Money Matters

The flow of funds in the channel is a complex system chock full of checks and balances and administrative acrobatics. The slightest hiccough can result in that delicate flow coming to a grinding halt and nobody wants that…

At Outbound we’ve spent the last two decades perfecting the art of fiscal finesse within the channel and we know how to keep that funding flowing. 

Payment Processing

Our Channel Operations team have been processing payments on behalf of our clients for years. As a trusted vendor agency, our agile ability to move money into the hands of suppliers and partners offers huge value to our clients. Using Outbound to facilitate payments streamlines the process, increases efficiency and reduces the cost of servicing for the vendor, increasing return.

Faster payments equal happier customers and suppliers, ensuring those funding taps stay open to grow and innovate the channel.

MDF Management

As anyone who’s worked in channel will tell you, Market Development Funds (MDF) form a vital part of this financial flow. Vendors release funding into the channel to support their partners in driving activity to increase sales of the vendor’s products. It sounds simple enough, but when you’re dealing with multiple vendors, across multiple categories, across multiple sales and marketing teams it can quickly get out of hand.

At least the process is nice and simple to administer, right? Wrong! Vendors need to keep track of their channel investments and ensure they’re delivering bang for their buck and that the money is truly being used to drive their market proposition. They therefore impose restrictions on how, when, and where this money can be spent. Funds are categorised into activity matrices that come with their own stipulations, they must be spent by a certain date, and then when it’s all over, proof of execution must be supplied to the vendor before the funds are released.

Even for just one vendor, that’s a lot of work. Many resellers depend on MDF to drive their own proposition into market so, particularly for small teams, this administration can dramatically reduce the commercial benefit of running the activities in the first place. Fortunately, Outbound are fluent in vendor-speak and we’ve been administering (and executing) MDF activities for over two decades. We’ve helped hundreds of IT resellers maximise their allocated vendor funding as well as delivering strong ROI back to the vendor. 

Our experienced Marketing and Operations teams come together with the vendor and partners to mediate the process, removing the hassle of management, and allowing the vendor and partner to focus on driving results. Our marketing team knows how to make every dollar of investment work as hard as possible to deliver return. They are able to help plan and execute profitable activities that deliver against commercial objectives, on both sides, while fitting within the permitted vendor activity matrix. Our operations team make the magic happen by quietly administering all the necessarily claim forms, proofs of cost and execution, asset compliance, and timelines. 

When it comes to managing money in the channel, navigating the complex funding pathways, activity restrictions and brand compliance, having a team of experienced channel experts by your side can make the difference between having a good channel and great one.