Spangler Candy Chooses Blacksmith Applications

Spangler Candy, a 115-year-old, family-owned candy company is headquartered in Bryan, Ohio. There’s no doubt that you’ve snacked on their famous sweets like Dum Dums, Necco Wafers, and Sweethearts, and Bit O Honey.

Between March 15 and September 6, 2020 – candy sales increased by 4.1% over the prior-year period, according to the National Confectioners Association. Spangler Candy company continues to experience growth and knew it was time to automate their trade management process.

Spangler’s tactical approach to promotional planning became too demanding, so the team set out to find a strategic, efficient trade promotion solution.

For several months, Spangler researched and vetted trade management solutions and vendors.

The need for trade promotion management and optimization automation was clear – the finance, sales, and marketing teams were using manual, disconnected methods and systems that fit their specific departmental needs.

Spangler’s VP of Sales, Jeff Devlin says, “Because of the varied, independent methods, when the order-to-cash process started and ended… the process didn’t shake hands along the way, which created extra work.”

While deciding on a trade spend solution, Spangler’s team asked vendors to demonstrate different management and optimization system features to get a true understanding of how the solutions work. Devlin adds, “At each presentation, the Blacksmith team delivered on expectations.”

Awesome Automation

The whole team is looking forward to leveraging Blacksmith’s suite of trade tools.

The sales team is “very excited about the robust planning tool,” Devlin explains. The ability to integrate syndicated data, margin detail, and historical data solves the team’s infinite issue of using three different systems when planning. “This planning tool is light years ahead of how we are planning now!”

From a deduction management perspective, Spangler Candy looks forward to gaining control over the perpetual deduction issues that pile up each day. By staying on top of the deduction balance, “our team can focus on bigger issues.”

The most important feature, Devlin says, is the fact that Blacksmith TPM and TPO solutions allow our teams to talk and work from the same system.

“We knew the Blacksmith solution would be a great addition to Spangler, but the difference-maker for our family-owned business, was the cultural fit we felt with the Blacksmith team.”

The future looks 🍭 sweet! Devlin says he’s excited to eliminate those homemade Excel spreadsheets and drastically reduce that never-ending chain of emails.