EPP is proud to announce Syncron as a New Structural Partner

BRUSSELS & DÜSSELDORF, September 23, 2013

The European Pricing Platform (EPP) is pleased to announce that they have added Syncron, a global supply chain management and price optimisation software company for manufacturing and distribution industries, as a new Technology Expert Partner, content provider, exhibitor and sponsor of upcoming EPP events throughout Europe. Syncron will offer EPP participants the opportunity to discover more about value-centric pricing strategies, and how they can prevent revenue leakage and optimise profitability.

Many European organisations have only just begun to realise how significant the effect of pricing on shareholder value creation really is. Until now, the focus was mainly on innovation, sales and marketing – and justly so. But in today’s economic environment, value capturing (effective pricing) is increasingly being discussed at the boardroom table as one of the main shareholder value drivers. According to Pol Vanaerde, President European Pricing Platform, “Deploying the right pricing strategy is essential to help drive business growth and improving profitability. Our aim is to support and promote pricing excellence so that it takes its rightful place as a strategic enabler for businesses. We are very pleased to welcome Syncron to our partner community. It is great to know that they share the same ambition to bring pricing maturity in Europe to a higher level. We will work close together to help organisations discover how to achieve sustainable value capturing which results in full profit optimisation.“

“Applying the right price is one of the most effective methods for manufacturing and distribution companies to optimise revenue and profitability” said Ulrika Olsson, Head of Marketing at Syncron. “Partnering with EPP puts us in a position to help educate and raise awareness of the latest pricing processes and strategies, and to better support those organisations that are looking proactively address their existing pricing practices”

As start of the collaboration, Pol Vanaerde will speak on The Economic Value Calculator at Syncron’s upcoming Pricing Seminar. The event, scheduled for October 17th, will present the very latest thinking and best practices on Unlocking the Secrets behind Value Based Pricing. Registration is free, so we hope to welcome and meet you all on October 17th 2013 at the Ardencote Manor Hotel Country Club & Spa in Warwick (close to Birmingham Airport) ! Please contact Lisa Corbett on lisa.corbett@syncron.com for more information.

About Syncron

Syncron is a global software company focused on supporting corporations in the manufacturing and distribution industries with leading edge, process centric applications to make significant improvements to customer experience and financial performance. Syncron’s ERP-independent software solutions for global inventory management, global order management, global price management and master data management are implemented faster and at lower cost than other solutions. Syncron clients are market-leading companies within the industries of aerospace and defense, automotive, consumer and industrial products, industrial equipment, and mining and construction equipment. Syncron has offices around the world. www.syncron.com 

About European Pricing Platform

The European Pricing Platform is a not-for-profit knowledge sharing platform focused on supporting business management, pricing and profit optimisation professionals and CxO-level executives with a main focus on Europe across a variety of industries. Our target is to keep the pricing and profit optimisation know-how of EPP participants up to date. Our mission is to be the number one on- and offline pricing resource for business decision makers. Interactive collecting, developing and sharing of pricing and profit optimisation knowledge are the key elements to the success of our platform. Enhance your pricing and profit optimisation know-how and be successful in it by joining this dynamic and resourceful pricing platform. www.pricingplatform.eu 

SOURCE: European Pricing Platform and Syncron

European Pricing Platform

Britt Dejager, +32/(0)473.717.669

britt.dejager@pricingplatform.eu

OR 

Syncron EU

Dan Aston, +44 (0)7917 764 623

daniel.aston@syncron.com 

How to drive a successful pricing initiative in the MedTech industry (part 3)

Practitioner Point of View:  5 things to do, to ensure success in your global pricing initiative, in just 100 days!

Marc Konieczny started his sales and marketing career in medical supply industry after his PhD (Natural Sciences) in 2000. Until 2003, he was product manager at Becton Dickinson (BD), Diagnostic Systems for Eastern Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMA). Until 2008 he took over increasing responsibilities in Marketing and Sales in EMA and Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH), respectively. In February 2008, he decided to leave BD for B.Braun Melsungen for development challenges in Marketing and Sales for Hospital Care (HC) division. Until 06/2013 he was Global Pricing Manager within HC Global Marketing and Sales. Today, he is leading the sales management team for Abbott Medical Optics (AMO) focussing on Cataract Business in Germany.



