Fenestra FAQ

Common Questions

Supplier

  • How are earned rebates returned to Fenestra members?

    Similar to terms and prompt payment discounts, rebates are returned to each Member as they have been earned. An example would be if Member A purchased 5% of any rebate program purchases they would receive the same 5% of the earned rebate for that program. Fenestra’s unique central billing and payment model allows line item tracking and a complete audit trail to ensure each Member receives their portion of any earned rebates.
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  • Fenestra guarantees member payments to suppliers – what happens in the case of a default?

    Each Fenestra Member is required to meet rigorous credit criteria. In addition, a third-party Accounts Receivable insurance is used to greatly reduce the impact of any default. In the rare occasions where a Member default has occurred, Fenestra has triggered the AR insurance and the Supplier payment has been paid within 90 days. In all cases of default to date, our Supplier Partners have received payment on 100% of their invoices processed through the Co-op.
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  • Are Fenestra Members required to support or switch to an approved Fenestra Supplier?

    The short answer would be no. Each Fenestra Member is an independent manufacturer and will support the approved Fenestra Supplier Partner when it makes sense for their business.

    However, experience has proven that when our Member Committees endorse a new Supplier Partner our Members take the time to very seriously consider the offering from the Supplier. Peer endorsement of a Supplier is powerful. Your current customers within Fenestra also serve as very strong advocates for your products and services.

    Fenestra insists that each Supplier Partner is given a real opportunity to present their offering to each Member by on-site visits, phone call or at Fenestra events like our AGM, and Advantage/Acceleration meeting.

    Members are encouraged to support Fenestra Supplier Partners for the benefit of all.

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  • How confidential are the rebate programs negotiated with the Co-op?

    Confidentiality of information is important in any business, but it is even more so in a Purchasing Co-operative made up of independent businesses as Members. All involved, the Member, the Supplier and the Co-op must commit and ensure all the detailed confidential aspects of the Rebates Programs negotiated with the Preferred Suppliers are kept strictly confidential.

    The uniqueness of Supplier programs is such that the enhanced pricing, terms and other considerations can quickly be lost if the ‘deal’ is known to Member competitors and non-preferred suppliers. Many advantages gained through group negotiations have been lost because the deal has become known to the trade.

    The Members participating on the Preferred Supplier Selection Committee have also committed to keeping the information that they are exposed to confidential as a pre-condition of serving on the Committee. Suppliers should also institute similar measures for their staff.

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  • How is Fenestra structured?

    Fenestra is a 100% Member-Owned Purchasing Co-operative. Each Member-Owner holds one share only. One share – one vote ensures all Member- Owners have a voice in their Co-op. The Co-operative model returns profits (earned rebates), in direct proportion to the purchasing participation of each Member.

    The Co-op is managed under contract by Buying Group Services Inc., utilizing a dedicated General Manager, as well as support staff are all employed to ensure the Co-operative meets its objectives.

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  • How is Fenestra funded?

    A mandatory Central Billing Allowance (CBA) of 1.75% of the Fenestra Supplier’s sales is collected monthly. This CBA is in recognition of the efficiencies of electronic central billing, reduced credit risk and the lower administrative costs of dealing with the Fenestra Co-operative centrally, versus with each individual Member.
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  • What is Fenestra’s invoice pricing policy or strategy?

    1. Fenestra has long believed that buyers and sellers know what the locally competitive pricing needs to be. Therefore, the Supplier shall determine locally competitive invoice pricing for each Member at its discretion. The prices to be paid by each Member for the products the Member purchases from the Supplier shall be negotiated and agreed upon directly between the Supplier and each Member.
    2. Similarly, payment terms can be individually tailored for each member. Fenestra does negotiate a MINIMUM payment term.
    3. Invoicing can be done in $CAD or $USD 

      The Supplier reserves the right to unilaterally adjust prices at any time without the authorization or approval of the Co-op. The Member must be given written notification, a minimum of 60 days in advance, of any forthcoming price increases.

      If, at any time, the price is not locally competitive for their market, Fenestra requires that the Member notifies the Co-op. If after consultation with the Supplier, their prices remain locally uncompetitive, Fenestra will encourage the Member to look elsewhere for proper Supplier support.

      Fenestra does not share invoice pricing amongst Member, and while individual Members may do so, the Co-op does not use its data to facilitate any such comparisons.

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Associate-Member

  • Will I be required to change all purchases from my current supplier to all Fenestra Suppliers?

    One of the major benefits of any Buying Group is the selection of the Preferred Supplier that provides the best overall value proposition for each product category. In many cases, the Preferred Supplier will be the Supplier you currently deal with for that product category. You will simply enjoy better net costs and off-invoice advantages than you previously did before joining the Fenestra.

    In other cases, the Preferred Supplier will not be the Supplier that you currently purchase that product category from, and you will be encouraged to switch Suppliers. In most cases, the Preferred Supplier’s program will assist you in that transition. Experience has shown that the Buying Group whose Members loyally support their Preferred Suppliers will be rewarded handsomely. Suppliers soon learn that they can quickly gain or lose sales volume depending on whether they are selected as a Fenestra Preferred Supplier. The short-term pain of switching Suppliers will be offset by significantly better overall value.

    There may be a few exceptions to the “Buy only from Preferred Suppliers” rule, but these should be minimized. For example, if your brother-in-law is the Sales Representative for a Non-Preferred Supplier, you may still feel the requirement to purchase from him. There may also be some regional distribution issues that require you to purchase from a local Supplier rather than from a Fenestra Preferred Supplier.

    At the end of the day you must do what is right for your business. It must come first!

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  • Will I have any input as to how the Preferred Suppliers are chosen?

