Building Long-Term Loyalty and Growth: Scandinavian Home Products' Shifts to Rebates
The Company
Founded in 1993, Scandinavian Home Products is a wholesale distributor specializing in sewing machines and equipment, exclusively serving a network of dealers without engaging in direct sales. Operating across four countries, the company offers a consistent product range to all its dealers. The Enable implementation project is led by CEO, Jon M. Soløy and CFO, Øivind Uscinski.
Discount Incentive Program
Prior to implementing rebates, Scandinavian Home Products employed a tiered discount system with bronze, silver, gold and platinum categories for their dealers.
Uscinski explains the program, stating, “As a new customer, you start at the gold level. In your first year, if you maintain exclusivity with us, we engage in a discussion to estimate your anticipated purchase volume, and you are assigned a specific threshold.”
He continues, “We perform manual assessments to monitor partner progress, and if their purchases exceed the threshold for the current level, they are automatically upgraded to the next tier. This system simplifies the process of setting and adjusting pricing schedules. Once assigned a new tier, they remain at that level for the subsequent year.”
Transition From Using Discounts to Rebates
Transitioning from a discount-based approach to rebates was a pivotal moment for Scandinavian Home Products. CEO, Soløy reflects, “When I started the company, rebates were a natural tool for me. However, as we grew and relied on Excel for managing these programs, errors and inefficiencies became significant challenges. We eventually moved to discounts, which seemed simpler but eroded our profitability.”
Soløy continues, “By 2019, our discounting practices were unsustainable, impacting our bottom line. When the pandemic hit and demand surged, we realized we needed a new approach. Meeting Enable at a NetSuite convention provided the solution we needed to restructure our relationships with customers and shift back to a rebate model.”
Uscinski elaborates on the rebate strategy: “Our goal was to foster long-term loyalty by moving away from the perpetual discount hunting that dominated markets like Finland and Denmark. With rebates, we can motivate our dealers to pursue specific sales goals while building trust and collaboration.”
The Platform
NetSuite and Enable Integration
Scandinavian Home Products successfully integrated Enable with their existing NetSuite platform. Soløy explains, “NetSuite is well-suited for handling discounts and promotional campaigns. However, rebates required a more robust platform to manage their complexity. Enable was the ideal choice for this.”
Uscinski adds…
“With Enable, we can trust the accuracy of our figures and automate processes like issuing credit notes through NetSuite. The tool has not only streamlined operations but also motivated both our dealers and sales team to embrace this new strategy. ”
Improving Collaboration and Visibility with Dealers
Previously, Scandinavian Home Products relied on their own portal for dealers to place orders for products while also providing access to their invoices. However, this system had its share of shortcomings and was not functioning optimally. Recognizing the need for a collaborative platform, the company sought to improve communication and transparency for their dealers with the help of Enable.
Uscinski says, “Enable was essential to ensure active participation from our dealers. Without this platform, the effectiveness of the programs was compromised, as our dealers needed real-time insights into the status of their orders and loyalty programs. Visibility and the ability to comprehend the benefits derived from these programs were crucial for the successful operation of their business.”
Increasing Dealer Sales By 200%
Soløy emphasizes the transformative role of Enable in driving sales: “We have shifted our dealers’ behaviours significantly, moving from a 20% success rate with online orders to 85% since introducing Enable. Some dealers have even increased their sales by more than 200% which is fantastic to see.”
Partner Dashboard
Uscinski explains, “Partner Dashboard is central to our operations; it serves as the linchpin for achieving our objectives. It empowers our dealers with constant access to their rebate levels, fostering essential two-way communication between them and us. Our overarching objective is to collaborate with them in real-time in order to drive growth, as we aspire to elevate our performance and ensure profitability year after year. Transparency and the ability to effectively engage with our dealers is fundamental, ensuring accessibility and visibility in our collaborative efforts.”
Building Long-term Loyalty
For Scandinavian Home Products, cultivating loyalty goes beyond transactional benefits. Soløy explains, “Our rebate programs are designed to motivate dealers to achieve more rebates while boosting sales. This approach has helped us gain a competitive edge, as dealers now prefer our products due to the value they derive from our rebates.”
Uscinski adds, “When dealers actively track their progress, it serves as a strong motivator. Providing clear and accessible insights into the program has been critical to driving adoption and enthusiasm among our partners.”
A Partnership Built on Trust
Both Soløy and Uscinski commend Enable for their professionalism and support. Soløy remarks, “Enable’s team is the most professional I’ve ever worked with. From the sales process to ongoing support, they’ve exceeded our expectations. Their expertise has been instrumental in helping us design effective programs and reshape our business relationships.”