Marc has a number of successful pricing initiatives under his belt and will share his 5 rules to ensure success with the 32 attendees of tomorrow's Pricing Workshop in Düsseldorf (organised by EPP and the DACH Chapter Board).  You can read his 1st, 2nd and 3rd rules on the European Pricing Blog.  This blog post highlights the 4th and 5th rule to apply in order to see a positive effect in your profit after only 100 days!

RULE No. 4: Focus, focus, focus is the basis for success

Make sure that all people know which goals and projects are essential for the success of the company and which are "nice to have". Too many parallel projects and multi-tasking are often cited as a reason for inefficiency and for failure of change projects which were initially announced and received very "euphorically".

Start by focussing on a pilot project that will be accepted as a good showcase for others later on. Choosing a pilot country/division to initiate a project will not only gather experience in the respective country/division but also lead to a customised company-specific approach that can be used as a template for the later roll-out.  The right decision on the pilot country/division is crucial for further success.  The following checklist might help:

1. Does the country/division contribute significantly to the revenue share?
2. Is there a real need identified for a pricing improving initiative?
3. Does the management of the country/division realise that there is a need to work on the pricing?
4. Are there sufficient resources and capabilities available?
5. Is the management fully supporting this approach and will they actively promote the successful completion of the project in the future?

The pilot division's success significantly depends on the engagement of the local/divisional management in allocating the resources, providing the necessary leadership to the team and convincing the organization of the value of this project even though there is a high likelihood of extra-work and high pressure to succeed. For the management itself, it might be not only a lever to increase performance and profitability but also a great opportunity to position the pilot division's organisation as a model for the entire organisation.

Once the project is initiated, start with an analysis phase to identify the market/division-specific profit waterfall leakages.  This will help you to decide where to focus and shed light on where new concepts, e.g. a new pricing system, might be needed. Make sure that you always keep to the 80:20-rule : do not invest to much resources in "academic" analysis and details - only enough to show the people in a convincing and pragmatic way how to go forward successfully.

RULE No. 5: Create the mindset and momentum for the necessary change by allowing self-responsibility and freedom of action and establish the new measures in the daily routine

Take the time to understand the organisation and its strengths and weaknesses from the perspective of the employees, customers and partners. Name issues often, and openly, and create a real "sense of urgency" for the change.

Encourage the people to create own ideas, start own initiatives and to take personal risk. Don't be afraid to reform structures on the short-term if they prove to hinder the implementation of the strategy.  Show that you will do what is necessary to make the project a success.

Make sure that the project is not tailored to a single person or a small group of people, but create structures that support the change to be implemented on a broad basis.  Important is to win support in the organisation. A good way to achieve this is by bringing certain employees forward (into the spotlight) so that they serve as a "living example" for the new routine.

Dr. Marc Konieczny is a speaker at the 2nd Annual DACH Chapter Workshop to be held in Düsseldorf on Thursday, 19 September.  The language of this workshop is German.  

Cross-Industrial Pricing Workshop - Düsseldorf

Will you be joining us at The Renaissance Düsseldorf Hotel on 19 September 2013?  

Based on last year’s success, the EPP and DACH Chapter Board members have joined forces again this year to organise a new Cross-Industrial Pricing Workshop, this time in Düsseldorf! They say that the best ideas arrive from interdisciplinary intersections. Join us for this interactive discussion, in German, between peers from different industries in the DACH region and discover what can we learn from each other.

WHY JOIN?

