Powering Up Profitability: How Enable Transformed GameStop’s Vendor Funding
The Company
Founded in 1980, GameStop is the world’s largest video game retailer, with a global presence that includes thousands of retail locations across the United States and several international markets. The company has long been a cornerstone of video game culture, known for selling new and pre-owned video games, consoles, gaming accessories, and collectibles.
Sarah-Louise Pryor serves as the Program Manager of Strategic Planning, specializing in vendor financial terms and funding. She oversees all aspects of GameStop’s vendor funding forecasts and tracking. In addition to managing key funding streams, SL collaborates closely with the leadership team to drive business process improvements and supports the development and rollout of system-based solutions across the organization.
A Variety of Agreement Types
At GameStop, “receipts” represent the total cost of all inventory purchased from vendors—whether for physical stores or online channels. And nearly all vendor funding is structured as an accrual off those receipts, though how that accrual is applied varies significantly across vendors and agreement types.
GameStop manages weekly, monthly, and yearly agreements, with various complexities depending on the agreement type.
- Weekly BERs (Back End Rebates) are the most common, often changing rebate values from week to week.
- Monthly agreements are typically tied to product launches or seasonal campaigns with major vendors.
- Yearly agreements are often negotiated as (DFI) direct from invoice deductions.
Back End Rebates (BERs) represent a significant portion of GameStop’s vendor funding strategy—accounting for nearly 40% of total vendor funding agreements annually.
Rethinking Promotions in a Post-Tariff Environment
Recent tariff changes have added volatility to GameStop’s vendor funding model, forcing the team to rethink long-standing promotional strategies.
“Tariffs have changed the name of the game,” SL said. “Vendors are pulling back on funding, and it can shift week to week depending on the category.”
This unpredictability has led to a more strategic, data-driven approach to promotions—especially in categories with lower historical funding like accessories/collectibles.
“We’ve started asking, ‘Do we even have the inventory to support a sale? What is the impact of tariffs on this promotion? Does it make sense for our customer?”
While software continues to operate with business-as-usual rebate support, collectibles/accessories have required a shift in thinking. These items typically don’t carry strong backend rebates; instead, margins are more often baked into the front-end pricing. That’s made promotional decisions more delicate—especially when vendor offers don’t fully cover the cost of a promotion.
From Blanket Promotions to Leadership Sign-Off
GameStop has moved away from a “run everything” promotional mentality. Historically, all national offers would run.
Now, due to tariffs there’s an additional layer of financial scrutiny. Promotions aren’t approved unless leadership confirms they align with profitability goals.
“We’re more cautious. We won’t greenlight a promotion unless leadership has signed off and we’re sure it’s actually profitable.”
This shift was driven by analysis showing that some promotions were actually costing GameStop money after factoring in marketing, operational costs, and partial vendor funding.
The Challenges
Agreements Lost in Inboxes
When SL joined GameStop, she inherited a fragmented rebate process where critical contract data was scattered across inboxes, SharePoint folders, and old, outdated systems.
“Any contract agreements outside of BER or price protection did not have an outlined process to ensure funding would be properly accrued”.
In some cases, rebate agreements were never entered into any system and never actioned.
Hours of Manual Reconciliation Every Week
Before Enable, the finance team was stuck in a reactive cycle of manual data entry and reconciliation across disconnected systems. The amount of time spent reconciling rebate data each month was substantial.
“It was a significant amount of time—hours per week—and that varied depending on the time of year and how many agreements were live. It was just not sustainable.”
Without a centralized source of truth, reconciling rebate data required piecing together information from emails, spreadsheets, old systems, and vendor conversations. This manual effort was draining resources away from higher-value work.
Risk of Missed Revenue and Incomplete Agreements
The lack of automation and visibility created serious risks. These risks included agreements not being entered at all or lacked the documentation needed for accounting to accrue the funds properly.
“One of our biggest issues was not having the proper signatures or proof of performance to close out the agreement. Accounting must have all proper documentation to accrue the funding.”
Six months into her role, SL initiated an internal audit to uncover just how much had been missed due to inconsistent tracking and unentered agreements.
“We tracked down a large volume of vendor funding that had been missed over the past year. People weren’t sure what should be off-invoice, what should a contract—this required a lot of clean up for the company.”
This was the wake-up call leadership needed. Without centralized rebate tracking, GameStop was leaving funding on the table.
The Platform
One-Stop Destination for BER and Marketing Agreements
A large portion of GameStop’s vendor funding comes from BER (Back End Rebates) and contract marketing agreements. Enable serves as the centralized repository for both, ensuring everything is housed, accessible, and actionable.
“It’s our one-stop destination for all agreements—BER, or marketing (contract agreement). Everything for the agreement is attached and accessible to both internal and external partners.”
This centralized structure simplifies vendor communications, supports internal collaboration, and reduces the risk of misplacing documentation or missing milestones.
A Streamlined Experience for 270+ Vendors
GameStop manages rebate programs with roughly 270 vendors, but most partners only require one or two key contacts to review and sign off on agreements in Enable. This makes communication more focused and manageable.
In the beginning, there was some hesitation from vendors, unsure about learning a new system. But that sentiment has shifted as they’ve come to appreciate the visibility Enable offers.
“At first, they were skeptical—like, great, another system to learn. But now, they see all agreements in one place, can track updates live, and it makes the process smoother for everyone.”
