loop on payments and
motional activities, such as appointments SAP ERP Financials enables you to deductions with a clear understanding
and retail visits. evaluate historical claim validity, plan of profitability by assigning discounts,
future promotions, and assess each deductions, rebates, and marketing
Manage Trade Claims promotions costs and profits. Powered costs to promotions
The application enhances your ability to by the SAP NetWeaver technology Improve planning and forecasting
manage and process trade claims and platform, SAP Trade Promotion Man- accuracy with analytical functionality
handle disputes according to contracts. agement enables the integration of that helps you maintain adequate
You can quickly validate, process, and market information and other third- stocks during promotions and reduce
post deductions and invoice claims, as party data to help you determine the stock-outs to meet sales targets
well as identify and challenge invalid impact of each promotion.
ones. A claims repository helps you cen-
trally manage invoicing, deductions, and Make the Most of Your
scheduled-payments processes, and you Promotional Dollars
can control deductions-related process-
es, including chargebacks and write-offs. SAP Trade Promotion Management
delivers the following significant advan-
Measure Performance tages, which can help you plan promo-
Comprehensive analytical functionality tions, maximize their profitability, and
helps you gain insights that drive busi- increase brand appreciation:
ness decisions. Real-time analyses of Optimally allocate trade funds to the
trade activities help you identify the most effective and profitable activi-
most successful and effective promo- ties; monitor and control all trade
tions, brands, and products so you can funds planning activities with detailed
adjust current promotions and fine-tune data and tight integration of trade
follow-up activities. Predefined reports funds, account planning, trade pro-
help you meet specific operational and motion planning, and trade claims
performance-measurement goals. Data management
about current and previous trade pro- Centrally manage trade plans by
motions helps you gain insight into pro- aligning sales promotions with adver-
motional effectiveness, plan for future tising plans and media buying in an
activities, and compare promotions integrated marketing calendar, there-
with sales goals. by maximizing consumer purchases
Quick facts www.sap.com /contactsap

Summary
With integrated and comprehensive functionality, the SAP Trade Promotion Management
application helps you handle your entire trade promotion operation. Visibility into trade
promotion processes enhances your ability to manage all trade activities so you can boost
brand presence and improve profits.

Challenges
Satisfy demanding consumers and retailers
Deal with proliferation of brands and products, forcing trade and brand managers
to manage trade funds and activities in a complex, fragmented market
Improve visibility into trade promotions performance and overall profitability
Avoid disconnected process, which lead to incomplete and inconsistent trade promotion
data and limited ability to make the best decisions

Supported Business Processes and Software Functions

Trade funds management Perform top-down, bottom-up, and middle-out budget
planning; conduct trade funds planning and forecasting; and access performance data
Account planning Align account and category plans with marketing goals to maximize
impact
Sales execution management Create proposals, generate deal sheets and invoices,
transmit orders into demand planning, and capture proof of execution
Trade claims management Pay for promotions that meet expected performance
criteria; manage deductions (including chargebacks) through centralized claims
repository and integration with trade funds functionality
Measurement and analysis Identify successful promotions and determine spending
and profitability for each promotion by integrating funds and claims functionality with
back-end software and third-party data
50 087 268 (07/11) Printed in USA.
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xApps, xApp, SAP NetWeaver, Duet, Business ByDesign, ByDesign,
Enterprise-wide integration of trade promotions processes and data PartnerEdge, and other SAP products and services mentioned herein
as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks
Streamlined management of trade funds allocation of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries all over the world.
Improved handling of all trade activities All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of
their respective companies. Data contained in this document serves
Centralized management of payments and deductions informational purposes only. National product specifications may vary.
Enhanced planning and forecasting accuracy These materials are subject to change without notice. These materials
are provided by SAP AG and its affiliated companies (SAP Group)
For More Information for informational purposes only, without representation or warranty of
any kind, and SAP Group shall not be liable for errors or omissions with
To learn more about how SAP Trade Promotion Management can help your organization, respect to the materials. The only warranties for SAP Group products
call your SAP representative today or visit us on the Web at www.sap.com/crm. and services are those that are set forth in the express warranty
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