Share experiences with a select group of 20-30 pricing professionals amongst others from companies such as Flowserve, Abbott Medical Optics, DER Touristik, Philips Healthcare, TUI Travel, Olympus Biotech, Nokia Siemens Networks, Swarovski, and discuss their approaches to common pricing issues.  This is the ideal opportunity to network with fellow pricers, and to build and strengthen the German-speaking pricing community.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Mr. René Herzog
Bereichsleiter Kapazitäts- und Ertragsmanagement, DER Touristik GmbH

René has more than 11 years of experience in the Travel and Tourism industry, amongst others at TLU Airline, TUIfly, Hapag-Lloyd Express, TUI Deutschland and since the last 3 years as VP Capacity and Revenue Management at DER Touristik in Köln. His broad experience in this highly competitive industry is complimented by 3 valuable years at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants from 2007 until 2010.

Topic: Pricing in one of the most competitive industries in the world : Travel and Tourism

René Herzog will share the pricing challenges and the plans that he has devised together with his team at DER Touristik. He will reflect on what has worked an what hasn't.

---

Dr. Marc Konieczny

Manager Cataract Sales, Abbott Medical Optics

Marc Konieczny has 13+ years of experience in Health Care, microbiology and biochemistry by background. He started his sales and marketing career in medical supply industry after his PhD (Natural Sciences) in 2000. Until 2003, he was product manager at Becton Dickinson (BD), Diagnostic Systems for Eastern Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMA). Until 2008 he took over increasing responsibilities in Marketing and Sales in EMA and Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH), respectively. In February 2008, he decided to leave BD for B.Braun Melsungen for development challenges in Marketing and Sales for Hospital Care (HC) division. Until 06/2013 he was acting as a Global Pricing Manager within HC Global Marketing and Sales working out of the B.Braun headquarter in Melsungen. Today, he is leading a management team for Abbott Medical Optics (AMO) focussing on Cataract Business in Germany.

Topic: How to drive a successful pricing initiative in the MedTech industry

Cuts in healthcare budgets, low-price competitors and increasing power of purchasing organizations increased the pressure of many medical device suppliers on their prices and margins. After having gone through a number of cost reduction measures, many companies become aware that pricing is a by far more effective lever for sustainable profitable growth.  Marc will discuss the five important rules that should be considered when leading a corporate and/or local pricing initiative(s) and working towards the desired increase in profit.

---

Dr. Sandra Rothenberger
Chair of Strategic Marketing, Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management

Dr. Sandra Rothenberger, specialised in pricing, consumer behaviour and strategic management, has recently become the new Chair of Strategic Marketing at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management. She has extensive experience as research scientist on a broad range of pricing related topics, and has several publications in the field.

Topic: Sell value, not price – How to cure commoditized customers!

---

Dr. Kai-Markus Mueller

Author of the book: "NeuroPricing – how customers think about prices", CEO and founder of The Neuromarketing Labs,

Kai has accumulated more than 10 years of experience in neuroscience research. Previously, he worked as a strategy consultant. Dr. Mueller obtained his PhD from the International Max-Planck Research School at the University of Tuebingen. He holds master’s degrees in both psychology as well as Neural and Behavioural Sciences from the International Max-Planck Research School. He conducted his entire dissertation research at a high-tech facility of the US government: The Laboratory of Neuropsychology at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, MD.

His recent book “NeuroPricing – how customers think about prices” has been published in German in fall of 2012. In 2013 the English version is going to be published.

Topic: NeuroPricing®: Setting prices that please the brain
Asking a person what they are willing to pay for a product assumes that this consumer has profound insights into his/her emotional state and future behavior. However, experimental psychology has shown over and over that questionnaires come along with biased results. In the large majority of pricing cases this fact leads to loss of profits or even failure of products in the market. The Neuromarketing Labs are the first research team worldwide that systematically developed an experimental design directly measuring perceived value and willingness-to-pay from EEG brain scan data (EEG = electroencephalogram, a scientific device to measure so-called “brain waves”). In his presentation, neuroscientist Dr. Kai-Markus Mueller will show that scientific EEG brain scans are able to predict consumer behavior in the field above and beyond explicit self-reports thus providing an invaluable tool to measure willingness-to-pay.


