CMR Announces First Automated Service for Distributor POS and Inventory Reporting
San Diego, California - March 15, 2005 - Computer Market Research, Ltd. (CMR™), the leader in automated Channel POS™ and Inventory Reporting Systems, today announced Channel Reporter™, an integrated Channel POS™ and Inventory Reporting System that automates the processes of gathering, compiling and reporting distributor, reseller, retailer and DMR Channel POS™ and inventory to manufacturers worldwide. Channel Reporter’s process lets distribution partners automate the sales reporting process and free up valuable internal resources by taking over the time-consuming tasks of reporting sales out and inventory data, letting their staffs utilize the results of the reports to better manage, plan and grow their businesses.
Channel Reporter™ was developed to eliminate or reduce the time-consuming and costly processes required by Channel partners faced with the tedious tasks of continuously manipulating data for multiple manufacturers in multiple formats, a requirement of manufacturer contract compliance for reporting Channel POS™ and inventory on a scheduled basis. Channel Reporter™ interfaces with the distributor’s internal databases to gather and compile the raw data required to furnish the reports, providing a rich set of more than 20 data fields to manufacturers on a predetermined and scheduled basis. The most common data points are inventory sold by partner, part number, date, product group, family, price, territory, sales person, and serial number and end-customer information, if recorded.
“Distributors will utilize Channel Reporter™ to comply with manufacturers’ contract reporting requirements, satisfy vendor marketing and MDF programs reporting, free up internal resources, save money, increase marketing revenue and better manage their business goals,” stated Del Heles, President/CEO.
CMR’s Channel sales and inventory reporting solutions improve corporate decision-making and reduce administrative costs by ensuring that Channel Point-of-Sales data is accurate and available when needed. Channel Reporter™ is a subscription service provided free by CMR to participating distributors. There is no limit to which manufacturers can be supplied reports from ChannelReporter, and no limit to the royalties distributors earn.
“While many distributors have developed their own reporting systems, many will use Channel Reporter™ to do some or all of their POS and inventory reporting, augmenting their own systems and using ChannelReporter to manage and feed data from and to multiple internal systems across departments in the enterprise,” commented Cappy Frederick, CMR’s VP of Business Development.
Distributors will use Channel Reporter to:
- Comply with manufacturer requirements to provide sales out and inventory reporting
- Organize and simplify data processing involving multiple vendors
- Streamline multiple reseller and end-user data collection processes
- Prepare sales analytics by manufacturer, territory, reseller, product
- Dramatically reduce overhead costs and manpower by automating processes
- Increase turnaround time on promotions, rebates and price protection
- Monitor returns as a percent of actual sales
- Provide comprehensive, clean reseller data & part number files
- Provide sales with information to develop new business
- Provide marketing with analysis of campaigns
- Improve strategic planning and resource allocation
- Selectively distribute information to internal departments and staffs
- Design marketing programs based on actual manufacturer and reseller performance
Monitor ROI on Channel Programs
- Channel Reporter™ The integrated Channel POS and Inventory Reporting System for the distributor, joins CMR’s family of sales and reporting solutions making it an ideal complement for distribution partners wishing to build on their Channel Inventory reporting and information management systems.
- Channel POS™ CMR’s flagship product, ChannelPOS is state-of-the-art software tool that streamlines the collection and processing of reports from multiple reporting partners and creates comprehensive Crystal reports of monthly sales analytics by territory, reseller, product and/or distributor.
- Channel Inventory™ is a revolutionary tool for processing, consolidating and reporting channel inventory data, monitoring price protection and inventory levels. With Channel Inventory, decision makers are provided with sales by product, current warehouse inventory balances, returns and the impact of price reduction. Inventory moves are now monitored, returns are regulated, price protection and stock rotation can be reduced.
- Partner Avenue™ CRM’s turnkey PRM/CRM portal system to Channel POS data sets providing reseller activity and leads management tools, marketing program and funds tracking, reseller profiling and more.
- Reseller Profile™ Automates the reviewing and approving of reseller applicants. This module creates an easy and interactive reseller sign up process with online review, approval and centralization allowing expedited communication and marketing efforts.
- Special Pricing Request™ a module developed to allow channel partners to efficiently and accurately coordinate, track and document the special pricing requests of their distributors and resellers.
- Compliance Wizard™ Reporting partners are given access to online, user-friendly wizard in order to upload, map and clean their file to ensure accurate POS records. Partners are rated based on the accuracy, timeliness and completeness of the reporting.
- Co-op/MDF™ Management Resellers and customer sales reps receive online updates of Coop/MDF balances with this module. Funds are tracked by customer, territory and fund type and monthly statements are then made available in an easily accessible Electronic Product Warranty - User-friendly web-based solutions to warranty registrations saving time and resources and collecting and consolidating data.
About Computer Market Research
For more than 21 years, CMR has delivered cost effective, technology-based applications and services to manufacturers to assist them in managing channel data, optimize their trade promotion investments and maximize the effectiveness of their distribution channels. CMR’s Web-based solutions accelerate and automate distributor and reseller data collection, processing, analysis and reporting. CMR’s newest clients include Buffalo Technology, D-Link, LSI Corporation, and Targus. More information is available from the CMR customer support line at
(858) 795-1021, or can be viewed at www.computermarketresearch.com.
