# Band: Rebate and Incentive Management Software > Band is the rebate and incentive management platform for distributors, manufacturers, and buying groups. Band automates special pricing agreements (SPAs), supplier and customer rebates, marketing development funds (MDF), co-op dollars, and promotions — eliminating manual spreadsheet work, reducing margin leakage, and driving profitable growth. - Website: https://www.joinband.com - Contact: hello@joinband.com - Location: 1 Washington Mall, Suite 1100, Boston, MA 02108 --- ## Table of Contents - [Overview](#overview) - [For Distributors](#for-distributors) - [For Manufacturers](#for-manufacturers) - [For Buying Groups and Purchasing Cooperatives](#for-buying-groups-and-purchasing-cooperatives) - [Special Pricing Agreements (SPAs)](#special-pricing-agreements-spas) - [Supplier Rebate Management](#supplier-rebate-management) - [Customer Rebate Management](#customer-rebate-management) - [Marketing Development Funds and Co-op Dollars](#marketing-development-funds-and-co-op-dollars) - [AI Capabilities](#ai-capabilities) - [Analytics and Reporting](#analytics-and-reporting) - [ERP Integrations](#erp-integrations) - [CRM Integrations](#crm-integrations) - [Security and Compliance](#security-and-compliance) - [Industry Verticals](#industry-verticals) - [Glossary](#glossary) --- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- title: "Overview" description: "Band is a B2B trade deal management platform that automates rebate, SPA, and incentive programs for distributors, manufacturers, and buying groups." source: "https://www.joinband.com" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Overview Band automates special pricing agreements (SPAs) and rebate programs — one of the largest sources of margin leakage in the distribution industry. Today, teams copy-paste updates into ERPs, reconcile claims in spreadsheets, and fight through 10%+ dispute rates. Payments get delayed, agreements go unnoticed, and millions in rebates slip away. With Band, every SPA, rebate, and market development fund is managed automatically. Band's AI ingests vendor contracts, syncs SPA pricing updates into your ERP, reconciles payments in real time, and flags opportunities to expand coverage to more customers and products. The result: increased rebate revenue, fewer disputes, and increased cash flow. For most distributors, 40–60% of bottom-line profit flows through vendor programs — yet these agreements are managed manually, audited rarely, and trusted blindly. Rebates and SPAs are not back-office admin; they are a primary profit lever, and most of the missing margin is recovered through better process, not by renegotiating price. ## What Band Manages - **Rebates**: Supplier rebates, customer rebates, volume rebates, growth rebates, tiered rebates - **Special Pricing Agreements (SPAs)**: Ship-and-debit, claim-backs, bill-backs - **Marketing and Co-op Funds**: Market development funds (MDF), co-op advertising dollars, promotional budgets - **Promotions**: Spiffs, trade show incentives, seasonal campaigns - **Sponsorships**: Vendor-funded programs, event sponsorships ## Core Platform Capabilities - Central contract management with all rebate agreements and terms in one location - Rebate tracking with tier progress and forecasting - Automated claim generation and submission in any vendor-required format - Payment tracking and reconciliation down to the transaction level - Scenario modeling to evaluate the benefit of shifting spend between suppliers - Attribution by branch location - Trend analysis across programs, products, customers, and vendors - Supplier and customer portals for external visibility and collaboration - AI-powered data cleansing, agreement insights, invoice OCR, and anomaly detection ## Who Uses Band - **Distributors**: Pricing teams, sales operations, purchasing, finance/AR, IT/ERP admins - **Manufacturers**: Sales leaders, finance teams, channel managers - **Buying Groups / GPOs / Co-ops**: Group administrators, vendor relations, member services -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- title: "For Distributors" description: "Band helps distributors automate SPA management, maximize supplier rebates, reduce claim rejections, and uncover margin opportunities across their vendor programs." source: "https://www.joinband.com/distributors" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # For Distributors Rebates can represent half or more of a distributor's profit. Band gives distributors full visibility and automation across their incentive programs — at any size. The same leaks show up whether you manage 50 agreements or 5,000: lean mid-size teams (often one or two people, sometimes near retirement) can only watch their top vendors, while enterprises drown in thousands of agreements spread across divisions, ERPs, and legacy naming. Both capture meaningful margin by fixing the process. ## Key Challenges Band Solves for Distributors - **Margin leakage**: Disputes, data errors, late or missed claims, and underwater transactions that rely on timely SPA claim-backs - **Manual, brittle workflows**: Copy-pasting into ERPs, custom spreadsheets, inconsistent supplier formats that create delays and rework - **Scale and coordination**: SPA coverage can touch most of revenue in electrical distribution; 3 to 7+ FTEs manage SPAs at large distributors, up to 100+ staff at the largest organizations; at