The Very Group

About the Very Group

The Very Group is the second largest pure-play online retailer and one of the largest online unsecured credit providers in the UK. Through digital stores and five-star rated apps, the company provides customers with access to over 2,500 famous brands and a range of flexible ways to pay. With over 1.3 million visits to The Very Group’s websites every day, over 49 million products are delivered to more than 4 million customers every year.

Challenges Before Flintfox Implementation

Before implementing Flintfox, The Very Group managed supplier agreements for over 1,400 suppliers using spreadsheets. This process was time-consuming and prone to errors. Manual margin reports led to accuracy and consistency issues, and agreeing on claim values with suppliers was difficult.

As the business rapidly grew, with new suppliers and increasing product volumes, the inefficiencies and risks of a manual system for complex rebate management escalated. After unsuccessful attempts and manual workarounds, The Very Group determined that a Flintfox solution could provide significant benefits.

Benefits of Flintfox

• Easier Understanding of Margins
  • Flintfox offers a clear and easier understanding of margins.
• Consistent Rebate Accrual Process
  • The solution introduces a consistent process for inputting rebate accrual rules across various channels.
• Accurate and Timely Rebate Claims
  • Flintfox ensures accurate and timely rebate claims from suppliers.

The Solution

As part of a tender and evaluation process involving eight other suppliers, The Very Group determined that Flintfox was the most suitable solution. Its functionality most capably addressed the company’s specific supplier rebate challenges.

Flintfox demonstrated the technical capability to handle The Very Group’s legacy infrastructure and new cloud-based systems. The Very Group decided to implement Flintfox for D365, integrating it with Oracle Financials for invoicing.

4 Key Reasons for Selecting Flintfox

The primary reasons for choosing Flintfox included its out-of-the-box functionality, relatively low cost, and the company’s extensive industry expertise. After implementing the Flintfox solution, The Very Group reported many successful outcomes.

1. Efficiency Gains from Eliminating Manual Processes

By introducing a centralized and automated solution, The Very Group replaced the manual upkeep of 28 large Excel spreadsheets. This consolidation into a single source of truth ensures consistency and accuracy. Now, The Very Group processes high volumes of trade agreements annually through Flintfox without scalability limitations. On average, they manage more than 1,500 live trade agreements daily, with this number increasing to over 15,000 on Black Friday.

2. Improved Cash Flow Visibility and Financial Reporting

The Very Group now enjoys improved cash flow visibility, including demand margin and full visibility of both forecasted and achieved trading margins. Flintfox’s integration with Oracle Financials Cloud enables automatic posting of invoices to the General Ledger. Unlimited pricing categories with general ledger posting parameters simplify the invoicing system and provide flexible financial reporting options.

Previously, a staff member spent six hours daily creating manual reports for the board. Now, Flintfox offers instantaneous information access, leading to significant staff productivity gains. Integration with Power BI allows shareholders easy access to financial data.

3. Enhanced Compliance System

Flintfox manages trade agreements for over 1,400 suppliers, providing accurate pricing data and capturing activity in real-time. Previously, The Very Group used third-party services to report on unpaid invoices for compliance. Flintfox has transformed compliance processes to meet complex industry regulations, eliminating the need for third-party services and saving £1 million annually.

4. Faster, Automated Claims Settlements

With a more accurate process for managing rebates and claims settlements, the time spent debating specific claims with suppliers has dramatically reduced. Flintfox has accelerated the overall efficiency of the claims workflow process, reducing the time-consuming and costly task of manual claims validation.

‘As a conservative estimate, Flintfox drove an extra £5 million into the business in year one.’

Phil Corner Supplier Funding Manager, The Very Group

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Meet the people behind the magic

The Flintfox team includes industry-leaders with expert knowledge, who developed their craft over thousands of projects. We make complex pricing and rebates simple, for clients in many industries across the globe.

Meet the team