To be perfectly clear, we're not anti-pricing software. We believe pricing software can be immensely valuable and have a tremendous ROI when implemented correctly in the right situations. Many factors will determine if pricing software is appropriate for your needs, but three basic questions should be answered up front to determine if software is a complete non-starter.
How stable are my ERP systems?
Since pricing software generally either receives data from or directly interfaces with your existing ERP systems it's best to review your future plans for existing ERP systems before making plans for software add-ons. If you're planning on moving from JDE to SAP or vice versa two years from now it probably does not make sense to invest time and money on a software implementation that may be turned off and have to be rebuilt or reconfigured just a few months or a year later.
How good is my transactional data?
Even great software can't cure all of your data problems. If business users do not trust the current COGS, freight, or pricing data in your systems today, they aren't going to trust it in the pricing software either. Automating analyses with bad data is a road to nowhere benefits-wise. It's best to first develop data users trust before building a sophisticated tool. If you are unable to get your data under control and users constantly require manual adjustments to data, pricing software is generally not the answer to your problems.
Who are my targeted users for the software?
Different software modules are built with different user groups in mind. Analytics software can be used by anyone from sales to finance to marketing, while many executional modules are based around account managers entering deals into the system for pricing approvals. Many companies do not want their account managers spending time on their computers, they want them spending every possible second with clients. If you don't want account managers using software an execution module probably is not not a good idea for you.
These three are just a few of the questions companies need to answer before making a pricing software decision. For help with any additional questions you have feel free to contact us anytime.
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