enterprise scale, forecast and accrual files grow beyond what spreadsheets can handle - **The long tail**: Teams track only their largest programs, so the last 10% of agreements go undocumented and "missing money" surfaces months later - **Product and customer data quality**: Aliasing, duplicate products, UOM differences that create mispricing and claim rejections - **Visibility and timing**: Reactive tier progress and rebate balances; payment lags that hurt cash flow - **Supplier system fragmentation**: Portals vs. emails vs. EDI; tariff-driven price changes that raise update load and error risk ## How Band Helps Distributors ### SPA Management - Ingest any vendor pricing file in any format (PDF, CSV, XLSX) and automatically map to ERP fields - Diff each new or renewed SPA against the prior version to catch silent discount reductions and dropped items before margin erodes - Side-by-side margin comparison for approval workflows - Auto-sync approved SPAs with ERP pricing matrices and contracts - Automated claim generation in vendor-specific templates with correct pricing and SKU formats - Claim submission via email, FTP, or vendor portal - Validate claims before submission and track acceptance, rejections, and dispute resolution - Automated renewal reminders at 90, 60, and 30 days before expiration ### Supplier Rebate Management - Track every rebate program with tier progress and forecasting - Proactive alerts when tiers are within striking distance - Evaluate benefit of shifting spend between suppliers - Reconcile expected vs. actual received rebate payments - Automate accrual calculations and invoice generation ### Customer Rebate Management - Design, track, and measure customer-specific rebate programs - Customer portal showing tier progress and product gaps - Drive sales, demand predictability, and loyalty - Analyze historical deal performance to identify highest-ROI programs ## Outcomes for Distributors - **Recaptured margin**: Fewer missed SPA claims and reduced dispute write-offs through clean data and audit trails - **Faster pricing changes**: Days-to-hours to take SPA updates live in the ERP, reducing time spent "underwater" on project pricing - **Tier attainment and cash flow**: Proactive tracking, on-time invoicing, and shorter payment cycles - **Labor savings and scalability**: Far less spreadsheet work across pricing, purchasing, finance, and IT teams - **Stronger supplier relationships**: Standardized claims and fewer discrepancies build trust and speed resolution - **Measured results**: Distributors using Band have cut quote turnaround from days to minutes, more than doubled productivity entering new SPAs (roughly 5x faster on renewals), reduced rebate and claim errors through cleaner customer data, and surfaced near-miss rebate tiers they had been leaving on the table ## Distributor Personas and What They Care About - **CFO / VP of Finance**: Increasing profitability, improving data accuracy, forecasting rebate impact on bottom line - **COO / VP of Operations**: Managing agreements, updating and creating new ones, optimizing purchasing allocation - **VP of Supply Chain**: Sourcing strategy, strategic agreements, efficiencies in product lifecycle - **Director of Purchasing**: Where to spend, shifting to hit new tiers, how to move inventory - **Pricing Teams**: Automating vendor file ingestion, reducing claim rejections, freeing time for strategic work -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- title: "For Manufacturers" description: "Band helps manufacturers manage incentive programs, process distributor claims, validate pricing, and measure whether rebate programs are driving intended sales outcomes." source: "https://www.joinband.com/manufacturers" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # For Manufacturers Manufacturers use Band to drive sales and profitability through rebate and pricing programs that actually work. ## Key Challenges Band Solves for Manufacturers - **Contract management**: Sales teams establish agreements that don't always make it to finance teams responsible for processing claims - **Claims processing**: Distributors submit claims in a multitude of formats with inconsistent column orders and mismatching product identifiers - **Validation complexity**: Confirming a distributor's claimed cost against ERP sales records is challenging or sometimes not performed - **Program effectiveness**: Difficulty telling if incentive programs are having the intended impact on sales behavior - **Forecasting**: Poor visibility into the real cost of programs and impact to bottom line ## How Band Helps Manufacturers - Centralized repository for all rebate agreements, SPA contracts, and incentive terms - Automated receiving and validation of distributor claims in any format - AI-powered matching of product UPCs, catalog numbers, and category identifiers across inconsistent submissions - Real-time tracking of program performance to see if rebates are driving intended sales behavior - Accurate forecasting of rebate costs and accruals - Customer portal for distributors to see tier progress and drive purchasing behavior - Discretionary override capabilities for important distributor relationships - Data-backed negotiation tools using spend allocation and supplier performance analytics ## Manufacturer Personas - **Sales Leaders**: Need tools to drive volume, close deals; customers ask for rebates - **Finance