Blacksmith News

Blacksmith Applications Announces Upcoming Smoke Jumpers GPO Meeting

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 02:07:00 -0400

San Francisco, CA -- In January, 2012, the Smoke Jumpers industry expert group will kick off the year with a meeting focused on GPOs. Defining the GPO, establishing guidelines and implementing change will be among the goals of this team over the course of a two day meeting. Key questions will be debated including but not limited to: What is the true contribution of a GPO - concept versus reality? How is membership determined? What is the realized purchasing influence? What are the disciplines of engagement that organizations should establish? [More]

Technomic Hosts Meeting with Guest Speaker Blacksmith Application’s President/CEO, Paul Wietecha

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 02:08:00 -0400

Chicago -- Paul Wietecha, President/CEO, Blacksmith Applications was asked to speak at a foodservice industry meeting hosted by Technomic, Inc. In a presentation entitled “A Call for Action - Expect more of the same without a new game plan” Paul shared what the industry could expect to see over the next five years including: Industry growth; purchasing consolidation; differentiated products; trade a “survival” mechanism; and what he called “The Race to the Bottom.” His reference title includes such trends as survival versus performance funds, category RFPs and closed-coding, GPO proliferation as well as a spread of deviated pricing ending meaningful “street business” among others.

He also shared with the group actions that can be taken to turn a positive result. The more up-hill climb, investing, for manufacturers to design and develop true relevant points of difference within the product offering; or, to become truly operator focused and what exactly that might mean. He also discussed trade spending and what can be done to make major strides forward from focused trade and pricing strategy to accountability, identifying issues such as spending decisions among groups with opposing responsibilities and objectives, to developing analytics as a core competency.

This look at trends and inevitable outcomes without positive modifications was followed by a group discussion focused on the opportunities, required actions and dramatically improved outcomes .

About Technomic

Technomic, Inc. provides clients with the facts, insights and consulting support they need to enhance their business strategies, decisions and results. Its services include numerous publications and digital products, as well as proprietary studies and ongoing research on all aspects of the food industry. (Source: Technomic, Inc.)

Blacksmith Applications Hosts Smoke Jumpers Tools Not Tasks Meeting

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 02:08:00 -0400

PUBLIC Hotel, Chicago, IL -- While the Smoke Jumpers Inaugural Meeting focused on analytics, the September meeting delivered four areas of content focusing on the challenges of delivering tools for sales force effectiveness while reducing tasks.

Case Study

The case study format works to present real life challenges within a company scenario that allows teams to problem solve and propose workable solutions -- both short and long term in execution scope.

Operator Panel

A panel of industry operators participated in a roundtable discussion focused on those areas of the engagement cycle from which they receive the most value. One of the goals of the session was to begin defining the type of information operators require in order to make informed decisions, thus allowing organizations to arm sales personnel appropriately (e.g., the “tools” element of the agenda).

Analytics Pilot Update

A progress report was presented as a follow on to Session I Analytics.

Roundtable Discussions

As a result of requests to provide time for smaller breakout discussions, the following breakouts were held to focus on the topics of:

GPO compliance and options for controlling the growth of conversion from street business

Best practices and lessons learned relative to third-party data acquisition providers (e.g., Instill, Tibersoft, CBS)

Pactiv Upgrades Functionality with Blacksmith Applications

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 02:14:00 -0400

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.

Blacksmith Applications Launches Smoke Jumpers Industry Expert Group

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 02:09:00 -0400

Trump Hotel, Chicago, IL -- The inaugural meeting of the industry expert group Smoke Jumpers commenced with the mission of bringing together leading industry experts to discuss and work to solve major industry challenges.

Solving major industry challenges is difficult to do alone. Trailblazers often become bogged down attempting a solo assault given the challenges of getting to actions beyond the ideas.

A team approach increases the odds of success through the synergy of comprehensive solutions that are more broadly accepted by peers.

Paul Wietecha, President/CEO, Blacksmith Applications, stated “The issues we are planning to tackle are common in the industry and in need of solutions for a broad range of manufacturers. This group of industry experts will help pave the way for evolution across significant, yet common, manufacturer challenges with actionable ideas that will drive results within their respective organizations and the industry as a whole.” [More]

Rich’s Selects Blacksmith Applications for Foodservice and In Store Bakery Businesses

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 02:11:00 -0400

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.

Kraft Foods and Blacksmith Applications to Enter Into Trade Management Pilot

Thu, 26 May 2011 02:11:00 -0400

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.

D&W Fine Pack Selects Blacksmith Applications to Tackle Multi Channel Pricing

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 02:12:00 -0400

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.

Hormel Pilot Leads to Selection of FORGE Suite of Solutions

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 02:12:00 -0400

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. [More]

General Mills and Blacksmith Applications to Enter Into Trade Management Pilot

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 02:13:00 -0400

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.

Hormel Foods and Blacksmith Applications Begin Claim Workflow Trade Pilot

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:13:00 -0400

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.

Continental Mills Selects Blacksmith Applications Trade Promotion Management Solutions

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 02:14:00 -0400

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. [More]

BagcraftPapercon Selects Blacksmith Applications Suite

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 02:17:00 -0400

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.

Blacksmith Applications Unveils Latest Version of FORGE Trade and Settlements Software

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:20:00 -0400

Version 6.0 Supports Remote Approval Via Mobile Devices; Enables Manufacturers to Automate Analysis and Make Better Decisions with Less Effort

Boston, MA -- Blacksmith Applications, the leader in trade spend and pricing software solutions for the foodservice industry, announced today the availability of version 6.0 of FORGE Trade and FORGE Settlements software, as the company continues to focus on software that facilitates visibility and decision-making down to the lowest levels of the organization, while maintaining accountability by restricting access and approval to predefined thresholds.

Version 6.0 enables customers to approve pricing, rebates and promotions via mobile devices including Blackberry and iPhone. This enables sales, marketing and finance to approve deals from their mobile device while on the road, without logging into the application, reducing the time required to approve deals and facilitating greater customer responsiveness. Other features automate key processes and analysis - such as freight-based pricing, volume forecasting, auto-payment of distributor programs and deduction matching - that enable manufacturers to make better decisions with less effort. [More]

FORGE Settlements 5.0 Delivers Best In Class Integrated End-to-End Processing

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:21:00 -0400

Boston, MA -- With the release of FORGE Settlements 5.0, Blacksmith Applications is helping foodservice manufacturers manage promotion reimbursements with a fully integrated transaction process that dramatically reduces labor and enables a streamlined method for recapturing unearned trade dollars. The streamlined claim settlement process represents a 'Best In Class' approach within the industry relative to cycle time and automation.

Deepa Kunnath, one of the primary architects of the functionality, has been leading the effort at Blacksmith to deliver the 'dream process solution'. "All of the manufacturers in the foodservice industry are striving to eliminate process steps, shorten cycle times and insure their funding levels are consistent with the operator deviated pricing agreements they have in the market. With FORGE 5.0, we are able to import claims at the item-level, validate them against the parameters of the contracts, auto match against open deductions, process the request for a check or credit and store the deviations for future recollection. Importantly, our customers are able to execute this on a daily basis with very little manual intervention. The value for our customers is tremendous - this insures that the reimbursement for deviated pricing is correct and also provides a facility for effectively recapturing direct trade and sheltered income funds against national account and bid volumes. It really is a huge win from a financial perspective that is very difficult to realize with ordinary tools." [More]