Time and Cost Savings with Low Total Cost of Ownership

You will not find a more comprehensive data repository available to the foodservice industry. Our suite of software solutions delivers online access to vital information necessary to make informed decisions about how to best make use of spend for optimal return on investment.

• Data Normalization – Saves Time, Controls Cost
• Spend Management – Saves Spend, Identifies Volume Purchase Opportunities
• Automated Notifications – Assure Timely Ordering, Contracts, Accurate Data
• Transactional Data – Provides Management by Exception of Order Lifecycle of Events in the Supply Chain and Assures Optimal Promotions Management
• Accurate Pricing – Makes Complexity Easy to Manage, Reduces Transactions and Related Costs
• Invoicing and Price Variance Data Tracking – Saves Time, Controls Costs
• Comprehensive Vendor and Pricing Data – Makes QA and Compliance Easy to Track
• Inventory Management – Reduces Costs
• Reporting – Customizable to Business Needs
• Back-office Integration for More Informed Decision-Making
• Change Control – Assures Quality
• Limited Time Offer/Promotion Management – Improves Forecast, Enables Product Movement
• Vendor Contracts –Provides single, consistent views of contracts and pricing across your supply chain

Data Normalization – Saves Time, Controls Cost

We capture the item numbers from a chain operator's or retailer's distributor network and translate and synchronize them to align with the chain operator's or retailer's item numbers so that all players in the supply chain are making decisions from the same set of information, using the item naming convention that they are most accustomed to. Data synchronization also includes the translations of item information across units of measure and across case pack conversions (case, inner and units or menu conversions). The combination of data synchronization and transaction updates is proven to save time and control costs by allowing all partners to work with easy-to-use and accurate production information.

Spend Management – Saves Spend, Identifies Volume Purchase Opportunities

Transactional data is mapped across data providers to represent individual manufacturer item numbers by case pack size. This information is then categorized to a three tiered foodservice category structure. Contracted items or items with Brand or Operator specifications are assigned to the item groupings. This provides users easy reporting of approved items and clear categorization of unapproved or like items. This produces a set of spend analytics that support contract compliance management, opportunity spend analysis, item substitution analysis, period comparison or inflation reporting and category management. The result is smarter decisions that are enabled through better-leveraged spend, yielding the greatest savings and consumer satisfaction.

Automated Notifications – Assure Timely Ordering, Contracts, Accurate Data

The system includes automated reminders for functions like order scheduling, system item and pricing updates, contract negotiations and deadlines, spend tracking and other critical functions. Not only does this make administration easier, it eliminates cost due to human error. Every form throughout the ArrowStream solution set is embedded with the Tickler configurable notification system making it easy and effective to create and manage notifications and alerts.

Transactional Data – Provides Management by Exception of Order Lifecycle of Events in the Supply Chain and Assures Optimal Promotions Management

View what has been ordered, cancelled, shipped and received or rejected over the entire lifecycle of an order including pricing information and discrepancies. View product movement versus plans, allocations or commitments during critical events.

Accurate Pricing – Makes Complexity Easy to Manage, Reduces Transactions and Related Costs

The system tracks all contract pricing from manufacturer to distributor to store. It captures terms, length of contract, volumes, and more. The system specifies not only component FOB and freight pricing, but also captures brackets of pricing per case volume or weight. And when pricing exceptions are negotiated, or markup adjustments are made, the system takes the complexity out of these arrangements by creating markup groups by category, item, vendor, customer and other criteria.

Invoicing and Price Variance Data Tracking – Saves Time, Controls Costs

Our customers leverage both proactive and reactive compliance monitoring in the system. Proactively, customers can automatically communicate price changes and automate the verification of Order Guide pricing before a distributor sells or invoices product at the wrong price. Some customers manage a reactive process and recover a percentage of spend by using our system's audit price variance from contract vs. invoice. The accuracy and ability to track pricing enables operators and suppliers to confidently work with distributors to correct price variances to assure proper invoicing.

Comprehensive Vendor and Pricing Data – Makes QA and Compliance Easy to Track

In addition to making all of vendor items and pricing easy to view and categorize, we also make confirming vendor compliance and quality assurance easy to track. The system includes vendor contact information plus insurance, all locations with their attributes, compliance, animal welfare, facility QA approvals, audit information and more. At a glance one can make sure vendors are in compliance with industry and legal requirements as well as view status of contracts, items and pricing.

Inventory Management – Reduces Costs

Our inventory tracker allows one to see inventory on hand, assure the right inventory is in the right place, and that there is enough stock for a promotion. This visibility enables product to be transferred from one distribution center to another, based upon demand per store while reducing unnecessary costs due to ordering too early for a promotion or too much (i.e., hoarding) which can be detrimental to the chain as a whole.

Reporting – Customizable to Business Needs

We have over 100 standard reports to help assure effective management of everything from inventory to POS for logistics. We can also readily create custom reports specific to business needs.

Back-office Integration for More Informed Decision-Making

The ArrowStream suite of software solutions can integrate with mission critical systems such as back office systems. This end-to-end functionality better informs ordering and product movement decision-making.

Change Control – Assures Quality

The system allows users to create workflow rules that set up owners of data, facilitating total accuracy and control of changes and approvals. Automatic notifications assure timely updates of pricing, ordering, contract and other vital information.

Limited Time Offer/Promotion Management – Improves Forecast, Enables Product Movement

Because accurate and synchronized order and inventory data can be shared among trading partners, forecasting for promotions is more accurate. And the visibility offered by the system enables informed and timely decision-making about product movement during a promotion or Limited Time Offer. The result is increased total return on the promotion investment.

Vendor Contracts

The Vendor Contract Management functionality allows suppliers and chain operators to securely and directly enter pricing changes into the system. Suppliers and category managers can now develop pricing agreements in a common system. Distributors can synchronize pricing with their systems, increasing accuracy and decreasing the advance notice required for price changes. All trading partners benefit by the consistency of viewing the same data in one place and by enjoying more timely approval of price changes.