The XTEL solution enables us to manage our trade investments more efficiently and effectively, and it will be a vital part of our strategic initiative to accelerate the growth of our business.
Challenge
Nelt Group needed better insights and a way to manage trade investments more effectively as trade decisions were becoming more complex.
Solution
The XTEL Trade Promotion Management solution gives Nelt trusted insights and automated processes to support better planning and management of trade promotions and trade terms.
Impact
Nelt can now make smarter trade investments that yield higher returns, supporting its strategic plans for continued profitable growth.
Read the client story and, to take a deeper dive, fill out the form below to watch Jelena Popovic and Darko Mkronia talk about the project live on stage, and also receive a full transcript of their conversation :
The XTEL tool gives us knowledge and control. With more efficient and effective planning based on high-quality information and analytical insights, we’ll be able to generate higher returns from the same budget.
Nelt Group is one of the most successful business systems in the Adriatic region, operating logistics and distribution in 12 markets in Europe and Africa through 18 companies, generating over a €1 billion in annual revenue. The group manages distribution for over 90 leading brands in the FMCG, pharmaceuticals, beauty and tobacco sectors, all of which require different capabilities to fit a variety of sales channels, including modern trade, traditional trade, convenience stores, pharmacies, and tobacco stores. Nelt also commercializes its own FMCG products, including major brands in confectionery, baby food, meat, and other food categories.
To support its ambitious plans for profitable growth across distributed and proprietary brands, Nelt allocates more millions of euros in trade investments each year. This includes over 9% of total group revenue invested in promotional activities and more than 12% invested in trade terms. As the group continues to expand into new markets and acquire new companies and, managing its commercial operations becomes increasingly complex.
Smarter trade investments
As part of its “Accelerate 2025” strategic initiative to drive profitable growth, Nelt aimed to deploy new B2B applications and improve its processes and tools for trade promotion management. Jelena Popovic emphasizes the strategic shift towards data-driven trade investments.
To overcome these challenges, Nelt launched the Tradex Management Project, working with XTEL to create a strategic approach and software solution that could enhance the management of promotional investments and contractual terms. The initiative aimed to provide a clear promotional strategy; regular updates of commercial policies, including trade terms and conditions; Better trade spend planning and reporting; greater budget control and accountability; simplicity and automation; and increased compliance with internal processes and procedures.
The XTEL system has helped us significantly advance the process of invoice coding for contractual discounts. Invoices can now be connected with system reservations much faster and more easily. Once invoices are coded and approved in the tool, they are automatically posted in SAP and ready to be paid. This has significantly shortened the invoice payment process, and the XTEL tool has meaningfully advanced the process of reservation approval for both contractual and promo deals.
Automating trade spend management
Nelt needed a solution to enable consistency in trade spending management but with the flexibility to meet different needs in multiple businesses, channels and markets. The group currently uses the XTEL tool for trade promotion management (TPM), to manage the promotional lifecycle, from planning guidelines and single promotion setup to approval workflows, and full promotional calendars. The tool automatically enters reservations into Nelt’s SAP system and provides advanced analytics of trustworthy data for accurate P&L views. This makes it much easier for Nelt’s teams to make better-informed promotion planning decisions and smarter trade investments.
Nelt also uses the tool to automate the management of trade terms and conditions (TTC), including rebates and accruals management, along with claims matching. While Nelt is now adding further customer business planning capabilities to the system, it plans to include trade promotion optimization (TPO) capabilities in the project’s final phase.
The XTEL solution had everything we needed, but it was the team’s expertise that stood out. They really understand our business – it’s like talking to one of us.
Driving profitable revenue growth revenue with better insights and greater control
As Nelt rolls out the XTEL system across its markets and channels, its teams will gain greater control over trade spend across both distributed and proprietary brands and rely on the insights they need to make the right investment decisions. By automating the entire trade spend management process – from planning to reservations and reporting – reliable trade data will always be available to everyone who needs it. As well as enhancing trade spend planning, management, and reporting, the system will enable Nelt to improve cost control, compliance and approvals, and in-store execution.
Having a consistent yet flexible approach to trade management throughout the group, powered by automation and predictive analytics, will support us in achieving the goals of our Accelerate 2025 initiative. The capabilities the tool gives us will play a key role in driving profitable revenue growth as we continue to expand our business.