Smarter pricing, improved margins

Expert Point of view : 

Pierfrancesco Manenti leads the IDC Manufacturing Insights research practice in EMEA and is the global lead for the Manufacturing Operations Technology Strategies advisory service. In his role, Mr Manenti provides insights, consulting and advisory support to leading manufacturers and specialty IT vendors into the key challenges and trends affecting manufacturing industries, including Automotive, Machinery, Wearing Apparel/Fashion, CPG, and High-Tech – with a particular attention to the EMEA region. Among the process domain areas, Mr. Manenti specializes in Manufacturing Operations, Supply Chains, and Product Life-Cycle strategies.

At the EPP Aftermarket Forum, Pier will provide us with a broad sketch of the European situation, highlighting main challenges per industry that makes up the Aftermarket and then zoom in on pricing and profitability management.

As quoted recently in the Ernst & Young publication (original here) :

"Pricing physical products is often complex, involving more than simply the cost of production – yet it remains a guessing game in many cases, says analyst Pierfrancesco Manenti at IDC Manufacturing Insights.
For manufacturers, visibility of the elements needed to price products optimally has been relatively blurry, but emerging tools and specialists can change that.

For the average manufacturing enterprise, pricing is typically a very operational, internally focused task. The managers who do it tend to be relatively junior and they generally create prices associated with the cost of production.

The imperatives for taking a more sophisticated approach to pricing are growing, however, thanks to keener competition and tougher economic times. According to Manenti, globalization and the rise of more informed end customers are heaping further pressure on companies to develop their pricing process.

Manufacturers have become more internationalized, so finding the right price in different countries is extremely important. Consumers are also increasingly using social and mobility apps to get information about products before buying. This is impacting the whole supply chain. The market is moving faster, so companies need to take decisions, in respect to prices, faster.”

Join the discussion on 19 and 20 June, 2013 in Frankfurt!  Register here.