Lake Forest, IL -- Pactiv Corporation is upgrading it’s implementation with Blacksmith Applications in order to extend its functionality to include distributor rebate processing, operator POD claims and GPO settlement.  Pactiv and Blacksmith have partnered in trade management solutions since 2004 and will continue their growth and evolution with additional functionality for FORGE Analytics with a focus on claims processing.  

Blacksmith, the leading provider of contract, trade and deduction management solutions for the foodservice and consumer goods industry, was selected after a six month evaluation of alternatives inclusive of ERP and Pricing Analytics providers.

About Pactiv

Pactiv Corporation, located in Lake Forest, Illinois, is a leader in the consumer and  foodservice/food packaging markets.  From beverage, take-out, home meal replacement, deli and bakery packaging to tableware and catering products, 80 percent of Pactiv’s sales are from market sectors in which it holds the No. 1 or No.2 market share position.  It’s well known Hefty brand products play a successful role in its revenue of well over $3 billion, broad product lines and unique distribution system.

FORGE  ANALYTICS is a registered service mark of Blacksmith Applications, Inc.

Buffalo, NY -- Rich Products Corporation, pioneer in the frozen food industry, has selected Blacksmith Applications, Inc., the leading provider of contract, trade, and deduction management solutions for the foodservice and consumer goods industries.  

After an extensive evaluation of alternatives in the market, Rich’s will begin a full implementation of Blacksmith’s FORGE suite of products inclusive of its Analytics solutions.  The value proposition, more effective management of deduction processing and approval workflow through greater visibility to the economic impacts of proposed pricing and trade spending.  By enabling timely and reliable analysis of sales, trade and financial information, more informed decisions can be made and consistent controls established based on profitability and available budgets.

About Rich’s

Rich Products Corporation, headquartered in Buffalo, NY, is known as a pioneer in the frozen food industry and as a leading supplier and solutions provider to foodservice, in-store bakery and retail. Since 1945 Rich’s has grown to $2.9 billion in annual revenue, in 100 countries, selling more than 2,000 products across nine categories that include: Toppings & Icings, Sweet Goods, Appetizers, Finished Desserts, Pizza Products, Italian Specialties, Bread & Rolls, Bar-B-Q and Shrimp & Seafood. Technology and innovation has brought foods such as whipped toppings that retain their shape for hours to dough that doesn’t require proofing.    

FORGE ANALYTICS is a registered service mark of Blacksmith Applications, Inc.

Northfield, IL -- Kraft Foods, one of the world’s leading consumer and foodservice branded products, and Blacksmith Applications, a leading provider of trade management solutions, have begun a pilot assessing functionality of the FORGE suite of pricing, sales reporting and analytical tools relative to Kraft’s requirements.  Visibility into non-commercial purchasing trends, analysis of business by operator segment and operator purchase analytics are a few of the areas of focus.

With an interest in more strategic and efficient trade spending, more accurate and timely data, in-depth analysis, and the ability to leverage that data become requirements providing actionable business intelligence for key business decisions in order to maximize ROIs.  Visibility into the effectiveness of increased trade spending has gone from necessary to critical.

About Kraft 

Kraft Foods, headquartered in Northfield, IL, commands global leadership in categories including biscuits (cookies), chocolate, gum, candy and nuts with revenues of nearly $50 billion.  Take cookies for example; in North America, popular consumer brands include Oreos, Ritz, Chips Ahoy!, Wheat Thins, and Triscuit.  Ritz alone witnessed consumption in the year following the brand’s introduction into the US in 1934.  Nine categories represent foodservice including: Cold beverages, desserts, dressings, hot beverages, meals, meat & dairy, sauces, snacks and spreads.

FORGE is a registered service mark of Blacksmith Applications, Inc.

Fountain Inn, SC -- D&W Fine Pack, serving the restaurant, grocery, bakery, product and food processor markets, has selected Blacksmith Applications, the leading provider of contract, trade and deduction management solutions for the foodservice and consumer goods industry.  The two will partner to address the complexities of D&W’s three business units including CM Packaging, Stone Plastics and PDI.

Functionality will be focused on the management of pricing with emphasis on approval routing and evaluation.  Leveraging Blacksmith’s FORGE capabilities, defining the right price and getting it to the market quickly will now be possible saving time and money by facilitating improved analysis with less effort through additional enhancements such as:  Freight-based pricing tools, improved volume forecasting, budget-based management tools to augment existing margin approval controls, and settlement auto pay features.

About D&W

Headquartered in Fountain Inn, South Carolina, D&W Fine Pack is among one of the largest foodservice packaging companies in North America at $400 million in revenue, 1,600 employees, and 11 locations across North America.  From food service to supermarkets and food processors, its unique and innovative packaging spans product lines including but not limited to: Tableware, cutlery & kits, straws & stirrers, deli, bakery and aluminum containers and meal kits.  

FORGE is a registered service mark of Blacksmith Applications, Inc.

