Our Investment Using Rebates as a Growth Engine – Enable

  • Improve financial outcomes by taking control of your rebates
  • Driving growth and trust in the supply chain industry

By Brent MacDonald – Partner at Rising Tide

Rebates have become an increasingly popular way for distributors to boost their profits. However, the logistical and technical side of issuing rebates, including the tracking and validation of terms, has historically required extra hours of back-office work. The rebate market is huge; each year, over $1 trillion in rebates are given out, and for distributors across several industries, rebates account for almost all of their profits. However, rebate funds are poorly managed and executed.

Enable is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company focused on rebate management and radically simplifying the deal and contract management space. Enable’s software is designed to help suppliers, distributors, and wholesalers drive mutually profitable growth while improving cash flow and reducing risk. Further, the Company helps companies acquire, retain, and better serve their customers by working collaboratively with their trading partners using intelligent joined-up plans and incentive programs.

Enable has significantly expanded its original roots in the UK, built a strong presence across the USA and Canada, and jump-started its customer base in Australia and South Africa. Over the past two years, Enable customers have set up thousands of B2B rebate deals on over $30 billion of sales and purchases, and have invited more than 2,000 of their trading partners to the Company’s platform to review and collaborate on those deals. Customers include distributors, buying groups, and retailers from across the US, Canada, and Europe and the company-focused verticals include construction, retail, electrical, veterinary, and buying groups.

Enable announced a $135 million Series D funding round and the proceeds from this funding will be used to continue scaling its global presence while providing even greater customer support and employee development. The Company has raised over $270 million. Find the funding press release here.

Why we are excited:

A vital link in the $100 trillion supply chain, rebates allow partners to function as smooth extensions of one another and provide incentives. But as rebate programs grow, they also get more intricate as companies look for more specialized rewards. Rebate management platforms make it easier to interact with partners on a single platform using a single, reliable source of data, and they also drive quantifiable financial outcomes like increased margins and sales growth.

Over 10,000 companies are using Enable’s platform and that growth has been accelerating year-over-year after expanding to the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, Enable and SPARXiQ, a pioneer in business analytics and sales training, have established an exclusive alliance. For managing complicated rebate scenarios, such as special pricing agreements (SPAs), the integrated solutions from Enable's rebate management engine and SPARXiQ's analytics service are ideal. Rising Tide is eager to support Enable going forward since it encourages trust and positive behavior among supply chain partners.

 

Disclaimer: Rising Tide Fund Managers, LLC and its affiliates (“Rising Tide” or “We”) is a United States venture capital firm investing primarily in the information technology and healthcare/life sciences markets. Over the last 35 years, we have partnered with family funds, high-impact investors, and strategic partners to help launch and expand startups in a variety of industries across three continents. We are dedicated to cooperating with our entrepreneurs at all stages: from financing to leveraging our international networks to facilitating exits by design. The portfolio companies described herein do not represent all the portfolio companies purchased, sold, or recommended for portfolios advised by Rising Tide. The reader should not assume that an investment in the portfolio companies identified were or will be profitable. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investors should be aware that a loss of investment is possible. For more information, visit www.rtf.vc