Manufacturers need to follow best practices to ensure compliance across the supply chain. Model N’s Chris Shrope explores this & high tech manufacturing
Chris Shrope leads high-tech product marketing at software development company Model N.
He is involved in strategic planning, market research and product marketing to meet the evolving needs of Model N’s high-tech customers experiencing an increasingly complex value chain.
“I’ve spent much of my career defining product market fit and executing new product development activities,” he says.
Here, he tells us more.
Hi Chris! What led you to work at Model N?
“I have a passion for using business as a vehicle for change. Creating revolutionary products is not easy. Model N is a mission-driven company committed to supporting its customers in delivering life-changing products to the world through comprehensive visibility, insight and control over the complexities of commercial operations and compliance. I was drawn to help Model N for its ability to collaborate with an industry that touches everything on this planet. Working so closely with some of the world’s largest companies to innovatively sell life-changing products amplifies our impact on the world.”
Tell us about channel compliance in high tech manufacturing.
“Ensuring compliance with trade regulations and preventing the sale of restricted products in certain geographies pose significant challenges for high-tech manufacturers. Violations result in substantial fines and reputation damage – businesses cannot afford missteps.
“The complex nature of the global supply chain, coupled with the absence of direct relationships between manufacturers and retailers, makes it crucial for manufacturers to clearly understand their inventory’s location, distribution and end customers. Channel visibility is a necessity.”
Can you tell us about the best practices for manufacturers to ensure compliance?
“Data is the foundation of channel compliance. To properly leverage massive data quantities, organisations must graduate from spreadsheets. Spreadsheets require manual search, extraction and analysis, creating inefficiencies, inaccuracies and delays. Supply chain visibility necessitates a central data repository. This means knocking down data silos and democratising data, thereby improving visibility across the organisation and the value chain for better compliance monitoring and management. Companies should also invest in automation and analytics to gather information and glean insights, building a more robust awareness of channel activity and potential compliance issues. Heightened visibility also positions organisations to quickly adjust to new regulations.”
Can you tell us about your partnerships?
“Model N recently partnered with Impartner to provide a unified platform for managing commercial channel sales motions. The partnership supports total partner lifecycle management, including design registrations, pricing, quoting, shipping, debit features, and incentives such as rebates and market development funds. One particular capability pairs high-tech manufacturing channel data management (CDM) with partner portals. The Model N and Impartner collaboration allows manufacturers to manage, optimise, and accelerate every aspect of commercial channel sales. Model N also partners with IQVIA, SalesForce, Channelnomics and many others.”
What do the next 12 months hold for you and the company?
“We are working to help our customers enhance channel collaboration and price management with both new and improved capabilities within our solutions. We host an Innovation Partner Program, where we work closely with leading tech manufacturers. As a result, each product innovation is informed by customer input and market changes, allowing us to better support our customers in data management, compliance, and revenue optimisation.”