Austin, MN -- Following a six month multi-functional team evaluation, Hormel Foods has selected Blacksmith Applications, the leading provider of contract, trade and deduction management solutions for the foodservice and consumer goods industry.  

Tailored solutions to meet Hormel’s requirements included analysis of operated-based contract and claim processing workflow through complete automation of the claim workflow, inclusive of validation and settlement.  This streamlined claim settlement process represents a 'Best In Class' approach within the industry relative to cycle time and automation.

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Minneapolis, MN -- General Mills and Blacksmith have begun a pilot assessing functionality of the FORGE suite of pricing, trade, settlement and analytical tools relative to General Mills‘ needs.  The General Mills pilot undertaking looks to deliver improved management process and great insight to strategic considerations. 

FORGE Analytics will be evaluated based on delivering greater visibility to the economic impacts of proposed pricing and trade spending enabling more informed decisions and in establishing consistent controls based on profitability and available budgets.  FORGE Settlements will be assessed in ability to provide efficient and accurate matching of validated claims to deductions delivering more efficient and accurate billback validation and more rapid and accurate deduction matching to valid claims.

About General Mills 

General Mills, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is one of the largest packaged food producers in the world, with revenues of nearly $15 billion and over 33,000 employees marketing some of the world’s best-loved brands including: Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Nature Valley, Fiber One and Cheerios.  General Mills continues to expand in fast growing markets such as China, Russia and Latin America.  A representative day will see consumption of 60 million servings of ready-to-eat cereals, 5 million cups of Yoplait yogurt products, 5 million Pillsbury cookies, 2 million pounds of Green Giant vegetables and more than 1 million servings of Häagen-Dazs ice cream.

FORGE is a registered service mark of Blacksmith Applications, Inc.

Austin, MN -- Hormel Foods and Blacksmith Applications have entered into a pilot in which Hormel’s trade management requirements will be assessed against that of Blacksmith’s FORGE Software Suite of trade management solutions.   

With an initial focus on claim workflow, Blacksmith will assess the operator-based contract and claim processing workflow, ultimately automating through validation and settlement.  This six month undertaking will include input from a multi-functional team impacted by the findings with the need for visibility into operator-based spending and trends; included among its goals, more strategic and efficient trade spending, more accurate and timely data and in-depth analysis.   

About Hormel

Since 1981, Austin, Minnesota based Hormel Foods Corporation has been recognized as a leader in the processing and marketing of pork, highly regarded for taste, nutrition, convenience and value.  It’s near 19.000 employees and $7 billion in revenue deliver such renowned brands as SPAM and its family of products, Jennie-O Turkey Store, Dinty Moore Stew and Stagg Chili to name a few.  Hormel Foods Foodservice brings solutions to its challenged operators from shelf-life to menu offerings.      

FORGE is a registered service mark of Blacksmith Applications, Inc.

Baking mix leader expects to gain insight into profitability, validate claims and manage deductions

Boston, MA -- Blacksmith Applications, the leading provider of trade spend and price management solutions for the food and packaging industries, announced today a multi-year agreement with Continental Mills to enhance trade spending, accrual and deduction management processes.

Driven by the need to evaluate profitability of trade spending and pricing requests and for more automated accrual forecasting, claim validation and deduction management, Continental Mills selected Blacksmith Applications' FORGE Software Suite for the ability to drive better decisions, reduce manual effort and improve the bottom line.

After a thorough review of Trade Promotion Management software vendors, Continental Mills selected Blacksmith based on its superior functionality and fit with Continental Mills' needs. Continental Mills will create trade spending, pricing and promotion requests in FORGE Trade and requests will be routed based on approval routing workflow, profitability and available budget. The software will also be used to interface accrual forecasts to the ERP to eliminate manual calculations. Continental Mills will use FORGE Settlements to validate billback claims and rapidly and accurately match validated claims to deductions and FORGE Analytics for monitoring trade spend performance. These abilities will enable more informed trade spending decisions, more efficient and accurate billback validation and more rapid and accurate deduction matching to valid claims.  

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Chicago, IL -- Packaging Dynamic’s BagcraftPapercon has selected Blacksmith’s FORGE suite of trade, settlement and analytical tools to improve management processes of their foodservice business. The unrivaled functionality provided by the FORGE tools coupled with Blacksmith’s deep foodservice knowledge and experience were key factors in BagcraftPapercon’s decision to partner with Blacksmith. Using Blacksmith's entire suite of solutions to manage programs, deductions, and overall trade spending BagcraftPapercon foresees better control of their spending and an enhanced ability to grow their bottom line.  

About BagcraftPapercon

When it comes to paper based flexible packaging, BagcraftPapercon has long been a leader in supplying the Supermarket, Bakery, Foodservice, Convenience Store and Processor Industries with value-added solutions. They offer the broadest line of paper based flexible packaging in North America. Their deep line of products allows customers to consolidate their purchases from many vendors to BagcraftPapercon improving efficiency and turns. For more information, visit www.bagcraft.com.

FORGE is a registered service mark of Blacksmith Applications, Inc.