Frequently Asked
Questions

Trade promotion management is a systematic approach to planning, executing, and analyzing trade promotions. For CPG companies, trade spend is often the second largest expense on a CPG company P&L, making proper TPM management critical to profitability and growth.

TPx encompasses both Trade Promotion Management (TPM) and Trade Promotion Optimization (TPO), representing the complete trade spend management technology ecosystem.

A comprehensive trade promotion management software solution includes several integrated components:

• Transactional Components: Account planning, budgeting, and deductions reconciliation
• Financial Components: Financial planning, reporting, and accrual management
• Forecasting: Consumption and shipment predictions
• Annual Operating Planning (AOP): Setting and spreading targets and comparing bottom up account plans to top down targets and addressing gaps
  
  
  

Minimally, you will need to define your master data - accounts, products and pricing. This typically comes to us through integration with your ERP. You will also want to integrate your direct shipment data. If you have distributor data (sell-through) and point of sale data from syndicated suppliers and retailer portals we will integrate that as well.

A robust trade promotion management software solution:

• Centralizes all trade promotion data in one system
• Eliminates spreadsheet version control issues
• Enables real-time collaboration across teams
• Provides automated workflows for trade spend approvals
• Delivers instant ROI calculations on trade promotions
• Offers integrated insights and analytics and predictive capabilities

This centralization improves accuracy, saves time, and delivers actionable insights that drive better promotional decisions.

AI enhances TPM management through:

• Machine Learning: Predicts volume responses through base, uplift, pricing, and optimization models.
• Agentic AI: Handles manual tasks, matches deductions to promotions, and adjusts forecasts. Agents can assist with data quality as well as retrieving insights and answers to business questions.
• Insights Generation: Analyzes trade spend data to produce actionable recommendations.

Trade Promotion Optimization (TPO) uses advanced analytics and AI to optimize promotional strategies and maximize ROI, while Trade Promotion Management (TPM) focuses on planning, execution, and tracking promotions. TPO analyzes historical performance data to predict outcomes and recommends the most effective promotional mix.

Trade Promotion Optimization software provides a systematic approach to analyzing and improving ROI on trade spend. Key benefits include higher forecast accuracy, enhanced promotion intelligence, improved ability to adapt to market conditions, and strengthened competitive advantage through data-driven promotion decisions.

While there are advantages to having transactional TPM and analytical TPO activities on the same platform, it's not always necessary. Many clients utilize CPGvision's TPO and Revenue Growth Management capabilities while pushing optimized plans to a different TPM system. We're happy to discuss flexible implementation options for your specific needs.

Common data sources (harmonized to the SKU level) include: POS data from syndicated suppliers like Circana, Spins, and Nielsen IQ or retailer portals; sell-in data from company ERPs; sell-through data from distributors/wholesalers; product attribute data for segmentation; competitive data; and retail media performance data. Our solution accommodates diverse data sources most relevant to your business, including macro-economic factors.

Key account managers generally handle account-level optimization plans, while headquarters personnel in sales planning and revenue growth management oversee broader aspects including trade architecture and strategy. Our promotion optimization platform supports multiple stakeholder needs across the organization.

Revenue Growth Management is a holistic approach to maximizing profitable growth through optimized pricing, promotion, assortment, and trade investment decisions. All elements of trade management are vital to RGM, since trade is the largest expenditure (after cost of goods) in most CPG organizations.  Effective RGM integrates trade architecture, go-to-market strategy, tactical execution, pricing strategies, price pack architecture, product portfolio optimization, and supply chain efficiency into a cohesive framework for sustainable growth.

Net Revenue Management focuses on improving the quality of revenue and profit by strategic management of pricing, promotions, and product mix. While sometimes used interchangeably with Revenue Growth Management, Net Revenue Management particularly emphasizes strategies that enhance net revenue after accounting for discounts, allowances, and promotional investments. Both approaches share the goal of optimizing profitability through data-driven decision making.

The five essential pillars of comprehensive Revenue Growth Management are:

1. Promotion Management
2. Trade Architecture (trade terms management)
3. Product Portfolio Mix Management
4. Pricing Strategy
5. Price Pack Architecture
   
   
   

Implementation timelines vary based on the scope and complexity of your requirements, but typically range from 8-16 weeks for standard implementations. We use an agile methodology with defined phases: discovery and planning (2-3 weeks), configuration and customization (4-8 weeks), data integration (2-4 weeks), testing (2-3 weeks), and training and go-live (2 weeks).

A successful implementation typically requires involvement from IT (for data integration), business stakeholders (for requirements and process alignment), and end-users (for testing and feedback). We recommend designating a project champion who can dedicate about 50% of their time during the implementation, with other team members contributing 5-20% depending on their roles.

