Negotiating a beverage agreement is a complex project which requires strategy, precision and persistence.
But negotiating is just the beginning. The real work lies in bringing that agreement to life – consistently meeting customer expectations, generating revenue, and achieving your business goals over the full term. If not careful, doing this properly can mean adding additional headcount and workload to your team’s plate.
That’s where Enliven’s beverage vendor performance management platform comes in – helping you unlock your program’s potential and make it a long-term success. Here’s how you can maximize every aspect of your beverage program, turning it into a reliable asset that supports your brand, delights your guests and drives business results.
1. Building a Strong Foundation with a Seamless Conversion
Once your beverage deal is signed, the next step is to build a foundation that reflects your vision. Conversion often requires coordination with multiple parties — both the incumbent and the incoming beverage brands, bottlers, distributors, equipment teams, maintenance teams, operations, and more.
When a conversion is managed poorly, your business could be left with excess inventory of old product, no new equipment ready when the incumbent arrives (unannounced) to pick up their equipment, no product for the new equipment installed, and – on top of all that – surprise unbundling fees. In general, business operations could be disrupted, costing you real profit.
Enliven creates a tailored onboarding plan that centers on your business goals, aligning our efforts with your priorities — and your timetables. This plan isn’t just about logistics; it’s about setting measurable objectives and establishing early wins to build momentum for the new partnership. With our roadmap, your team is equipped to start strong from day one.
How This Helps You Win:
- No wasted supply with mismanaged inventory levels
- No disruption of business operations
- No delay in realizing negotiated savings
- No unexpected equipment fees
- Log some early wins to build momentum for the new program
2. Strengthening Vendor Relationships to Keep Everything on Track
A solid vendor relationship is essential to achieving your business goals. Through proactive communication and scheduled check-ins, we help you create a partnership based on accountability, collaboration, and shared objectives — without adding another thing for you to manage. Our team facilitates these conversations to keep both sides aligned, setting expectations and swiftly resolving issues when they arise.
It’s also important to keep in mind that the team that sells you the business is not the team that stays on the business. And the team that is on the business will almost certainly turn over multiple times over the course of the agreement. Re-education, relationship building and level setting are constantly required, and Enliven ensures this is happening.
How This Helps You Win:
- Open communication lines to work through unexpected issues
- Higher likelihood of flexibility mid-contract as business strategies evolve
- Increasingly targeted programming that “hits the mark” of your organizational goals and culture
- Getting ahead of potential issues before they become problems
3. Empowering You with Data-Driven Reporting and Insights
Staying informed is key to making proactive decisions, and our data-driven reports offer you visibility into your program’s performance. Each month, we deliver a customized report — The Enliven Beverage Dashboard — that highlight essential metrics, such as sales trends, customer preferences, and seasonal opportunities. This data is presented in clear, actionable terms, allowing you to make real-time adjustments based on current insights.
In addition, you also receive access to our Enliven Beverage Briefing, an executive-friendly synthesis of all the work done by your team and the beverage company in the previous month to bring the beverage partnership to life. It contains insights distilled from your beverage data, business results achieved from the latest marketing activations and beverage industry news to keep on your radar.
Need reporting customized for your business? No problem. Our high-touch team can build reports exactly how you need them.
How This Helps You Win:
- Identify customer trends in real-time
- Explore data insights that help you fine-tune offerings and optimize for revenue
- Forecast beverage program revenue and rebate payments with a high degree of accuracy
4. Keeping Vendors Accountable with Compliance Audits
Did you know that ~43% of all beverage rebate payments we’ve reviewed in the last 2 years were underpaid?
For your beverage program to succeed, vendor commitments must be upheld. Beverage programs are surprisingly complex — with data needing to pass through complicated systems between many partners, including concentrate manufacturers, bottlers, distributors, and more. Terms are all custom-negotiated, meaning analysts must calculate, review and approve all payments. The system is ripe for errors.
We perform regular compliance audits to ensure that every element – from pricing and product availability to promotional activities – meets the agreed-upon standards. If we uncover discrepancies, we work closely with your team and the vendor to address them before they affect your program. For some clients, this can equate to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
How This Helps You Win:
- Ensure you are charged what you negotiated and paid what you are due
- Hold your suppliers to the hard-fought standards you secured in the negotiation
- Remain focused on strategic objectives without being bogged down by chasing down clerical errors.
5. Helping You Maximize Promotions and Marketing Opportunities
Strategic marketing can be a game-changer in your beverage program. Together with your vendor, we identify and implement promotions that resonate with your audience – from seasonal offers to co-branded events that drive brand awareness. These campaigns are designed to deliver maximum impact without adding unnecessary strain to your team — but they do require proactive ideation, planning and execution.
We’ve helped clients drive record traffic and brand awareness by offering custom cocktails (using soft drinks as ingredients), generate valuable PR by coordinating pop-up lounges on property, and boost guest scores by arranging for celebrity appearances. While there are some standard promotions, these don’t have to be “off the shelf” marketing activations.
How This Helps You Win:
- Paid-for, regular marketing initiatives designed to drive the results most important to you
- New, exciting activities consistently happening in your stores and on your properties
- Thoughtfully executed promotions that drive customer engagement and foster brand loyalty
6. Fine-Tuning Product Assortment Based on What Your Customers Want
As customer preferences shift, it’s essential that your beverage offerings evolve in step. We continually monitor sales data and emerging trends — both in the industry and specifically at your properties — to help you refine your assortment. You can ensure your product mix remains relevant and appealing to your target market. This includes recommending new, on-trend products that align with your brand and audience.