Faster Approvals with Daily Sign-Off Reminders
Enable’s daily reminders for unsigned agreements have helped speed up the approval process, keeping timelines tight and preventing bottlenecks. Vendors are no longer chasing email threads or waiting on updated spreadsheets—they’re responding faster because everything is in one place.
“If something needs to be changed, they see those live updates and know right away. There’s no back-and-forth confusion anymore.”
Proof of Performance and Audit Readiness
Enable houses not only contracts but also proof of performance, which is crucial for GameStop’s marketing-related funding. With nearly half of vendor funding tied to marketing, proper documentation is non-negotiable.
“Say there’s an agreement for Store Posters for an upcoming launch—we can now attach the actual pictures of those posters (proof of performance) into the agreement. This helps both our internal and external partners closeout agreements.”
The platform enforces a level of control and compliance that didn’t exist before.
“Being able to attach all required documentation and signature to specific agreements is a true checks-and-balances system for accounting.”
Building Transparency and Trust with Vendors
Enable has also transformed GameStop’s vendor relationships. This hold both internal and external partners liable to signed agreements, dates, and funding.
Having agreements locked once signed ensures both parties are held accountable.
“It goes both ways—both sides are accountable to hold up their end of the contract. Once an agreement has been signed and the requirements have been met, the agreement goes to invoicing to accrue the funding.”
A Single Source of Truth for Everyone
Internally, Enable gives GameStop teams a one-stop destination to look up agreements and verify what was approved—helping them quickly resolve discrepancies or questions from vendors or buyers.
Externally, vendors benefit from having full access to all relevant agreement details in one portal. They can track what’s upcoming, request changes, see live agreements, and view attached documentation.
“It drastically improves vendor communication. They no longer need to ask, ‘Where’s that agreement?’ They just log in and find everything—terms, timelines, proof of performance—all in one place.”
Real-Time Visibility Across the Business
The Enable platform gives SL and her team the real-time visibility they need to respond quickly—whether that’s in a vendor call, a leadership meeting, or simply answering urgent questions.
“Enable has allowed us to link reporting to PowerBI and quickly and accurately track agreement earnings, margin questions. This has drastically cut down on response time to leadership on these type of agreements.”
Cutting 20+ Hours a Week with Bulk Data Imports
Before Enable’s bulk import feature was in place, GameStop’s team was manually entering BER agreements line by line, SKU by SKU—a time-consuming process that was eating up valuable hours every week.
“We had pulled some of the assistant-level data and found they were spending 20+ hours a week importing agreements.” said SL.
The introduction of bulk uploads within Enable significantly streamlined this process, drastically cutting down on manual entry and freeing up time across the team.
Custom Reporting
SL has combined Enable’s custom reporting with a centralized promo spreadsheet to keep all promotions (funded or not) in one place. This hybrid approach gives her weekly insight into data accuracy and program execution.
“I export Enable’s BER Custom Report to check if any funding is missing, if dates have shifted, or if there’s a variance. I do a weekly check to ensure there are minimal changes needed at invoicing.”
Catching errors before they go to invoicing is a major win, preventing escalations that would otherwise involve accounting and delay resolution.
SAP + Enable Integration: Streamlining Invoicing and Enhancing Data Consistency
GameStop has integrated SAP with Enable, creating a more streamlined and consistent process for managing rebate claims and invoicing.
“Integrating Enable and SAP has streamlined data flow and reduced any discrepancies from vendor facing reporting to Enable. Any discrepancies, even a small difference caused issues both internally and externally.”
Vendors often track sales and performance at the unit level, and discrepancies such as GameStop showing 14 units sold versus a vendor seeing 12 could trigger confusion or disputes.
“Our vendors are monitoring sales and receipts daily, so it is important to ensure that all systems are properly reading data.”
With the integration now in place, that kind of mismatch has been significantly reduced. There’s also less confusion internally and externally when referencing agreements or claims.
Ultimately, the SAP integration with Enable has laid the groundwork for cleaner, faster invoicing and more consistent reporting, which helps build trust with vendors and saves time for everyone involved.
Takeaways
- Before Enable, GameStop’s vendor funding process was fragmented—agreements were lost in inboxes, manual reconciliation consumed hours weekly, and missed documentation risked funding being left on the table. By centralizing all rebate and marketing agreements in Enable, GameStop gained a single source of truth that ensures accruals, documentation, and proof of performance are complete and audit-ready.
- Tariff-driven volatility and vendor funding pullbacks forced GameStop to rethink promotions. Instead of running every national campaign, promotions now require leadership sign-off and profitability validation. This shift ensures that marketing and promotional strategies are both customer-relevant and financially sustainable.
- Enable’s bulk upload, real-time reporting, and SAP integration cut 20+ hours of manual entry per week, improved reporting accuracy, and sped up approvals. Vendors benefit from full visibility, live updates, and consistent data, which has enhanced collaboration and accountability on both sides.
20+ hrs
per week saved
270+
vendors
40%
back end rebates (BERs)
‘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
‘We have better visibility of sales margins and greater accuracy invoicing that is saving the business time and improving our cashflow.’
Tim Moore COO, ANB Canada
‘Flintfox by Enable and Microsoft helped us strategize how to better manage advanced pricing, promotion management, and complex supply chain pricing, as well as provide a roadmap for the future.’
Joshua Motsuenyane Chief Information Officer, Coca Cola Beverages Africa
‘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
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