How did SKF evolve from ad hoc to a more sustained view on pricing?

We listened to Christian Jonsson, Operational Pricing Manager with SKF on his experience going through the Certified Pricing Manager course.

Q - How was the situation - on pricing issues - at your company before you joined the Certified Pricing Manager Program? What were the challenges?
     We had an ad-hoc approach to pricing activities. No long-term view on how to develop it in a sustainable way.

Q - What triggered you to join the CPM® programme? 
      When I read the white paper from EPP on a “pricing maturity model” (editor's note www.pricingmaturity.eu),  I felt that this was the type of approach we needed for lasting improvements

Q - How did the CPM® programme help you to develop the pricing maturity in your organisation? 
      The CPM program offers a very structured approach. It shows that for lasting improvements, pricing activities need to be seen as a continuous process with different levels of “maturity”, not as ad-hoc projects.

Q - Give a short description of the project you delivered for the certification project. What was the challenge and what were the concrete results in €.
      I created, based on industry best practice, my own experiences and feedback from internal stakeholders, a process for improved efficiency in reference price list changes. All other things equal, this should give minimum 400 TEURO annually in increased revenues. Additional bottom line improvements should come from reduced price administration.

Q - What was the impact on the profit margin? Will the training result in other concrete projects on pricing?
       Learning about best practices in the CPM programme makes it easier – and faster – to define your own pricing activities and priorities. It enables the creation of an internal continuous process for follow-up, analysis   and improvements.

Q - How do you feel now after completing this programme? What has changed, like in more visibility, more top level support in pricing in your company, better stakeholder relationships, more involvement in innovation, clear KPI’s,… 
      Pricing has definitely come much further up on the corporate agenda. In today´s economic climate it is realized that sustainable pricing performance requires a lot of hard work, it is not a matter of just increasing prices.