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.

How well-informed are your customers' decisions?

Practitioner Point of View : Claude Vanbeveren

Claude Vanbeveren is specialized in Automotive Information Solutions with a solid background in Spare Parts Sales & Marketing, Pricing and Negotiations. He started his career in the Language Technology Industry with a focus on automotive solutions. Subsequently, he joined Mobis Parts Europe (part of the Hyundai/KIA family) where he was one of the founding members of the Sales & Marketing Department.  Mr Vanbeveren helped his Sales & Marketing Director to change Mobis from a Supply Chain driven company to a Customer oriented one. 

He recently joined the Tweddle Group Europe to focus on streamlining OEMs Owner’s and Service Information Supply Chain. Claude has been a speaker on Parts Marketing Symposiums in Seoul, Los Angeles, JeJu Island and numerous European locations. His personal mission is to share his insights in the various aspects of After Sales Marketing and Pricing to ultimately enhance the end customer satisfaction.

The Efficient Markets hypothesis has been around in the Finance world for the longest time. As all of you know, it stipulates that the share price of a company reflects all past (publicly) available information. The dotcom and real estate bubble have clearly shown us that when perception starts to create its own reality, either overestimating the potential or inflating the downfall, something bad is bound to happen.

Fast forward to Pricing... How many times do pricing experts in a headquarters somewhere in Europe looking at competitive data, Margins and Recommended Retail Prices assume that the customer they want to reach takes a well-informed decision based on publicly available data? If you answer that question honestly, you might turn your Big Data into meaningful data and let the customer know what you did. After all, small is beautiful.

The EPP Aftermarket Forum

Hear Claude speak at the EPP Aftermarket Forum on 19+20 June in Frankfurt.  Share your experiences and learn from each other - that's what our pricing and profit optimisation excellence forums are all about !

Claude's topic : Getting from strategy to execution: Preparing for big data success

Yes, Big Data is the answer, but don't lose track of the question. People get so overwhelmed by what Pricing Software can offer them that they sometimes jump the gun. Pricing Software can automate and sustain many pricing related processes, BUT there are several challenges to overcome before you can make your Big Data work for you.

• Pricing Strategy is a choice already half-made;
• The pricing Eco System;
• Going down the Pricing Highway;
• Engage versus Enforce;
• Beware of the Ripple Effect;
• Exchange change for commitment.   

The EPP Aftermarket Forum is organised in partnership with PROS, and with the support of Simon-Kucher & Partners, Deloitte and Ebelhofer Strategy and Management Consultants.  

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