Overview Channel Management

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The Complexity of Managing Claims

Companies usually require a large group of resources to process their claims. The complexity of claim processing can vary from the receiving point and claim validations to the final payouts generation.

Common claim processing complexities:

  • Handling different types of claim templates

  • Time-consuming on manual reconciliation

  • High risk of erroneous payouts

  • No approval workflow process

  • Missing integration with accounting (accrual/credit/debit) systems

Let’s discuss each complexity in detail.

Handling different types of claim templates → This complexity refers to the challenge of managing and processing various types of claim templates, each with its own unique format and requirements. It can be time-consuming and resource-intensive to handle a wide range of claim templates efficiently.

Time-consuming manual reconciliation → Manual reconciliation involves the process of comparing two sets of records or accounts to ensure their accuracy and consistency. In the context of claim processing, manual reconciliation can be time-consuming and prone to errors, especially when dealing with a large volume of claims.

High risk of erroneous payouts → This complexity highlights the potential for errors in the payout process, which can result in incorrect or over/underpaid claims. Without robust validation and verification processes, there is a higher risk of making erroneous payouts.

Lack of approval workflow process → The absence of an approval workflow process means that there may be no standardized procedure for reviewing and approving claims. This can lead to inconsistencies, delays, and a lack of accountability in the claim approval process.

Missing integration with accounting systems (accrual/credit/debit) → Claim processing should ideally be integrated with accounting systems to ensure proper recording and tracking of financial transactions related to claims. Without this integration, there may be discrepancies in accounting records, affecting financial reporting and analysis.

These complexities underscore the challenges that companies face in efficiently and accurately processing claims, and they highlight the need for streamlined processes and integrated systems to address these issues effectively.

Manage Claims with Pricefx

Pricefx offers a capability that helps you:

  • Eliminate complex claims processes and integrate your distributor claims management into one uniform platform that manage any type of format (EDI, web-service, XLS)

  • Link to Agreements & Promotions and Quoting to define special price agreements that are checked automatically

  • Reduce the risk of mistakes and miscalculations often encountered during manual claims processing

  • Validate any claims based on flexible and customized rules with systematic, timely, and accurate results

  • Seamless visibility into program eligibility, validity, exceptions, accruals, and payout calculations

By integrating your distributor claims management into a unified platform capable of managing any type of format (such as EDI, web-service, and XLS), you can eliminate complex claims processes. This integration streamlines the management of distributor claims by providing a single, standardized platform for processing claims in various formats, reducing the need for multiple systems and manual data entry.

Additionally, Pricefx enables you to link Agreements & Promotions and Quoting to define special price agreements that are automatically checked. This capability ensures that special price agreements are accurately defined and automatically validated, reducing the risk of errors and ensuring consistency in pricing.

Furthermore, within Pricefx you reduce the risk of mistakes and miscalculations often encountered during manual claims processing. By automating the claims processing workflow, the platform minimizes human errors and inaccuracies, leading to more reliable and efficient claim processing.

Moreover, you can validate any claims based on flexible and customized rules, providing systematic, timely, and accurate results. This capability ensures that claims are thoroughly validated according to customizable rules, leading to consistent and reliable outcomes.

Lastly, within Pricefx you have seamless visibility into program eligibility, validity, exceptions, accruals, and payout calculations. This visibility allows for comprehensive oversight of program eligibility and exceptions, as well as accurate tracking of accruals and payout calculations, ensuring transparency and accuracy in the entire claims management process.

These capabilities collectively demonstrate how the unified platform offers streamlined, automated, and accurate distributor claims management, addressing various challenges associated with manual processing and providing comprehensive visibility into the entire process.

Typical Use Cases

  • Inaccurate, manual, off-line claims validations performed in legacy systems (XLS)

  • Prolonged unresolved claims periods

  • Lack of supporting detail for disputes (proof of sales/invoices)

  • Duplicate line items and overclaiming (ERP)

  • Inability to forecast and evaluate the success of programs

  • Unable to handle contracts with GPOs (buying groups)

  • Unable to handle admin fees to brokers

  • Inability to use MDF (marketing) lump-sum & event-based (no SKU)

  • Inability to create payout schedules

  • No scrubbing or validation of claims

Let’s take a deeper look at these scenarios and how managing claims can help.

In legacy systems (XLS), inaccurate, manual, and off-line claims validations are performed, leading to a lack of accuracy and efficiency in the claims validation process. This manual approach can result in errors, delays, and inconsistencies in the validation of claims, impacting the overall claims management process.

Prolonged unresolved claims periods result in delays and inefficiencies in the resolution of claims. This can lead to frustration for stakeholders and may result in financial and operational challenges for the organization.

The lack of supporting detail for disputes, such as proof of sales and invoices, hinders the resolution of disputes related to claims. Without adequate supporting documentation, it becomes difficult to address and resolve disputes effectively, leading to prolonged claim resolution processes.

Duplicate line items and overclaiming in ERP systems can lead to inaccuracies and discrepancies in claim submissions. This can impact the integrity of the claims process and may result in overpayment or underpayment of claims.

The inability to forecast and evaluate the success of programs hampers the organization's ability to assess the effectiveness and impact of various programs. This lack of visibility can hinder strategic decision-making and program optimization.

The inability to handle contracts with GPOs (buying groups) limits the organization's ability to effectively manage and fulfill contractual obligations with group purchasing organizations. This can lead to missed opportunities and challenges in managing these specific types of contracts.

The inability to handle admin fees to brokers impacts the organization's ability to manage and process administrative fees related to broker transactions. This can lead to inefficiencies in financial management and broker relationship management.

The inability to use MDF (marketing) lump-sum & event-based (no SKU) limits your ability to effectively utilize marketing development funds for lump-sum and event-based activities. This can hinder marketing initiatives and promotional activities.

The inability to create payout schedules results in a lack of structured and organized payout processes. Without proper payout schedules, there may be delays, inconsistencies, and challenges in managing payouts to stakeholders.

The absence of scrubbing or validation of claims results in a lack of quality control and error checking in the claims management process. This can lead to inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and potential financial losses due to unverified claims.

Channel Management Key Functionality

The Channel Management capability offers the following functionalities:

Claim Types

Claim types address different claiming conditions with specific fields or rules. You can have as many claim types as your business requires and each claim type has associated a claim validation logic or formula.

Claims

The Claims functionality allows you to create, manage, track and display all your claim validations. It offers a view of the claim status, progress, and approval results. You can export/share your claim results with customers, distributors, and business partners.

Claim Records

Claim records are created for each validated claim upon its approval. This list will represent the approved and validated claim records ready for the accounting process in your ERP system.

Getting Started with Claims Management

Pricefx offers predefined algorithm logic to perform the claim validations. You need to have in place the following requirements:

  • Historical data for the effectiveness of previous contracts/customers/products

  • Claim templates (file/format)

  • Claim logic - customized validations (if required)

  • Contract setup

  • Sales orders/invoice information to forecast accrual/expected payouts

  • Approval workflows for validation notifications/resubmissions

  • Payout scheduling

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