Solving a 3-year pendency for a multinational FMCG
Overview
A multinational FMCG brand had to reconcile a large number of distributor claims in a specific
market. Such claims were set off against the receivables from distributors. These claims were
provided annually creating cash flow challenges and tedious audits. Matrix Business Services
was engaged to clear the backlog and reconcile claims appropriately.
Facts
Problem Statement
Claim pendency for 3 years
Distributors submitted multiple claims in a month against activities authorised by the
company towards promotions
Some of the claims were multi-branded claims and accounting for them was a challenge
All claims pending approval were received via e-mails into the inbox of different budget
owners, who were a part of the sales team and couldn’t spend time clearing these
claims.
The Matrix Solution
Backlog clearance
Onboarding sessions were set up with the budget owners to understand the promotion
plan, budgeting process, business landscape, KPAs, approval hierarchy, and more.
The pending distributor claims were listed and Matrix engaged with the distributor teams
to confirm the balances.
Against the pendency reported, line-level checks were done to check if the claims were
indeed received. A common SharePoint was created for distributors to upload the
supporting documents.
Daily trackers were sent on the status and the organization was recommended to give
an ultimatum to the distributors to submit the respective details.
The claims were classified basis an ABC analysis (given the magnitude) and an
exception was sought for clearing the claims below a specific threshold with bare
minimum support.
High-value claims were thoroughly checked to confirm performance.
Duplication in claims was identified and raised to the distributors to provide reasons and
RCA.
Other rejections were mailed to distributors for alignment or further proof of performance
The company’s approval was sought to split multi-branded claims in sales salience of
the respective years and the claims were charged to the right Profit Centers and spends
booked to right cost centres
Long term solution
A detailed SOP/ Jobaid was created in collaboration with the company
Relevant approvals were sought and the SOP was deployed to the distributors as well
Expectations were set right in terms of performance needed against every spend type
and a detailed Business Risk Acceptance document was created to record certain risks
that have to be assumed along the process due to market conditions, the magnitude of
data, cost-benefit, data constraints etc. and compensating controls were identified for
every risk & documented with approvals
A traffic light report template was aligned & created as a platform for highlighting the
management outages distributor wise and the results of compensating controls
Measures were identified such as continuous defaulters, duplicate claims submissions,
any cases of fraudulent practices and action items & owners were documented for the
same
Ancillary checks & balances for compensating controls were set – such as checking any
inflation in sales by deriving sales through inventory and shipment and comparing the
same to claimed sales
The digital platform created for claims submission and live status tracking
The Result
The claims were bucketed in to clear statuses on where it is pending – either with the
company, distributors (or) Matrix and targeted deadlines were plotted for clearance
The practice of set-off against receivables stopped – claims were either cleared within
SLA (or) identified as pending inputs from distributors
Cashflows improved tremendously due to stopping of set-off and due to identification of
duplication in claims
Accounting right against relevant IOs and GLs enabled through right identification &
scientific salience application
Frauds identified – Examples – Duplication in pictures submitted for visibility claims,
GPS coordinates in pictures not leading to the stores, Inflation of sales, Returns against
sales that were paid for promotion etc.
Clear visibility to management teams on the status via digital platforms
Quick turnaround & SLA enabled through Macro tools, BOTs and other means of
digitisation (such as apps for tracking visibility)
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Privacy Policy
1.Privacy Policy / Notice
1.1 Introduction
Matrix Business Services India Private Limited (Herewith referred to as Matrix) (‘we’ or ‘us’ or ‘our’) gathers and processes your personal information in accordance with this
privacy notice and in compliance with the relevant data protection regulation and laws. This notice provides you with the necessary information regarding your rights and our obligations,
and explains how, why and when we process your personal data.
Matrix Business Services India Private Limited’s registered office is at Sree Mahamadhi Towers. No. 17, Arulambal Street, T. Nagar, Chennai – 600 017,
India and we are a company registered in India under corporate identification number U74140TN2003PTC051482. We act as the PII Controller when processing your data.
