Case Study
Improved sales performance through
effective trade promotion system
Consumer packaged goods multinational
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All rights reserved. Cannot be used, copied, reprinted, published without the written permission of
EXILANT Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Case Study
ABOUT THE CLIENT
The client is one of the largest brewers in the world having presence in six continents with over a hundred
years of heritage. The client organization unit is in the process of rapid growth and expansion. While they
have implemented ERP system, they required a system outside ERP to accommodate additional
functionalities associated with sales promotions and trade marketing to support more than 600 users and
70,000 outlets.
BUSINESS DRIVERS FOR THE INITIATIVE
Prior to this project, the client used to manage sales planning and promotions through a combination of
manual process, spreadsheets and other disjointed systems. In such a set-up, it was difficult to meet
complex integration needs with other enterprise systems and cater to multi-level authorization hierarchy
requirements.
The situation was negatively impacting the efficiency of sales planning and promotion processes. There
was a need to have a flexible, easily maintainable solution for the required sales planning and promotion
management functions which could synchronize the data, support the authorization process and integrate
with other enterprise applications.
SOLUTION OVERVIEW
SCOPE
The scope included providing a web-based, workflow enabled system for the required functions in sales
and marketing sphere.
The system needed to be flexible, cost effective, consolidate data and integrate with existing enterprise
applications. The scope also included implementation of appropriate security restrictions, knowledge
transfer, training and support.
SOLUTION
The new system implemented facilitates the handling of promotional events for brands across different
locations. The application tracks such requests, route them through approval process, captures the
agreed rate based on the agreement between the executives and outlets, captures the actual sales of
each outlet, and process the claims. The application is widely used (600 users) and interfaces with: the
Main ERP system (budget info, approval process), sales & marketing (promotion requests and marketing
proposal forms). The new system functionality can be summarized through the following functions and
features:
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Sales planning (top-down targets and bottom-up planning)
Workflow based authorization
Sales promotion creation based on sales plans
Capture of actual data from promotions (through interfaces)
Processing claims, disputes and exceptions
Closure of sales promotion
MIS and reports
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All rights reserved. Cannot be used, copied, reprinted, published without the written permission of
EXILANT Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Case Study
FIG : ILLUSTRATES THE TRADE PROMOTION PROCESS
FLOW WITHIN THE CLIENT ORGANIZATION .
THE PROCESS REQUIRES
A
SYSTEM THAT SUPPORTS ITERATIVE PLANNING PROCESS AND WORKFLOW ENGINE THAT ENABLES REQUIRED REVIEWS AND
APPROVALS .
TECHNOLOGY

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Database
OS
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Front-end tool
: SQL server 2005
: Windows 2003 application servers
Windows 2000/XP clients
: Microsoft ASP, .Net, Exility 2.0
Copyright © EXILANT Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
All rights reserved. Cannot be used, copied, reprinted, published without the written permission of
EXILANT Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Case Study
QUALITATIVE BENEFITS REALIZED


The workflow automation improved process efficiency in managing promotions. The solution
enabled business to be more responsive to market requirements resulting in increased sales. The
available funds for sales promotion could be utilized better by instantly knowing the status.
The MIS and reports helped managers to analyze historic data to develop accurate forecasts and
better strategies for upcoming quarters. This also helped the client have mutually beneficial
negotiations with channel partners, thereby increasing savings on marketing budgets.
Copyright © EXILANT Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
All rights reserved. Cannot be used, copied, reprinted, published without the written permission of
EXILANT Technologies Pvt. Ltd.