Our implementation process begins with a thorough discovery phase where we document your current processes, pain points, and requirements. We then configure the system to align with your workflows, configuring fields, approval workflows, and reports as needed. We will have specific blueprinting sessions by business functions. For example, we will make sure the solution is configured to maintain the financial integrity and flow through the integration chain. Throughout the implementation, we conduct regular reviews to ensure the system meets your specific business needs. 

We work with you to design training tailored to different user roles in your organization. This could include admin training, end-user training, and train-the-trainer sessions. We also offer on-demand training through PSignite Academy. During implementation, you'll have a dedicated implementation manager as your primary point of contact, supported by our technical team which will include business experts to guide you in best practice.

CPGvision can integrate with a wide range of systems including ERP platforms (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite etc.), CRM systems (Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics), data lakes, retailer portals, POS and distributor data. 

We employ a robust data governance framework that includes data validation rules, transformation logic, and reconciliation processes. Our integration layer standardizes data from different sources into a consistent format, applies business rules to ensure accuracy, and provides visibility into data lineage and quality metrics. There is in-system data health monitoring to monitor and maintain the integrity of your information. We are SOC-2 compliant to maintain the security of your data as well.

Our change management approach focuses on five key areas: executive sponsorship, clear communication, comprehensive training, visible quick wins, and ongoing support. We work with your leadership to articulate the vision and benefits, develop a structured communication plan, deliver role-based training, identify early success stories, and provide responsive support to address user concerns. 

Resistance is a natural part of change. We address it by involving key users early in the process, demonstrating concrete benefits of the new system, providing ample training and support, and creating a feedback loop where users can contribute to system improvements. This participatory approach helps transform resistance into engagement and ownership.

We track a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics including system login rates, feature utilization, task completion times, support ticket volume/themes, user satisfaction scores, and business outcome improvements. 

CPGvision is built on the Salesforce platform, so you get the security inherent with the platform, but we don’t rely on that alone. PSignite maintains compliance with key security standards including SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and GDPR. We undergo regular third-party audits to verify our security controls and practices. Our platform is designed to help you meet your own compliance requirements related to data protection and privacy regulations. Our full scope of security, including Server Security, Monitoring, Vulnerability Management Testing and Data Protection practices should be reviewed here: 
https://www.cpgvision.com/security-psignite 

SOC-2 Certification covers internal controls for security, confidentiality, processing integrity, system availability, privacy, availability of customer data and confidentiality. It is essential for organizations that store, process or transmit any kind of customer data. PSignite compliance is certified and monitored by Vanta.

Our system provides granular permission settings that allow you to control access at the function, record, and field levels. You can create role-based permission sets that align with your organizational structure and security policies. Administrators can easily manage user access, conduct regular permission reviews, and generate audit reports of user activities.

All customer databases are backed up every day. Point-in-time recovery allows the restoration of the database to any point in time in the previous seven days.

CPGvision is delivered as a cloud-based SaaS solution, providing the benefits of automatic updates, scalability, and reduced IT overhead. 

Our platform is built on a microservices architecture designed for enterprise-level scalability. It can efficiently handle data volumes from small regional brands to global CPG corporations with billions in revenue. The system automatically scales resources based on demand to maintain performance during peak usage periods such as planning cycles. 

CPGvision maintains a 99.9% uptime SLA, with scheduled maintenance windows communicated well in advance. The system is optimized for performance even with large data sets, with most analytical queries returning results in seconds. We continuously monitor system health and proactively scale resources to maintain consistent performance.

We follow a regular release schedule with major releases quarterly and minor updates monthly. Updates are deployed during low-usage periods to minimize disruption. Each release includes detailed release notes, and significant changes are accompanied by training materials. Critical security patches are expedited when necessary, always with proper testing and notification. 

Building on Salesforce provides several advantages: seamless integration with Salesforce CRM if you use it, enterprise-grade security and reliability, access to the broader Salesforce ecosystem of apps and tools, familiar interface for existing Salesforce users, and continuous platform improvements driven by Salesforce's innovation. This foundation allows us to focus on developing CPG-specific functionality while leveraging a proven technology platform.

For our core applications, you don't need separate Salesforce licenses—our pricing includes the necessary platform licenses. If you want to integrate deeply with Salesforce CRM or use certain advanced platform features, additional Salesforce licenses may be beneficial. We can advise on the most cost-effective licensing approach based on your specific requirements.

While customization is possible, CPGvision clients rarely require it, as the high configurability provides the solution for most use cases. You can create custom fields, build custom reports and dashboards, modify page layouts, create validation rules, and develop custom processes for work flows and approvals. All of this falls under configuration. 

We carefully test our applications with each Salesforce release to ensure compatibility and take advantage of new platform features. The update process is managed seamlessly for you, with any necessary adjustments included in our regular release cycle. This approach gives you the benefits of Salesforce's innovation without the overhead of managing platform updates yourself.