1.2 Information That We Collect
Matrix Business Services India Private Limited (Herewith referred to as Matrix) processes your personal information (information that specifically identifies an individual
or that is linked to information that identifies a specific individual) to meet our legal, statutory and contractual obligations and to provide you with our products and services.
We will never collect any unnecessary personal data from you and do not process your information in any way, other than as specified in this notice.
The personal data that we collect are:
Name
Date of birth
Gender
Email address
Postal address
Telephone/mobile number
Educational qualification records
Employment history records
PAN
Aadhaar
Voter ID
Passport
Driving license
Bank statement (If need arises)
Credit information (If need arises)
Medical records and history (If need arises)
By accessing our website or providing data directly to Matrix through customer website/ portal or through Matrix internal portal/ any other source, you agree and consent to the collection and use of your personal information and sensitive personal information for specific verification and screening purposes only.
We collect information in the below ways:
Online job application form under career option on Matrix’s website
Marketing Emails
Matrix prospective customers provides their name, email id and contact information on the contact us form on Matrix’s website. Please review each Matrix’s terms of use and privacy policies carefully before using the services.
Customers who uses our services based on the contract entered, shares any kind of personal data that is required to perform the Employee background and credentials verification.
Information from other sources (We may obtain information, including Personal Data, from third parties and sources other than the Service, such as our partners, mutual connections, advertisers, credit rating agencies, and Integrated Services. If we combine or associate information from other sources with Personal Data that we collect through the Service, we will treat the combined information as Personal Data in accordance with this Policy
1.3 How We Use Your Personal Data
Matrix takes your privacy very seriously and will never disclose, share or sell your data without your consent, unless required to do so by law. We only retain your data for as long as is necessary and for the purpose(s) specified in this notice. Where you have consented to us providing you with promotional offers and marketing, you are free to withdraw this consent at any time. The purposes and reasons for processing your personal data are detailed below:
We collect your personal data in the performance of a contract or to provide a service. We use the information to operate, maintain, enhance and provide all features of the Service, to provide the services and information that you request, to respond to comments and questions and to provide support to users of the Service. We process personal data collected in performance of a contract solely in accordance with the directions provided by the contract.
We will occasionally send you marketing information like updates on promotions and events relating to services offered by us where we have assessed that it is beneficial to you as a customer and in our interests. Such information will be non-intrusive and is processed on the grounds of legitimate interests.
We may use your email address or other information to contact you for administrative purposes such as customer service, to address intellectual property infringement, right of privacy violations or defamation issues related to personal data posted on the Service
We use the information to understand and analyze the usage trends and preferences of our users, to improve the Service, and to develop new services, feature, and functionality
1.4 Your Rights
You have the right to access any personal information that Matrix processes about you and to request information about:
What personal data we hold about you
The purposes of the processing
The categories of personal data concerned
The recipients to whom the personal data has/will be disclosed
How long we intend to store your personal data for
If we did not collect the data directly from you, information about the source
If you believe that we hold any incomplete or inaccurate data about you, you have the right to ask us to correct and/or complete the information and we will strive to do so as quickly as possible; unless there is a valid reason for not doing so, at which point you will be notified.
You also have the right to request erasure of your personal data or to restrict processing in accordance with the data protection laws; as well as to object to any direct marketing from us. Where applicable, you have the right to data portability of your information and the right to be informed about any automated decision-making we may use.
If we receive a request from you to exercise any of the above rights, we may ask you to verify your identity before acting on the request; this is to ensure that your data is protected and kept secure. Requests to access, change, or remove your information will be handled within thirty (30) days.
1.5 Sharing and Disclosing Your Personal Information
We do not share or disclose any of your personal information without your consent, other than for the purposes specified in this notice or where there is a legal requirement.
