Solution · Trade Marketing

Promotional funds that return, not just spend.

Plan trade funds by channel and customer, control accrual and provisions and connect every promotion to demand — in a single model where the balance is traceable and the ROI of every dollar invested is visible.

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Why Flexthink for Trade Marketing

15+ years in integrated planning, from sales to financial consolidation. We deliver control and governance of promotional funds — an architecture that connects trade spend to demand and to the customer P&L, with a traceable balance, ROI measured per promotion and real adoption by the sales team.

15+
Years in integrated planning
90+
Projects delivered
4
Continents
1
Budget under control
What we deliver

From promotional funds to ROI per promotion.

💰

Promotional funds (trade spend) by channel and customer

Trade budget by channel, customer and key account in a single model, with consumed and available balance always visible.

  • Fixed and variable funds by customer and channel
  • Real-time balance and approval control
📅

Commercial calendar and activities

Promotional plan by period, brand and customer in a single calendar — no date conflicts or overlapping funds.

  • Promotions, flyers and activities by channel
  • Consolidated view of dates and investments
🧾

Trade accrual and provisions

Trade provision calculated automatically as the sale happens, written down against actuals and reconciled by customer.

  • Accrual by promotion rule and period
  • Reconciliation of provision × payment
📈

ROI per promotion (baseline and volume uplift)

Each promotion measured against the baseline, isolating the real incremental volume and the return on the funds invested.

  • Baseline and uplift per promotion and customer
  • ROI and incremental margin post-event
Why it matters

Trade spend is usually one of the biggest cost lines — and the least controlled.

Funds are negotiated in loose spreadsheets, the provision closes by approximation and almost no one can say how much each promotion actually returned. Without a reliable baseline, "it worked" becomes an opinion, and the investment repeats with no evidence of return.

A well-built model connects funds, calendar and demand in the same place and calculates ROI against a real baseline, promotion by promotion. The gain isn't the tool: it's the budget becoming traceable, with an owner for every dollar and a measured return — instead of a cost line no one can audit.

Real cases

Trade Marketing that runs day to day.

Trade Marketing · Wine
Global wine leader, present in 130 countries
Distribution and promotion planning integrated with raw-material supply, connecting commercial activity and the supply chain in the same model.
Result: less commercial planning time and more accurate promotion forecasts across global initiatives.
About how we work: We serve end clients directly and also as a specialist technical squad for large international consultancies. For cases under NDA, we describe the scope without naming the client.
FAQ
What is trade spend and how do you measure the ROI of a promotion?
Trade spend (or TPM) is all the funds invested with retail to sell more: discounts, flyers, in-store activations. ROI comes from comparing the volume sold during the promotion against a baseline — what would have been sold without it. The gain lies in isolating that incremental volume and matching it against the funds invested, per promotion and customer.
Can trade accrual and provision be controlled in the same model?
Yes. The provision is calculated as the sale happens, following each promotion's rule, and written down against actuals. As a result the provisioned, consumed and available balance stay reconciled by customer and period, with no closing by approximation in a spreadsheet.
How do control and audit of the funds (trade spend) work?
Every dollar of funds has an owner and a flow: approval follows a defined authority level, the accrual is provisioned as the sale happens and written down against actuals, and every change is logged in an audit trail — who approved, how much and when. Approved, consumed and available balance stay reconciled by customer and period, with no closing by approximation in a spreadsheet.
Next step

Let's talk about your Trade Marketing.

Promotional funds, commercial calendar, trade accrual or ROI per promotion — tell us the context and we reply within 24h.