Learn which steps you can take to begin leveraging value in your pricing environment and gain insight into the positive impact that strategic pricing can have in your company.

The 2nd EPP DACH Chapter Workshop is made possible with the support of our sponsor, PROS. 

How to drive a successful pricing initiative in the MedTech industry (part 2)

Practitioner Point of View:

Marc Konieczny started his sales and marketing career in medical supply industry after his PhD (Natural Sciences) in 2000. Until 2003, he was product manager at Becton Dickinson (BD), Diagnostic Systems for Eastern Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMA). Until 2008 he took over increasing responsibilities in Marketing and Sales in EMA and Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH), respectively. In February 2008, he decided to leave BD for B.Braun Melsungen for development challenges in Marketing and Sales for Hospital Care (HC) division. Until 06/2013 he was Global Pricing Manager within HC Global Marketing and Sales. Today, he is leading the sales management team for Abbott Medical Optics (AMO) focussing on Cataract Business in Germany.




A couple of weeks ago Marc shared the 1st Rule of the game when planning to initiate and successfully drive a pricing initiative in the MedTech industry.  Today he sheds some light on his 2nd and 3rd rules.

Cuts in healthcare budgets, low-price competitors and increasing power of purchasing organizations increased the pressure of many medical device suppliers on their prices and margins. After having gone through a number of cost reduction measures, many companies become aware that pricing is a by far more effective lever for sustainable profitable growth.

In this series of five blog posts I like to highlight five important rules that should be considered when leading a corporate and/or local pricing initiative(s) and working towards the desired increase in profit.  Read rule number 1 here.

RULE No. 2: BUILD A STRONG COALITION OF LEADERS

• Take the time to get to know the stakeholders, as well as possible, e.g. you need to know what lives in the "heart of the battle". Be aware that mutual trust is the basis for good relationships, openness for change and real engagement. 
• Select only the best people for your project core team. Do not compromise and implement unpopular decisions fast. 
• Establish decentralized structures and delegate responsibility, e.g. one sub-project leader for each area of the price waterfall. 
• Take enough time for your internal network, national and international. Identify and build relationships to all positions and stakeholders that might be important for your success. 
• Top management support is absolutely essential for the project success. They need not only commit the necessary resources but also actively initiate and support the project further on, e.g. when entering new regions or country organizations. Detailing a project plan including concrete and company specific business cases on the basis of a first analysis will help to get them convinced and should be part of their active communication about the impact of pricing on profit and performance later on. Presentations at conferences or internal webcasts might be appropriate settings for this initial communication to the top management.
• Make sure that your sponsor and your boss are always 100% behind you.

 

RULE No. 3: DEVELOP A STRATEGY AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN TOGETHER WITH YOUR TEAM AND COMMUNICATE WITH THEM AGAIN AND AGAIN

• The change process needs a clear direction. Build a custom-fit strategy for the implementation that does not only include targets but also components of behaviour. Integrate employees and key partners in this process and do not create a strategy in an ivory tower. Use different media and take all possible opportunities to communicate the strategy. This helps to ensure that employees identify with the new direction and a helps to avoid a bad implementation experience.
• Communicate important milestones of the project plan for the beginning. Realize short-term successes, communicate and celebrate them. 
• As example, when replacing a volume by a profitable growth strategy let your people work out different scenarios how to go forward, let them understand how they concretely impact their future success and income. Let them work out the argumentation details towards the customers so that the external communication is thought through and supported by all people. Communicate the status of the initiative constantly using established internal communication moments such as meetings and newsletters and collect feedback constantly thorough personal communication with the people. For internal reporting and feedback use established tools such as your CRM system and avoid reinventing the wheel.  There is no need to build up sophisticated new project-dedicated tools, if these exist already. 

Dr. Marc Konieczny is a speaker at the 2nd Annual DACH Chapter Workshop to be held in Düsseldorf on Thursday, 19 September.  The language of this workshop is German.  Register before 6 September t to benefit from the special rate of 195 Euro instead of 290 Euro.