A. Unrestricted information
Any information that you voluntarily choose to include in a Public Area of the Service, such as a public profile page, will be available to any Visitor or User who has access to that content.
B. Service Providers
We work with third party service providers who provide the following services:
Website
Application development
System Administration
Hosting
Maintenance
Court Check
Credit Check
Drug Check
Education Check
Employment Check
Residential Check
These third parties may have access to, or process Personal Data as part of providing those services for us. We limit the information provided to these service providers to that which is reasonably necessary for them to perform their functions, and our contracts with them require them to maintain the confidentiality of such information.
We may disclose such Information to related third parties outside of the country (such country or countries having same level of data protection as in our country) for the purpose of verification if the subject is a foreign national or employed/being employed outside India.
Matrix may disclose and transfer such information to a third party who acquires any or all of Matrix’s business units, whether such acquisition is by way of merger, consolidation or purchase of all or a substantial portion of our assets or by any other permitted method. A prominent notice will be displayed on our website to intimate you of any such change in ownership or control. Third parties referred to in this section includes our associates, affiliates or related entities
1.6 Safeguarding Measures
Matrix takes your privacy seriously and takes every reasonable measure and precaution to protect and secure your personal data. We work hard to protect you and your information from unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction and have several layers of security measures in place, including:
Encryption of data during transit (HTTPS)
Encryption of data at rest
Restricted access to only authorized personnel through authentication and password mechanisms
Implementation of anti-malware software
Network protection through firewalls
However, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. We cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or store on the Service, and you do so at your own risk. We also cannot guarantee that such information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of any of our physical, technical, or managerial safeguards.
If you believe your Personal Data has been compromised, please contact us as set forth in the “Contact Us” section.
Our security management standards are in compliance with ISO 27001:2013 and ISO 9001:2015 which is a widely recognized international security management standard that specifies security management best practices and comprehensive security controls, by way of which we also meet the requirements of reasonable security practices under the Information Technology Act, 2000. Our compliance with ISO 27001 demonstrates our commitment to information security at every level.
If we learn of a security systems breach, we will inform you of the occurrence of the breach in accordance with applicable law.
1.7 Consequences of Not Providing Your Data
You are not obligated to provide your personal information to Matrix, however, as this information is required for us to provide you with our services, we will not be able to offer some/all our services without it.
1.8 Legitimate Interests
As noted in the ‘How We Use Your Personal Data’ section of this notice, we occasionally process your personal information under the legitimate interests’ legal basis. Where this is the case, we have carried out a thorough Legitimate Interests’ Assessment (LIA) to ensure that we have weighed your interests and any risk posed to you against our own interests; ensuring that they are proportionate and appropriate.
We use the legitimate interests’ legal basis for processing direct marketing emailers / phone calls and have identified that our interests are to provide you with high quality, best in industry, performance support system to ease and improve user onboarding, support and training.
1.9 Cookie Notice
A ‘cookie’ is a small piece of data sent from a website and stored on the user’s computer by the user’s web browser while the user is browsing. When you visit a site that uses cookies for the first time, a cookie is downloaded onto your computer/mobile device so that the next time you visit that site, your device will remember useful information such as visited pages or logging in options.
Cookies are widely used in order to make websites work, or to work more efficiently, and our site relies on cookies to optimize user experience and for features and services to function properly.
We use automatically collected information and other information collected through our website through cookies and similar technologies to: (i) personalize our service, such as remembering your information so that you will not have to re-enter it during a visit or on subsequent visits; (ii) provide customized advertisements, content, and information; (iii) monitor and analyze the effectiveness of Service and third-party marketing activities; (iv) monitor aggregate site usage metrics such as total number of visitors and pages viewed; and (v) track your entries, submissions, and status in any promotions or other activities on the Service.
These cookies do not collect personal information about you. A persistent cookie remains on your hard drive after you close your browser so that it can be used by your browser on subsequent visits to the Service. Persistent cookies can be removed by following your web browser’s directions. A session cookie is temporary and disappears after you close your browser. You can reset your web browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some features of the Service may not function properly if the ability to accept cookies is disabled.
