Increased Turnaround on Payments to Foodservice Distributors with Answers Systems Inc. Transaction T

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) January 20, 2004 --

Oldsmar, Florida: Foodservice distributors receiving billback payments from manufacturers via Answers Systems Inc. will see the gap between submission and payment shrink in 2004 with deployment of ASI�s new, proprietary transaction application, BTO (Billback Transactions Online). BTO, fully tested and implemented during Fourth Quarter 2003, differs from ASI�s legacy system on three key points: 1) BTO allows for both manual entry from paper documentation and easy upload of electronic purchase data from distributors, 2) users can see contract details and deduction time frames onscreen for immediate, accurate verification of purchase data, 3) BTO reduces turnaround time by a significant amount creating shorter periods between claim submission and actual payments to distributors.

The legacy system allowed a processor handled 400 claims per month. In BTO, a processor can manage 500 agreements and over 5000 line items in a month. With the increased ability to allow for processing manual and electronic data, BTO aids in process flow efficiency of claim data movement and transaction reconciliation. With BTO�s audit-friendly checks and balances, manufacturers are assured of accurate payments and prevention of double dipping. These checks and balances also require three different gatekeepers at the following claim life cycle stages: verification, approval of claim, and authorization for payment.



BTO provides the data that powers the ALxchangeTM network model, ASI�s answer to the Foodservice Industry�s need for agreement setup, claim processing, and payment fulfillment. The front door of the ALxchange model is ContractProTM (ASI's on-line Contract Management Solution).

ContractPro allows for the creation of electronic agreements. Agreement terms and dates are transmitted to BTO for processing claims against the original agreement. The combination of BTO and ContractPro closes the �need gap� for the manufacturer. This consistent data capture/processing environment allows ASI to offer the manufacturing community a solution to the entire agreement/processing workflow.



Founded in 1986, Answers Systems Inc. is the foodservice industry leader in database management, marketing and technology solutions for manufacturers, operators, and distributors.



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ContractPro and ALxchange are trademarks of Answers Systems Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.



For more information, press only:

Stacy Jackson, 800-225-6127 x207, stacy.jackson@answer-sys.com



For more information on ContractPro:

http://www.answerssystems.com/ContractPro.htm

BTO