Uscinski adds, “Enable has consistently proven themselves to be not only highly proficient in their field but also exceptionally helpful, friendly, and approachable. Their expertise and deep understanding of our specific needs have been evident in their ongoing support and dedication to going the extra mile to provide invaluable assistance. Their collaborative approach has made working together a truly pleasurable experience, and we eagerly anticipate our continued partnership, knowing that we are in capable and supportive hands.”
AI-Powered Analytics
As Scandinavian Home Products continues evolving its rebate strategy, AI-Powered Analytics has emerged as a key driver of growth, insight, and efficiency.
Designing and Identifying Effective Rebate Programs
“AI-Powered Analytics will give us much-needed visibility into which rebate programs are driving the best buying behaviors,” says Soløy. “With clear data on margins and sales, we can make smarter, data-driven decisions to optimize our rebate strategies.”
What excites Soløy most about AI is not just the clarity it brings, but also the speed and precision it offers. “AI can help us calculate the most effective rebate programs. Today, it’s difficult to determine the right rebate levels and predict their impact. AI will allow us to evaluate different program structures and fine-tune them to deliver the best possible results.”
Enhancing Dealer Performance
Soløy highlights the operational complexity the business faces. “For us, AI will be very interesting to use to identify customers and products. Normally we have 5,000 SKUs and 150 dealers, and it’s difficult to follow up on all of them manually. AI will help us find which products some dealers are not selling—and then encourage them to focus on those products.”
He continues, “Our dealers are focused on running their shops. They don’t have time to deeply analyze what’s most strategic for them—or for us. But AI will help us surface those key product categories where we can work together to increase sales and profitability,” says Soløy.
Surfacing Hidden Margin Opportunities
Soløy continues, “Understanding true product margins has always been a challenge. We have a strong ERP system, but it doesn’t give us the full picture. We spend a lot of time analyzing data manually. AI will help us quickly identify the right SKUs—those with high margins but low sales—so we can focus our efforts strategically across thousands of products.”
Improving Internal Collaboration
Beyond sales performance, AI is expected to improve cross-departmental collaboration. “Today, our CFO is focused on our ERP system, and we have another department handling pricing,” Soløy explains. “AI can bring these functions closer together. It delivers insights we can all react to and discuss, helping us collaborate more effectively across departments.”
Empowering Smarter, Faster Decisions
With multiple data sources in play, speed is essential for SHP. “We’re using NetSuite and Enable, and with AI analyzing data from both systems, we can make decisions more quickly,” Soløy tells us.
He concludes, “We are not a big company. Everyone here works very hard, and we don’t always take the time to analyze. AI will help us identify the right figures and results to make better decisions—faster and with more confidence.”
Takeaways
- Scandinavian Home Products shifted from a discount-based system to a rebate model to address inefficiencies and improve profitability. This change fostered long-term loyalty by encouraging dealers to meet specific sales goals and aligning incentives for growth.
- The integration of Enable with the NetSuite platform enabled Scandinavian Home Products to streamline their operations, automate rebate processes, and improve accuracy. This technology transformation enhanced collaboration and transparency with dealers, providing real-time insights and boosting sales by as much as 200%.
- The Partner Dashboard and Enable’s collaborative platform played a critical role in increasing dealer participation and engagement. Dealers gained constant access to their rebate levels, fostering two-way communication, transparency, and trust. This approach not only motivated dealers but also solidified their preference for Scandinavian Home Products’ offerings, ensuring long-term partnerships and mutual growth.
30
years in business
200%
increase in dealer sales
85%
increase in online orders
‘Rebates within the pharmaceutical industry ensure we deliver and drive long-term collaborative partnerships for the future. They are instrumental in driving long-term growth for not only our customers, but for our own business. This collaborative approach makes sure that we reward those customers who wish to partner with us for the long term.’
Michael McSorley Former Head of Business Development
‘The introduction of Enable's platform marked a pivotal change for us. It enabled us to break away from the one-size-fits-all rebate strategy and begin tailoring our programs to better suit specific customer segments and product categories. This shift in strategy has only recently begun to show its full potential, particularly over the past three months.’
Steven Carlson Vice President of Professional Dealer Sales
‘I picked Enable as it looked like a very elegant solution, and it certainly checked all the boxes against all the issues that we were having internally. And frankly, when I searched for rebate management software and asked around, there weren't too many players. Enable is the perfect niche solution.’
Ted Dometita CFO
‘It's going to free up a lot of hours early in the year when we're working on negotiating new programs or renewing new programs. Mid-year when we're trying to get early projections on how we're running and in Q4 when you're really trying to dial in with the accounting team where we're going to finish up the year in terms of earnings once all the growth programs hit.’
Ben Nitz Director of Strategic Vendor Management
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