FAQ
Common
questions.
- 01
What does Unconventional do?
Senior practitioner advisory for enterprise finance and channel operations leaders dealing with rebate and incentive infrastructure — typically Vistex, SAP S/4 Settlement Management, or custom platforms that have become hard to operate. 20+ years inside these systems. Diagnose what's broken, design what comes next, deliver via consulting or transition to a modern platform when the timing's right.
- 02
What does a strategic conversation cost?
Nothing. It's a 30-minute founder-direct call — no pitch, no demo, no discovery interrogation. The goal is to find out whether the pattern I keep seeing in similar shops matches your reality, and whether a deeper engagement would actually help.
- 03
What does a diagnostic engagement cost?
Pricing is set conversation-by-conversation against the specific scope, the company's size, the program complexity, and the timeline. I don't publish a price-card because the engagements vary too much for a number to be honest — but I'll quote inside a strategic conversation if the fit makes sense.
- 04
What does a diagnostic actually produce?
Weeks 1–2: a map of every active program, its commercial intent, and the gap between intent and system encoding. Weeks 3–4: identification of the load-bearing failures vs the cosmetic ones. Weeks 5–6: architected alternatives (stay-in-place vs modular replacement vs full platform transition) with honest trade-offs and numbers. Weeks 7+: hands-on delivery in whichever direction the architecture points. Final deliverable is whatever shape makes the engagement decision actionable — sometimes a 30-page report, sometimes a working configuration, sometimes a vendor-evaluation framework.
- 05
What platforms are you deepest on?
Vistex (all flavors), SAP S/4HANA Settlement Management, the legacy SAP SD Rebate stack (transactions VBOF, MEB1, condition technique broadly), Model N Channel Data Management, and custom builds layered over any of the above. Cross-border GL determination, multi-tier channel hierarchies, hybrid SPIF + volume rebate programs, stair-step retroactive structures, and ship-and-debit auditing are common engagement shapes.
- 06
Who is this for?
Enterprise companies, typically $500M–$10B in revenue, with channel rebate volumes that justify dedicated attention. Industries I know deepest: semiconductor and high-tech hardware, enterprise software and recurring-revenue businesses, industrial manufacturing with distributor channels. Most engagements come from VP / Director / Manager level in finance, channel operations, or sales operations.
- 07
Are you affiliated with Vistex, Model N, SAP, or any vendor in this space?
No vendor revenue, no implementation-partner relationships, no referral fees. Senior practitioner perspective only — recommendations based on fit, not placement economics.
- 08
Tell me about Aurgus.
Aurgus is next-generation incentive infrastructure I'm developing with select enterprise design partners. It's not ready for general demonstration; if it becomes relevant to your situation during an engagement, we'll have that as a separate conversation later. The advisory work today stands on its own — Aurgus is not a sales pretense for it. See aurgus.com for the basics.
- 09
Where are you based, and what regions do you serve?
Available for remote engagements anywhere in the United States and Canada. On-site availability where the engagement warrants — typically the diagnostic kick-off and the architecture walk-through.
Start
Specific situation? Three entry points.
If you have a proposal in hand — Tool 1 applies the methodology directly. If you're earlier in the decision — the free AI-augmented diagnostic surfaces which Tool fits. If you want ongoing access — Founding Member tier.