Teams**: Need better forecasting of rebate program costs and impact to bottom line - **Channel Managers**: Want to measure whether incentive programs drive intended purchasing behavior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- title: "For Buying Groups and Purchasing Cooperatives" description: "Band is the operating system for buying groups, GPOs, and cooperatives — increasing member savings, vendor engagement, and group purchasing power." source: "https://www.joinband.com/purchasing-groups" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # For Buying Groups and Purchasing Cooperatives Band serves as the operating system for buying groups, group purchasing organizations (GPOs), and cooperatives — streamlining rebate tracking, vendor management, and member engagement. ## Key Capabilities for Buying Groups ### Increase Engagement and Participation - Members see the value they get from the group front and center - Personalized spend analysis to maximize member savings - Showcase vendor partners and available programs ### Maximize Buying Power and Rebate Revenue - Effortlessly orchestrate complex rebate programs - Accurate spend and performance tracking ensures revenue never slips through the cracks - Know which rebate tiers are within striking distance across the group ### Streamline Operations - Leverage AI to automate manual tasks - Free up your team to focus on strategic initiatives and valuable relationships - Revenue and funding management for rebates, membership fees, sponsorships, and co-marketing budgets ### Vendor and Member Management - Contacts and addresses in one place - Custom categories and parent/child relationship mapping for subsidiaries - Confidential vs. non-confidential rebate handling to protect vendor relationships - Support for multiple buying models: direct buy, central purchase, central billing, coordinated buys ### Reporting - Group performance and participation insights - Vendor and member reports - Custom metrics - Revenue and funding management across rebates, membership fees, sponsorships, and co-marketing budgets ## Buying Group Customers Band works with buying groups and GPOs across multiple verticals including welding distribution (AIWD), hardlines (HDA), hose and fitting (IDCO), food service (GARC), healthcare (VGM), and more. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- title: "Special Pricing Agreements (SPAs)" description: "Comprehensive SPA lifecycle management including ingestion, approval, ERP sync, claim generation, submission, reconciliation, and renewal tracking." source: "https://www.joinband.com" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Special Pricing Agreements (SPAs) SPAs (also called ship-and-debit in electrical, claim-backs in HVAC, and bill-backs in food/convenience/CPG) are customer-specific pricing agreements between a vendor and distributor. They are one of the most operationally intensive and financially impactful processes in distribution. ## SPA Lifecycle in Band 1. **Agreement Intake**: SPA arrives via supplier portal, email, PDF, or Excel. Band ingests and normalizes any format automatically. 2. **Margin Compare and Approval**: Side-by-side comparison of SPA pricing vs. current margins, plus a diff against the prior agreement to flag reduced discounts, dropped items, and expirations. Configurable approval workflows with versioning. 3. **ERP Sync**: Approved SPAs auto-sync to ERP pricing matrices, contracts, and price libraries. Supports Epicor Eclipse, Prophet 21, NetSuite, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and more. 4. **Sales and Accrual**: Transactions tracked against SPA terms. Accruals calculated automatically. 5. **Claim Generation**: Automated claim generation in any vendor-required template and format. Logic handles vendor-specific SKU formats, costing methods, and calculation rules. 6. **Claim Submission**: Submit via email, FTP, EDI, or vendor portal on configurable schedules (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly). 7. **Reconciliation**: Match payments and credits to claims. Surface discrepancies at the transaction level. Track common decline reasons by vendor. 8. **Renewal Management**: Automated email triggers at 90, 60, and 30 days before expiration. Vendor notification capabilities. ## SPA Coverage by Industry - **Electrical Distribution**: SPA coverage often 75–90% of revenue - **HVAC Distribution**: Approximately 30% coverage, rising with more vendor programs - **Industrial, Plumbing, Building Materials**: Varies, generally growing ## Costing Methodologies Supported - Replacement cost - FIFO cost - PO cost - Vendor-specific calculation logic - Multiple sell price formulas (multipliers, list-based, margin-based) ## ERP-Specific SPA Features ### Epicor Eclipse - Direct integration with Eclipse price matrices and contract customers - Support for item-level and price group code (PGC) level matrices - Contract customer (ZZ prefix) creation and management - Bill-to and ship-to address mapping - Training vs. production environment support ### Epicor Prophet 21 - Price library and contract integration - Automated pricing file import -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- title: "Supplier Rebate Management" description: "Track, forecast, and maximize supplier rebate programs including volume rebates, growth rebates, tiered rebates, and flat rebates." source: "https://www.joinband.com" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Supplier Rebate Management Many distributors don't calculate or audit supplier rebates, leaving money on the table. Band provides complete visibility and automation. ## Capabilities - Track all supplier rebate programs in one centralized location - Monitor tier progress in real time with forecasting to year-end - Proactive alerts when tiers are within striking distance - Scenario modeling: evaluate benefit of shifting spend between suppliers - Verify vendor-reported rebate calculations against your own transaction data ("trust, but verify") - Automated accrual calculations - Payment tracking and reconciliation of expected vs. actual received amounts - Support for multiple rebate structures: - Volume rebates (tiered: e.g., $1M = 5%, $1.1M = 6%, $1.2M = 7%) - Growth rebates (year-over-year increase targets) - Flat rebates (percentage-based for doing business) - SKU or category-specific rebates - Off-invoice allowances ## Outcomes - Never miss a tier again - Eliminate near-misses on rebate thresholds - Proactively purchase throughout the year to break thresholds, avoiding rushed year-end orders - Get paid 100% of what you are entitled to with transaction-level supporting data - Get paid faster by invoicing vendors on a cadence instead of waiting for credits - Resolve disputes faster by providing clear, comprehensive purchase data -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- title: "Customer Rebate Management" description: "Design, track, and measure customer rebate programs that drive growth, loyalty, and profitability for distributors and manufacturers." source: "https://www.joinband.com" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Customer Rebate Management Customer rebates are a strategic lever for growth, breaking into new customers, and driving loyalty. Band helps ensure these programs deliver intended results. ## Capabilities - Design and manage customer-specific rebate programs - Track customer progress toward rebate tiers in real time - Customer-facing portal showing tier progress, product gaps, and savings opportunities - Analyze historical performance to identify highest-ROI programs - Control who internally and externally has visibility into rebate data - Support for customer rebates out alongside supplier rebates in ## Use Cases - Drive sales volume with end customers through incentive alignment - Increase customer loyalty through transparent rebate tracking - Identify cross-sell and up-sell opportunities based on gap analysis - Guide sales teams toward products that maximize rebates and profitability -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- title: "Marketing Development Funds and Co-op Dollars" description: "Monitor and maximize use-it-or-lose-it supplier marketing funds, co-op advertising dollars, and promotional budgets." source: "https://www.joinband.com" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Marketing Development Funds (MDF) and Co-op Dollars Market development funds are rarely tracked closely despite making up 1–2% of spend. Teams scramble to use funds before they expire. ## Capabilities - Centralized tracking of all MDF and co-op programs - Expiration date monitoring with automated reminders - Spend tracking against fund balances - Reporting on fund utilization rates - Support for co-op agreements based on percentage of prior year sales - Earmarked fund tracking for specific marketing activities (flyers, advertisements, events) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- title: "AI Capabilities" description: "Band uses AI for data cleansing, contract analysis, invoice OCR, anomaly detection, product matching, and natural language analytics." source: "https://www.joinband.com" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # AI Capabilities Band's AI powers automation throughout the platform. ## Data Cleansing and Normalization - Automatically clean and normalize data discrepancies across vendor files - Connect the dots between differing product categories and variants - System recommendations for best product match - Remembered mapping for future uploads — fuzzy matching handles spelling variations and format differences ## Contract and Invoice Analysis - AI-powered ingestion of vendor contracts in any format (PDF, CSV, XLSX) - Invoice OCR for automated data extraction - Summarize SPAs with products, SKUs, changes from previous agreements, and opportunities based on historical data - Diff agreements to detect adds, drops, expirations, and discount reductions automatically ## Insights and Analytics - Converse with your data in plain English - Identify gaps in supplier contracts or products eligible for rebates - Surface coverage opportunities: customers and products that should be on a SPA but aren't, and items priced below their group margin - Perform rich analysis in seconds - Create sales team talking points for program promotion - Draft emails and talking points for vendor negotiations - Compare agreements across similar customers ## Anomaly Detection - Flag discrepancies between expected and actual pricing, claims, and payments - Identify unclaimed transactions automatically - Surface pricing anomalies and outliers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- title: "Analytics and Reporting" description: "Actionable analytics for rebate programs including program rankings, opportunity identification, executive