Most web browsers allow some control to restrict or block cookies through the browser settings, however if you disable cookies you may find this affects your ability to use certain parts of our website or services.
1.10 Minors and Children’s Privacy
Protecting the privacy of young children is especially important. Our Service is not directed to children under the age of 16, and we do not knowingly collect Personal Data from children under the age of 16 without obtaining parental consent. If you are under 16 years of age, then please do not use or access the Service at any time or in any manner. If we learn that Personal Data has been collected on the Service from persons under 16 years of age and without verifiable parental consent, then we will take the appropriate steps to delete this information. If you are a parent or guardian and discover that your child under 16 years of age has obtained an Account on the Service, then you may alert us at info@matrixbsindia.com and request that we delete that child’s Personal Data from our systems.
1.11 How Long We Keep Your Data
Matrix only ever retains personal information for as long as is necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law (such as tax, accounting or other legal requirements) and we have strict review and retention policies in place to meet these obligations. Where you have consented to us using your details for direct marketing, we will keep such data until you notify us otherwise and/or withdraw your consent.
1.12 Marketing
CONSENT
Occasionally, Matrix would like to contact you with the marketing materials / offers relating to our services that we provide. If you consent to us using your contact details for this purpose, you have the right to modify or withdraw your consent at any time by using the opt-out/unsubscribe options or by contacting Matrix directly.
If you consent to us contacting you with the above-mentioned marketing and offers, please tick to say how you would like to be contacted:
LEGITMIATE INTERESTS
Matrix will occasionally send you marketing material / offers related to our services by email and tele-conversation that have been identified as being beneficial to our customers and in our interests. Such information will be relevant to you as a customer and is non-intrusive and you will always have the option to opt-out/unsubscribe at any time. Personally identifiable information collected / stored under this legitimate interests’ basis is protected by the same security measures listed in the ‘Safeguarding Measures’ section above.
If you would prefer not to receive above-mentioned marketing and offers, please tick below:
1.13 How to Contact Us
Matrix only processes your personal information in compliance with this privacy notice and in accordance with the relevant data protection laws. If, however you wish to raise a complaint regarding the processing of your personal data or are unsatisfied with how we have handled your information, you have the right to lodge a complaint with our Data Protection Officer at info@matrixbsindia.com.
1.14 Consent (Physical Hard Copy)
Matrix takes your privacy seriously and will only process your personal data with your consent and in accordance with the terms stated in our Privacy Notice. If you consent to us collecting and processing your personal data, please sign below:
I, , (PII Principal’s name) confirm that I have been provided with a copy of Matrix ’s Privacy Notice & Terms & Conditions prior to giving consent.
Signature: Time:
Name: Date:
1.15 Consent (Digital Format)
Matrix takes your privacy seriously and will only process your personal data with your consent and in accordance with the terms stated in our Privacy Notice. If you consent to us collecting and processing your personal data, please tick the check-box below:
I, , ( PII Principal’s name) consent to you processing my personal data as detailed in your
1.16 Grievance Officer
Matrix has appointed Ms. Jayasree Srinivasan as the Chief Privacy Officer/Grievance Officer. She can be reached at
grievance.officer@matrixbsindia.com. If there is a breach/incident found related to data privacy, an email can be shared to the Chief Privacy Officer/Grievance Officer in the above set email id. The timeline to attend to resolving minor incidents (incidents which do not cause no/very negligible damage) would be next 24 hours. With respect to other major/critical incidents – first level would be attended to in the next 24 hours and subsequently would be resolved within a maximum timeline of 72 hours depending on the gravity of the issue.
If you have any queries, kindly contact us at info@matrixbsindia.com. We will employ all commercially reasonable efforts to address the same.
This information was last published on the 18 th of April 2023.
