B2B NewsPet industry newsUsing Special Pricing Agreements to Increase Your Profit Margins

Using Special Pricing Agreements to Increase Your Profit Margins

-

- Advertisment -spot_img


SPAs (Special Pricing Agreements) are a common vendor program in many industry sectors. The program gives a special product discount for verified sales to an ultra-competitive event where in-stock discounts can’t secure the order. Special pricing agreements trace their roots back to the 1970’s but have shown significant growth in the past decade. As B2B e-commerce now counts for an estimated 15% of all orders and grows at 8% per year, special pricing agreements  have grown significantly as price and availability are easily and quickly researched. Special pricing agreements are now used by 77% of all distribution firms in North America; second only to volume rebates which are used by 90% of distributors.

US based research has found that software dedicated to tracking, remittance, and attribution of vendor monies is a significant factor in the sales success with special pricing agreements.

75% of distributors agree that special pricing agreements are slated to grow as more vendors will offer them and, today, there is significant opportunity for distributors who improve their usage of these funds.

Defining special pricing agreement Improvement

Measures of special pricing agreements success are difficult to find. For years, manufacturers and distributors have used vendor monies but too often have not attached sufficient measures to their ROI. We believe that this will end soon. Why? The US survey shows that managing your special pricing agreements better is linked to higher margins. We found a significant difference between top, average, and below average performers in special pricing agreement usage, with said difference being enough to confer competitive advantage.

Top performers earned 6.7% of their cost of goods sold in SPA discounts versus 2.1% for average performers and 6% for below average performers.

The differentials in special pricing agreements, most often, go into the competitive arena where price is a major consideration where the adage “There ain’t any loyalty that 2% off can’t buy. . .” is quite common.Exhibit I shows the differentials in SPA performance in graphic form. From the exhibit, there is a 1.5% difference in below average and average performers and a 4.6% differential in average and top performers in SPAs as a percent of cost of goods sold.

SPA performance differentials

In the bracketed differential, there is a 6.1% difference in cost of goods sold between top and below average special pricing agreement performance. To put this in perspective, if $10M USD in competitive material was up for bid, the top performer would have a $460,000 USD cost advantage over the average performer and a $610,000 material cost advantage over the below average performer. The upshot is that maximizing special pricing agreement usage, in competitive bid situations, is important and likely to grow as e-commerce gives the buyer numerous real time sources for price and availability.

Generating and maximizing special pricing agreements

Our research finds substantial differences in distributors’ generation and maximizing special pricing agreements. Generating special pricing agreements reflects the ability of the distribution firm to work with vendors on securing needed special pricing agreements for competitive events; it is an inter-channel action between vendor and distributor. Maximizing special pricing agreements is an intra-distributor event between different functions. Generating and maximizing special pricing agreements depends on visibility, the power of information, and analysis/control. The more visible special pricing agreements are within a distribution firm, the more they are likely to be used.

Distributor executives estimated that approximately 30% of special pricing agreements go unnoticed by both sellers and purchasers. The problem is one of visibility in that there is no central location to understand which special pricing agreements are available. This impacts the ability of purchasing to negotiate SPAs with vendors and sellers to use them in the market. Additionally, if special pricing agreements have a readily available history of usage, purchasers can access the history and use it to leverage the vendor negotiation. However, in many instances, this information is not centrally archived in a relational database which inhibits its usage. Hence the power of information is an important feature to special pricing agreement generation.

Finally, control over special pricing agreements is important.

As special pricing agreements are negotiated, management can analyze the information for trends on marketplace success. This includes type of competitive situation, size of the order, segment of customers, competitors, and a host of other market variables that, if analyzed, can help management control their usage for greater sales success. Improving generation and maximization of special pricing agreements is dependent on one primary variable, the use of specialized software for their tracking, remittance, and management. We asked distributors about the differences in philosophy, managerial attention, and funds tracking/remittance practices for special pricing agreements. We found no difference in special pricing agreement performance for distributors who said they “measured and managed funds carefully” versus those who “. . .have no overall strategy for their use.” However, we found a significant difference in special pricing agreement performance, as a percent of cost of goods sold, for firms based on their tracking/remittance systems. We found that distributors who used primarily spreadsheets, or a combination of spreadsheets, ERP system, and vendor portals, averaged special pricing agreements of 4% of cost of goods sold.

Distributors who used specialized tracking software averaged special pricing agreements at 7% COGs or nearly double other tracking/remittance systems

Tracking/remittance software is relatively new to North American Distribution. Our research finds that only 20% of distributors have the software and there is significant variation in program features and benefits. However, the use of the software gives a significant performance advantage in SPAs. Our review of tracking/remittance software is not part of our research, however, specialized bolt-on software in distribution is growing and has distinct advantages including:

1) Centralize processes for quality, through-put, and improved financial performance

2) Create a repository of transactions for analysis and managerial action

3) Increase visibility across the supply chain for better negotiation and internal usage of available funds.

Our work in special pricing agreements is ongoing, however, this research points to the overwhelming fact that usage of specialized software in special pricing allowances gives the firm a sizable competitive advantage.



Source link

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest news

话说杨浦丨“赛艇女孩”,你在哪里?

上海海洋大学的历史可上溯至1912年成立的江苏省立水产学校。2006年,位于杨浦区军工路的上海海洋大学前身——上海水产大学,积极响应上海市教委号召,成功组织了“阳光体育大联赛”。宣传、动员过程中,学校 Source link

「贵州日报·教育」聚势赋能 提质扩容——贵州财经大..

2023年11月21日贵州日报16版(点击图片,阅读全文)全省高等教育高质量发展大会对当前和今后一个时期全省高等教育工作作出部署,描绘了新时代贵州高等教育发展的新蓝图,干货满满、令人鼓舞、催人奋进。风 Source link

台湾教育界人士批评民进党当局“去古文化”乱象

来源:新华社新华社台北11月6日电(记者刘斐石龙洪)台湾“历史教育新三自运动协会”6日在台北举行记者会,批评民进党当局为达成不可能实现的“去中国化”政治目的,进行不负责任的“去古文化”教育,牺牲学子们 Source link

走出大山看世界!云南怒江崇仁完小师生团完成沪上游学..

8月13至16日,受中交疏浚邀约,来自云南怒江崇仁完小的19名师生代表来到上海,参加为期四天的“中交助梦?看世界”暑期访沪交流活动。崇仁完小坐落于海拔2000多米的横断山区。该校师生总共327人,学校 Source link
- Advertisement -spot_imgspot_img

Bronchitis in Dogs: Signs, Causes, & Treatment (Vet Answer)

The information is current and up-to-date in accordance with the latest veterinarian research. Learn more » In dogs,...

Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment – Dogster

Astra, the 6-year-old Cocker Spaniel exhibited several vague clinical signs like not eating every few days and occasional...

Must read

Lady Gaga and Cardi B Meet at the Grammys

What was expected of her was the same thing...

Jennifer Aniston’s Ex Justin Theroux Wishes Her Happy Birthday on Instagram

What was expected of her was the same thing...
- Advertisement -spot_imgspot_img

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you