Mangelhafte Datengrundlage für Preisschutz-Entscheidungen und Supplier-Verhandlungen

Definition

Price protection claim approval is typically a binary manual decision: approve or deny. However, informed approval requires: (1) Supplier Cost Recovery Viability: Is this product a fast mover? Can the supplier absorb the cost? Has this SKU triggered previous claims? Data needed: purchase history, prior claims, supplier agreement terms, current sell-through rate. (2) Claim Pattern Analysis: Is this a one-off defect or a systemic batch issue? Data needed: defect frequency across batches, end-customer feedback, warranty claim correlation. (3) Reseller Behavior: Is this reseller a serial claimant gaming the system? Data needed: historical claim patterns, approval/denial rates, reseller profitability. Without integrated analytics: (1) Unrecoverable Claims Approved: Distributor approves €3,000 price protection claim without checking supplier viability; supplier declines cost recovery (margin too thin); distributor absorbs full loss. (2) Weak Supplier Negotiations: Distributor lacks data to justify cost recovery demand to supplier; supplier credits are lower than justified. (3) Batch Defect Blindness: Distributor approves 10 individual price protection claims over 3 months without recognizing they stem from same batch defect; by the time pattern is detected, supplier return window is closed; warranty claims escalate; distributor incurs full replacement cost. For a distributor processing 200+ claims/year, 10–20% of approvals may be suboptimal due to poor data visibility, translating to €10,000–€60,000 in cumulative loss (unrecovered claims + weak supplier negotiations + missed batch issues).

Why This Matters

This pain point represents a significant opportunity for B2B solutions targeting Wholesale Computer Equipment.

Affected Stakeholders

Claims Manager (approval decision-maker), Supplier Account Manager (cost recovery negotiation), Procurement (supplier agreement terms, margin analysis), Finance Controller (profitability by reseller, margin impact), Quality/Warranty Manager (defect pattern recognition)

Related Business Risks