Client Overview
A global media and entertainment company with a diverse portfolio of intellectual properties (IPs) needed a robust solution to manage its complex royalty ecosystem. As both a licensor and licensee of various IPs, the client required a centralized system to track, calculate, and manage royalty payments accurately and efficiently.
Challenge
The client’s existing royalty management processes were largely manual, leading to inefficiencies, potential errors, and a lack of real-time visibility into royalty transactions. They sought a customizable, scalable solution to automate their royalty workflows, accommodate intricate royalty agreements, and provide clear financial reporting.
Solution
Selectiva proposed developing a comprehensive Royalty Management System (RMS) built on the Salesforce.com platform. This choice allowed for a highly customizable, cloud-based solution that could integrate seamlessly with the client’s existing CRM and financial systems.
Implementation
The Selectiva team embarked on an agile development journey, utilizing a robust tech stack to create a tailored RMS:
Salesforce.com Platform:
Served as the foundation, offering a secure, scalable infrastructure.
Visualforce:
Used for creating custom user interfaces with pages, components, and controllers.
Apex:
Employed for writing complex business logic and transaction control.
HTML, JavaScript/jQuery:
Implemented for enhanced interactivity and user experience.
Twitter Bootstrap CSS Framework:
Ensured a responsive, modern design across devices.
Key Features Developed
Financial Year Configuration:
Flexible setup and editing of financial years to align with varying accounting periods.
Rule Engine:
Creation of standard and tiered royalty rules to handle diverse agreement structures.
Invoice Management:
- Importing and creating invoices with validation.
- Generating royalty invoices based on configured rules.
- Calculating and processing delta invoices for adjustments.
Royalty Transactions:
- Crediting royalties to appropriate parties.
- Clearing transaction royalties after settlement.
- Freezing and unfreezing transactions for audit and reconciliation purposes.
Reporting and Dashboards:
- Real-time visibility into royalty accruals, payments, and forecasts.
- Custom reports for different stakeholders (finance, legal, management).
Results
The implementation of the Royalty Management System transformed the client’s IP monetization processes:
Efficiency Gains:
Automation reduced the time spent on royalty calculations and reporting by over 80%.
Accuracy Improvement:
The rule-based calculations virtually eliminated manual errors, ensuring precise royalty distributions.
Financial Control:
Real-time tracking and the ability to freeze/unfreeze transactions provided unprecedented control over cash flow and financial planning.
Scalability:
The Salesforce-based solution easily accommodated the growing number of IPs and increasingly complex royalty agreements.
Compliance:
Detailed transaction records and audit trails significantly simplified the annual auditing process and helped maintain regulatory compliance.
Stakeholder Satisfaction:
Licensors received timely, accurate payments, while internal teams benefited from reduced administrative burden and improved reporting capabilities.
Cost Savings:
The client estimated that streamlining processes and reducing errors could save over $500,000 annually in operational costs and prevent overpayments.
Conclusion
The Royalty Management System project showcases Selectiva’s ability to leverage the Salesforce platform and complementary technologies to solve complex business challenges. By deeply understanding the client’s unique requirements in the intellectual property space,
Selectiva delivered a solution that automated royalty management and provided strategic advantages in financial oversight and relationship management with licensors and licensees.
The success of this project underscores the importance of choosing the right technology partner—one that combines domain expertise with technical proficiency to create truly transformative solutions. The new RMS became a cornerstone of the client’s digital transformation journey, turning a once cumbersome process into a streamlined, data-driven operation.
