OUR SERVICES:

Trade Spend Management Built for CPG Brands

Promotions drive sales but they can quietly crush your margins. At Cultivar, we give you the clarity and control to manage trade spend with confidence, not chaos.

Why Trade Spend is a Silent Killer for CPG Profitability

For most CPG brands, trade spend is your second-largest line item after COGS but it’s also one of the least understood. Distributor deductions, chargebacks, and promo accruals often go unverified or unclaimed.

That’s where we come in. We help you:

  • Track every deduction and dispute

  • Validate what you’re actually being charged

  • Accrue and plan cash more strategically

  • Prevent margin erosion before it happens

Trade spend doesn’t have to be a black box. We make it a clear, manageable part of your financial strategy.

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What’s Included in Our Trade Spend Support

We combine systems, expertise, and hands-on support to simplify complexity.

  • Software integrations: We plug into your distributor portals, accounting system, and trade platforms to sync deductions and promo activity.

  • Deduction tracking and validation: Every chargeback and deduction is logged, categorized, and verified. No more mystery write-offs.

  • Dispute management: We handle back-and-forth communication with distributors to resolve incorrect deductions and recover lost dollars.

  • Trade accrual visibility: Know what’s been spent, what’s coming, and how it impacts cash flow and margins.

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How We Work

We sync your accounting and sales systems to track trade spend in real time.

We meet with you to identify trends, margin leaks, and future risks.

We integrate trade spend tracking with your broader forecasting and planning.

Contact Our Experts

FAQs

  • Trade spend refers to promotional costs like discounts, placement fees, and distributor incentives. In CPG, it can quietly erode margins if not tracked and managed proactively.

  • We verify deductions line by line, identify discrepancies, and handle disputes with distributors. Many brands don’t realize how much money they’re leaving on the table, until we help them get it back.

  • Yes. We act as an extension of your team and coordinate with brokers, distributors, and retailers to manage deductions.

Want to stop losing margin to trade spend?

Let’s talk. We’ll help you track, manage, and protect your bottom line.

Schedule a Call