We also analyze your product mix to ensure it’s matched to the demographic unique to your specific locations. A QSR in a city-center context should likely have a different flavor lineup to the same concept located in a suburban environment. By fine-tuning your flavor and package lineup to match your demographics, beverage incidence can be lifted.
How This Helps You Win:
- Higher beverage incidence rates and revenue
- Unbiased data-backed insights to support any shift in beverage strategy
- Improved guest satisfaction by providing relevant beverage pairings
7. Simplifying Rebate & Sponsorship Distribution
Managing rebate and sponsorship funds can be a complex task, especially for organizations with multiple locations or franchisees. Enliven’s escrow services are designed to streamline this process, taking the administrative burden off your team and allowing you to focus on what matters most: running your business.
We act as a centralized clearinghouse, collecting, allocating, and distributing funds across your various locations, whether they’re individual hospitals, franchisees, or other entities.Our escrow service ensures that all rebate and sponsorship funds are managed efficiently and transparently.
We gather all rebate and sponsorship payments on your behalf, consolidating funds into a single, secure account. Once collected, we handle the allocation and distribution of funds to your individual locations, following a predetermined distribution plan that aligns with your unique needs. Whether you have ten locations or a hundred, we ensure that funds are distributed accurately and on time, relieving you of the logistical challenges. Our team then provides detailed reports on fund collection and distribution, so you have complete visibility into where your money is going.
How This Helps You Win:
- Free up valuable time and administrative resources, no longer cutting hundreds (or thousands) of checks
- Increase transparency with online, real-time payment records
- Provide a seamless experience to franchisees and business units, boosting confidence in the beverage partnership
8. Resolving Issues Quickly, Keeping Your Team Free to Focus
Challenges are inevitable in any program, but with our support, they don’t have to disrupt your business. Whether it’s a product shortage, an inventory issue, a vendor miscommunication, or equipment malfunction, our team is ready to step in and resolve issues fast. We take a proactive approach to problem-solving, ensuring that any obstacles are handled quickly and effectively.
In addition to the routine issues that come up, our team is equipped to jump on the irregular disruptions. Whether routing pallets of emergency water to hospitals in a hurricane or securing alternative distribution during a pandemic, our team jumps into action to ensure the full capabilities of the beverage companies are brought to bear for your business.
How This Helps You Win:
- Rapid issue resolution reduces downtime and keeps your business units generating profit
- Access to insights and problem-solves from a team with decades of experience
- Not having to add headcount to manage a beverage program
9. Adapting Your Program to Trends and Market Changes
Beverage agreements can be a long-term partnership. Over a 10-year period, the beverage industry can change significantly. To stay relevant and attract new customers, your beverage program must adapt to market shifts.
Our team monitors emerging trends – whether it’s new flavor profiles, health-conscious options, or sustainable packaging – and recommends updates that align with your brand and appeal to your customers. With our guidance, your program remains agile, evolving with customer expectations and industry innovations.
How This Helps You Win:
- Keep beverage offerings fresh and engaging
- Sift through what new products and categories will actually boost sales versus what is fluff
- Bring flexibility into a long-term agreement
- Stay competitive with your beverage program
10. Setting You Up for a Stronger Renewal (and Mid-Contract Adjustments)
When renewal time approaches, it’s essential to showcase the successes of your program and negotiate terms that align with your future goals. Our data-backed insights and performance tracking allow you to enter these discussions from a position of strength. We work alongside you to present a comprehensive overview of your program’s impact, demonstrating its value and preparing a roadmap for even greater achievements.
In addition, we all know that things change. It’s incredibly uncommon to go through an entire beverage agreement term without requiring an amendment or two along the way. To keep the partnership relevant. You should always have a strategy for how to adjust a long-term agreement in a manner that makes sense for all parties.
How This Helps You Win:
With a renewal strategy grounded in proven success and data-driven insights, you’re well-prepared to secure terms that reflect your program’s accomplishments and future potential. This proactive approach sets the stage for an agreement that will continue to deliver meaningful results.
Growing Your Beverage Business, Year after Year
At Enliven, our mission is to help your team make your beverage program a reliable driver of business value. Through proactive management, data-driven insights, and dedicated support, we endeavor to enable you to meet and exceed your goals. Our role is to equip you with the tools, strategies, and guidance you need to turn your beverage program into a long-term success.
With the right support in place, your team can unlock the full potential of your beverage agreement, turning it into a partnership that drives meaningful, measurable results.
Ways You Win With Enliven
- End-to-End Beverage Program Management: Enliven’s platform handles everything from vendor coordination and compliance audits to issue resolution and fund distribution, freeing up your team’s resources and minimizing operational disruptions.
- Data-Driven Insights for Real-Time Adjustments: Monthly reports and customized dashboards provide actionable insights, allowing you to refine product offerings and boost revenue based on real-time customer trends.
- Maximized Promotions and Marketing Impact: Targeted promotions and strategic activations keep your brand engaging and relevant, driving traffic and customer loyalty without additional workload for your team.
- Streamlined Rebate and Sponsorship Fund Distribution: Enliven’s escrow services collect and distribute funds across multiple locations efficiently, ensuring transparency, accuracy, and reducing administrative burdens.
- Future-Proofing and Adaptability: With proactive trend monitoring and a structured renewal strategy, Enliven ensures your beverage program remains competitive, relevant, and aligned with evolving goals throughout the agreement term.
Additional Resources:
The Ultimate Guide to a Beverage Deal
Why You Should Leverage Marketing Activations in Your Beverage Agreement
The Beverage Company is Not Your Enemy