    For each major product category, a small number of your fellow Members will be chosen to participate on the negotiating team. The Preferred Suppliers are then chosen based on a wide set of criteria which includes factors from pricing, rebates, terms, return policies, service levels and the product brand acceptance.
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  • Will I know the negotiated deal details?

    All “non-confidential” details of the deal negotiated with the Preferred Supplier will be available on the “Members Only” website. These details will include standard payment terms, freight allowance policy, claims procedure, and all of the Supplier’s Contact Information. You will not have documented access to details of the “confidentially” negotiated rebates, allowances or special deals for Fenestra Members. Only the Negotiating Committee and Buying Group Services Management know the full terms of the negotiated deal. Strict enforcement of Preferred Supplier confidentiality enables Suppliers to offer better overall pricing only to Fenestra Members without the risk of competitors or other of the supplier’s non-Fenestra customers knowing and saying “me too!”
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  • How are the rebates passed on to me?

    You will receive rebates on your purchases. Rebate cheques are delivered with a statement of where and how it was earned. As Fenestra grows in size and the Members continue to increase their purchasing focus with the Fenestra Preferred Suppliers, the rebate cheques will continue to grow year after year.
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  • Why is there such a focus on rebates, wouldn’t it be better to get all the discounts up front at the time of invoicing?

    Rebates are a powerful tool for both the Preferred Supplier and the Members. Suppliers like rebates for two main reasons;
    1. first, they protect the “street price” of their products
    2. second, they can structure the rebates such that they only pay for performance

    The Member benefits because they can protect the margins made on the sale of the products from their sales force that often wants to discount to the maximum allowed based on the invoice price. At the end of the year, the rebate cheque comes in and goes right to the bottom line!

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  • How much will it cost me to join as an Associate-Member?

    Each new Associate Member will be expected to pay a Sign-up Fee of $1,500 plus HST, for all the services provided by Fenestra to its Members.
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Member-Owner

  • Will I be required to change all purchases from my current suppliers to all Fenestra Suppliers?

    One of the major benefits of any Buying Group is the selection of the Preferred Supplier that provides the best overall value proposition for each product category. In many cases, the Preferred Supplier will be the Supplier you currently deal with for that product category. You will simply enjoy better net costs and off-invoice advantages than you previously did before joining Fenestra.

    In other cases, the Preferred Supplier will not be the Supplier that you currently purchase that product category from, and you will be encouraged to switch Suppliers. In most cases, the Preferred Supplier’s program will assist you in that transition.  Experience has shown that the Buying Group whose Member-Owners loyally support their Preferred Suppliers will be rewarded handsomely. Suppliers soon learn that they can quickly gain or lose sales volume depending on whether they are selected as a Preferred Supplier. The short-term pain of switching suppliers will be offset by significantly better overall value.

    There may be a few exceptions to the “Buy only from Preferred Suppliers” rule, but these should be minimized. For example, if your brother-in-law is the Sales Representative for a Non-Preferred Supplier, you may still feel the requirement to purchase from him. There may also be some regional distribution issues that require you to purchase from a local Supplier rather than from a Preferred Supplier.

    At the end of the day you must do what is right for your business...it must come first!

    Helpful?
    Thanks for the feeback

  • Will I have any input as to how the Preferred Suppliers are chosen?

    For each major product category, a small number of your fellow Member-Owners will be chosen to participate on the negotiating team. The Preferred Suppliers are then chosen based on a wide set of criteria which includes factors from pricing, rebates, terms, return policies, service levels and the product brand acceptance.
    Helpful?
    Thanks for the feeback

  • Will I know the negotiated deal details?

    All “non-confidential” details of the deal negotiated with the Preferred Supplier will be available on the “Members Only” website. These details will include standard payment terms, freight allowance policy, claims procedure, and all of the Supplier’s Contact Information. You will not have documented access to details of the “confidentially” negotiated rebates, allowances or special deals for Fenestra Members. Only the Negotiating Committee and Buying Group Services Management know the full terms of the negotiated deal. Strict enforcement of Preferred Supplier confidentiality enables Suppliers to offer better overall pricing only to Fenestra Member-Owners without the risk of competitors or other of the supplier’s non-Fenestra customers knowing and saying “me too!”
    Helpful?
    Thanks for the feeback

  • How are the rebates passed on me?

    You will receive rebates on your purchases. Rebate cheques are delivered with a statement of where and how it was earned. As Fenestra grows in size and the Member-Owners continue to increase their purchasing focus with the Fenestra Preferred Suppliers, the rebate cheques will continue to grow year after year.
    Helpful?
    Thanks for the feeback

  • Why is there such a focus on rebates, wouldn’t it be better to get all the discounts up front at the time of invoicing?

    Rebates are a powerful tool for both the Preferred Supplier and the Member-Owner. Suppliers like rebates for two main reasons;
    1. first, they protect the “street price” of their products
    2. second, they can structure the rebates such that they only pay for performance

    The Member-Owner benefits because they can protect the margins made on the sale of the products from their sales force that often wants to discount to the maximum allowed based on the invoice price. At the end of the year, the rebate cheque comes in and goes right to the bottom line!

    Helpful?
    Thanks for the feeback

  • How much will it cost me to join?

    Each Member-Owner will be expected to pay an initial Sign-up Fee of $1,499 and will be required to pay a $1 fee for their Member-Owner share. A further $3,500 will be charge to each Member-Owner as annual fees by Fenestra.

    This annual fee, really, is paid back to the Member-Owners through exclusive events held by Fenestra for Member-Owners. These include Fenestra's Annual Member's Meeting, and Fenestra's Annual Dinner and the Advantage/Acceleration Event.

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