dashboards, and embedded BI." source: "https://www.joinband.com" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Analytics and Reporting ## Available Analytics - Program performance rankings across all incentive types - Top opportunities by revenue and profit impact - Vendor performance comparisons - Customer penetration analysis (customers with SPA coverage vs. total customers by vendor) - Product and category performance with and without SPA coverage - Tier progress tracking with forecasted attainment - Claim acceptance rates by vendor - Dispute tracking and resolution metrics - Branch-level attribution and performance - Year-over-year trend analysis - Fully-loaded margin analysis (product margin net of all rebates and incentives) ## Reporting Features - Executive dashboards with yearly trends, forecasted and actual SPA and rebate dollars - On-demand reporting and ad hoc AI-powered analysis - Exportable ERP-ready worksheets and reports - Embedded analytics that can live in existing customer and partner experiences - Custom metrics and configurable views ## ROI Metrics - Time savings from eliminating manual reconciliation and administration (quote turnaround in minutes instead of days; multiples of productivity on SPA entry and renewals) - Found dollars from capturing 100% of entitled supplier rebates - Margin recovery: distributors commonly recover 50+ basis points of margin previously left on the table - Opportunities captured from breaking into new tiers, shifting spend, and creating new agreements - Typical customer ROI: 300%+ in year one -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- title: "ERP Integrations" description: "Band integrates with major ERP systems used in distribution including Epicor Eclipse, Epicor Prophet 21, Oracle NetSuite, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Infor, and more." source: "https://www.joinband.com" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # ERP Integrations Band connects with your ERP to sync pricing, import transaction data, and export claim files. ## Supported ERP Systems - **Epicor Eclipse**: Deep integration including price matrices, contract customers, sell/buy matrices, and automated SPA file sync - **Epicor Prophet 21 (P21)**: Price library and contract integration - **Oracle NetSuite**: Full transaction and pricing sync - **SAP**: Enterprise integration for manufacturers and large distributors - **Microsoft Dynamics 365**: Full integration support - **Infor**: Integration for distributor-specific workflows - **Sage**: Supported for manufacturers and distributors - **QuickBooks**: Accounting integration - **Custom via Band API**: REST API for any ERP not listed above - **SFTP / Flat File**: Hot folder support for scheduled file-based integrations ## Integration Capabilities - Daily data sync (API, data warehouse, or flat file) - Automated ingestion of vendor files in various formats - PDF and spreadsheet conversion and mapping - Bidirectional sync: import transaction data, export pricing updates and claim files - Training vs. production environment support (e.g., Epicor Eclipse train/prod) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- title: "CRM Integrations" description: "Band integrates with CRM platforms to steer sales teams toward the most profitable products and customers." source: "https://www.joinband.com" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # CRM Integrations ## Supported CRM Systems - Salesforce - HubSpot - Proton.ai - LeadSmart - White Cup - Spiro - Zoho - Custom via Band API ## CRM Integration Benefits - Steer sales team towards the most profitable products and highest-impact customer opportunities - Surface rebate and SPA data at the point of sale - Personalized customer insights for sales reps -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- title: "Security and Compliance" description: "Band has completed a clean SOC 2 Type II audit and an independent third-party penetration test, with a security program aligned to NIST SP 800-53 and CMMC. Every customer gets a private, dedicated instance." source: "https://www.joinband.com" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Security and Compliance ## Data Privacy - Every Band customer gets their own private instance — data is never shared across customers - Full control over who internally and externally has visibility into rebate and pricing data - Rebates and SPAs are treated as proprietary information with configurable access controls - Encryption of data in transit and at rest, role-based access controls, and audit logging ## Audits and Certifications - **SOC 2 Type II**: Band has completed a SOC 2 Type II audit with a clean report — no exceptions noted by the independent auditor — covering the design and operating effectiveness of its controls over time. The full report is available to customers and prospects under NDA. - **Penetration Testing**: Band engages an independent third party to conduct penetration testing of its application and infrastructure. The most recent test was completed with no critical or high-severity findings outstanding, and testing is performed at least annually. ## Compliance Frameworks - **NIST SP 800-53**: Security program aligned with NIST SP 800-53 controls including access control, audit and accountability, incident response, and media protection - **CMMC**: Practices aligned with FAR 52.204-21 (Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems); positioned for CMMC Level 1 or Level 2 self-assessment (Level 2 C3PAO or Level 3 DIBCAC certification would require additional third-party audit) - **Continuous monitoring**: Ongoing control monitoring, vulnerability management, and an established incident response process -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- title: "Industry Verticals" description: "Band serves distributors, manufacturers, and buying groups in electrical, industrial, HVAC, plumbing, building materials, auto parts, medical, food service, and more." source: "https://www.joinband.com" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Industry Verticals Band serves companies in rebate-heavy B2B distribution verticals: - **Electrical Distribution** (NAICS 423610): SPA coverage often 75–90% of revenue. Key associations: NAED, NEMRA. - **Industrial Distribution** (NAICS 423830): Complex multi-vendor rebate programs. - **HVAC Distribution** (NAICS 423730): Approximately 30% SPA coverage, rising. Claim-back terminology common. - **Plumbing Distribution** (NAICS 423720): Growing rebate and SPA programs. - **Building Materials** (NAICS 423310, 423330, 423320): Diverse incentive structures. - **Auto Parts Distribution** (NAICS 423120): Volume-driven rebate programs. - **Medical / Dental / Veterinary Distribution** (NAICS 423450): GPO-driven purchasing. - **Food Service and Restaurant Supply**: Off-invoice and rebate programs, buying group co-ops. - **Welding Distribution**: Buying group rebate management (AIWD). - **Solar and Renewable Energy**: Emerging distribution incentive programs. ## Target Company Profile - Distribution companies with 50+ employees or $50M+ in annual sales - Mid-size distributors with lean teams that can only track their largest vendor programs today - Enterprise distributors managing thousands of agreements across multiple divisions, ERPs, and legacy naming - Companies with multiple vendor rebate and SPA programs - Organizations managing incentives using spreadsheets or manual ERP processes - Buying groups and GPOs of any size -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- title: "Glossary" description: "Key terms and acronyms used in rebate and incentive management for B2B distribution." source: "https://www.joinband.com" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Glossary - **SPA (Special Pricing Agreement)**: Customer-specific pricing agreement between a vendor and distributor. The distributor sells at a lower price and claims back the difference from the vendor. - **Ship-and-Debit**: Electrical distribution term for SPAs. The distributor ships product at a special price and debits the vendor for the cost difference. - **Claim-back**: HVAC distribution term for SPAs. - **Bill-back**: Food, convenience, and CPG distribution term for SPAs. - **Rebate**: A payment from a vendor to a distributor (or vice versa) based on meeting certain purchasing or sales criteria. - **Volume Rebate**: Rebate tied to purchasing volume thresholds (tiered structure). - **Growth Rebate**: Rebate tied to year-over-year purchasing growth. - **MDF (Marketing Development Funds)**: Vendor-funded marketing budgets allocated to distributors, often use-it-or-lose-it. - **Co-op Funds**: Cooperative advertising and marketing dollars funded by vendors. - **GPO (Group Purchasing Organization)**: An entity that aggregates purchasing volume of multiple members to negotiate better pricing and rebates. - **Buying Group**: An organization of independent businesses that pool purchasing power for better vendor terms. - **Price Matrix**: ERP pricing structure that maps customer/product combinations to specific prices (used in Epicor Eclipse). - **PGC (Price Group Code)**: Product grouping identifier used in ERP systems for category-level pricing. - **Off-Invoice Allowance**: A discount applied directly on the vendor invoice at time of purchase. - **Accrual**: An accounting entry that recognizes rebate revenue before cash is received. - **Tier**: A threshold in a rebate program (e.g., spend $1M to earn 5%, $2M to earn 7%). - **EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)**: Standardized electronic format for business documents. Common transaction sets: 844 (Product Transfer Account Adjustment), 845 (Price Authorization Acknowledgment), 849 (Response to Product Transfer Account Adjustment). - **ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)**: Core business system managing inventory, pricing, orders, and accounting. - **Fully-Loaded Margin**: Product margin after accounting for all rebates, SPAs, and incentive programs. - **Contract Customer**: In Epicor Eclipse, a customer record (often prefixed with ZZ) created specifically to hold SPA pricing. - **Fuzzy Matching**: AI technique to match product names, SKUs, and identifiers across inconsistent vendor formats. - **SOC 2 Type II**: An independent audit of the design and operating effectiveness of a service organization's controls over a period of time. Band has completed a SOC 2 Type II audit with a clean report. --- ## About Band Band was built by the team that scaled Blue Apron to a $2B IPO. Band couples enterprise-grade automation with real supply chain experience to help finance, purchasing, and pricing teams stop chasing paperwork and start unlocking profit. For more information or to schedule a demo, visit https://www.joinband.com or contact hello@joinband.com.