Channel data management (CDM) allows companies to gain visibility into their sales channels and distribution partners. It works by collecting and analyzing sales and inventory data from partners to identify customers and market opportunities. This helps companies select the best partners, target customers effectively, and run internal functions more efficiently, improving overall business performance and return on investment. CDM is likened to the roots and nutrient system of a tree - uninterrupted access to channel data helps businesses thrive just as nutrients help trees grow large and healthy.

1. The New Smart Channel
What is Channel Data Management
& How can it help your Business?
Channel data
management (CDM)
is a fast-growing
discipline among large
manufacturers that
increases visibility into
the fine details of what is
happening within
their sales and
distribution channels.
“
“
Think of a business as a tree. The ground
around is the marketplace. The trunk and
roots are how the business reaches its
marketplace – they are its distribution
channel partners. The branches forming
the canopy are the different functions of
the business.
Sometimes the soil is rich and aerated.
The roots can spread easily, absorb the
nutrients and feed them back to the tree.
Other times the environment is hostile –
MARKETING
SALES
AFTERSALES
IN
CENTIVES
FINANCE
PLANNING & LOGISTICS
PRODUCTIONR & D
DISTRIBUTORS
DISTRIBUTION
RETAILERS
RE
SELLERS
DISTRIBUTORS
CUSTOMERS
CUSTOMERS
CUSTOMERS
CUSTOMERS
CUSTOMERS
CUSTOMERS
RETAILERS
DISTRIBUTORS
VAR’S
REVENUE
PRODUCT
the ground is rocky – some of the roots
need to grow strong to break through
the stone, others need to be thin and
flexible to weave their way through the
cracks to reach the nutrients. The tree
adapts to the environment to stay alive.
Similarly, some markets are easier to
penetrate than others – to succeed,
a business must develop the right
distribution channel for each market.
Ted Dimbero,
COO,Zyme Solutions
Chief Marketer,
July 9th, 2014
Copyright © 2015 Zyme Solutions. All rights reserved

2. The tree consumes nutrients but
equally contributes to its environment.
The oxygen released through
photosynthesis, the fallen leaves
enriching the soil around, match what
the tree’s ecosystem needs.
A business, like the tree, has to
match its ecosystem’s requirements
to survive and grow. It needs to
understand what products to bring
to the market in what quantities, with
what messages.
To succeed, you have to develop
the right distribution channel for
each market.
A business needs to understand
what products to bring to the
market, in what quantities, with
what messages
A business function deprived of
vital market information is likely to
underperform
Blackberry posted a loss of $965
million for the quarter ended Aug
2013. $934 million of this was
due to what Blackberry called
the “Z10 inventory charge”, as
the product failed to sell in the
quantities anticipated. Could better
sales information have changed
Blackberry misfortunes?
In 2013 Microsoft took a $900 million
charge related to slashing the
price of its struggling Surface RT
tablet, contributing to fourth-quarter
results that missed revenue and
profit expectations by a wide mark.
Consumers wanted compatibility
with older Windows systems, a
feature the RT model did not have.
Could this have been avoided with
timely market feedback?
CDM
Integration of channel
data in business
processes
INTEGRATE
Collection of sales &
inventory data from
channel partners
COLLECT
Identification of
channel partners and
end customers
IDENTIFY
Enrichment and analysis
of channel sales
& inventory
ANALYSE
If the flow of nutrients to one of the
tree’s branches is reduced or stopped,
that branch will suffer. Conversely, a
rich flow of nutrients will encourage
the branch to develop and bear
fruit. Similarly, if a function of your
business is deprived of vital market
information, then that function is
likely to underperform and deliver
suboptimal output with higher costs.
Nowadays companies are looking at
a far more granular definition of their
markets – often referred to as the
“market of one”. What is needed is
knowledge of each customer, of what
they buy and of the individual channel
partner they prefer doing business
with, in an actionable format, and at
the fingertips of the people making
channel decisions. This knowledge
can be acquired through:
• Partners reliably, consistently and
frequently telling vendors who they
are selling to, what they are selling
and in what quantities
• Vendors having the ability to
correctly identify who these
partners are even when they don’t
trade directly with them
• Vendors having the ability to
correlate this data with individual
product and demographical
information for analysis and
decision making
• Vendors having the ability to
access this information directly in
applications supporting channel
related business processes
The tree gets feedback about the
soil through the roots – Channel
Data Management ensures that a
business’ distribution channel acts
as the root system and provides the
necessary market feedback timely
and accurately.

3. These are the core tasks of Channel
Data Management.
The intelligence derived from Channel
Data Management ensures that
companies can:
CDM
BEST POSITIONING &
MOST SUITABLE
PRODUCT OFFER
CUSTOMER
EFFECTIVE & EFFICIENT
INTERNAL FUNCTIONS
& PROCESSES
OWN ORGANISATION
BEST PATH
TO MARKET
PARTNER
• Choose the most suitable partners
for their target markets, the
ones which will provide the best
penetration, fastest sales cycles
and maximum value
• Target their customers with the
most appealing offer, maximizing
market share and shortening sales
cycles
Zyme is the global leader in the emerging channel data management (CDM) space, empowering the New Smart
Channel™, a proven approach to providing visibility and actionable knowledge that manufacturers need to accelerate
partner sales and optimize marketing program ROI. Zyme’s flexible, cloud-based offerings facilitate enterprise-grade
decisions by responding to real-time, granular channel intelligence. Benefits include increased sales productivity,
better targeted channel programs, accurate sales commissioning plus improved partner collaboration. Zyme replaces
outdated, ad-hoc systems with a state-of-the-art, cloud-based platform, data steward services, and a worldwide
channel directory of more than 900,000 partners for guaranteed database quality, support for a wider range of
formats, and best practices that enhance reporting compliance. Global leaders like Dell, VMware, Fujitsu, Plantronics,
Xerox, Symantec, and Seagate rely on Zyme. Headquartered in Redwood Shores, CA, Zyme has offices in Texas,
Pennsylvania, China, India and the UK. To learn how Zyme can improve your bottom line, visit www.zyme.com.The New Smart Channel
STRONG ROOTS
RICH, UNINTERRUPTED
FLOW OF NUTRIENTS
LARGE HEALTHY TREE
STRONG DISTRIBUTION
CHANNEL
CHANNEL DATA
MANAGEMENT
SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
+ =
+ =
• Increase the efficiency and
effectiveness of their internal
functions directly- reducing their
costs and risks and increasing
sales revenues
The impact of all these actions can
be substantial to a company’s overall
performance and bottom line.
In 2013 Forrester conducted a study
on a consumer electronics / networking
company who had deployed a
comprehensive CDM solution, and had
been using that solution for two years.
The findings showed a conservative
return of 197% on their investment in
Channel Data Management.
A tree receiving a rich and
uninterrupted flow of nutrients through
its roots stands a better chance
to develop into a large, healthy,
impressive specimen than a tree
struggling to feed. A business with
uninterrupted access to managed
channel data from its partners is likely
to target its market better, choose its
partners more wisely and run more
efficiently than a business operating
with ‘channel blindness’.
Copyright © 2015 Zyme Solutions. All rights reserved