Harnessing Big Data for the Service Parts Industry

Even in a tough economy, organisations still face the same challenge each year: hitting bigger quotas.

For service parts manufacturers and distributors dealing with multiple channels, thousands of customers and millions of products, achieving sales growth can be like finding that proverbial needle in the haystack.

Then there are additional forces to contend with, such as fending off aggressive competitors, negotiating with sophisticated procurement departments, managing rebates and discounts, and keeping up with raw material cost changes.

This complexity keeps company leaders up at night, wondering where next year’s sales growth is going to come from. Many high-performing service parts organisations are realising that the answers aren’t found with simple rule-of-thumb pricing or gut instinct.
The answers lie in effectively using the swathes of big data that these companies already have.

Cutting Through Complexity

Big data solutions unlock the insights buried within operational and transactional data so that companies can improve win rates, leave less money on the table and create more effective selling capacity.
Service parts companies typically possess plenty of data from multiple sources that can be used to see where and why sales prices are achieved and deals won:

• Products- cost, monthly volumes, product hierarchy, lifecycle stage
• Customers- geography, size, industry
• Transactions, invoices and rebates- date, price, cost, discount, salesperson, quantity, unit of measure
• Social Selling- influential decision-makers, referrals, partners, associations

By mining this torrent of digital data with automated sales effectiveness solutions, companies are able to understand their customers’ buying patterns based on real-time data science and analytics.

Syncing Pricing With Sales

This intelligence can be passed in real time to sales teams where they can access critical information and use it as part of their work with customers.
Areas where this information can be called upon include active sales leads, pending work items, email, alerts, price approvals, work documents and the customer relationship management pipeline;all delivered in familiar user interfaces that have been tailored to specific business roles.

For example, to coach their teams and drive performance, sales executives can access charts to reign in over-discounting and identify underperforming accounts. They can quickly drill down into transaction data by customer, product or sales region to identify hidden sales opportunities ranked by the greatest potential impact on their business strategies.

Meanwhile, salespeople can initiate price and quote requests, and receive scientifically generated price recommendations with suggested cross-sell and up-sell recommendations based on what similar customers are buying.

What’s more, since the process can be automated, they no longer have to juggle multiple spreadsheets or worry whether they have the most updated prices.

One of the big benefits of using big data is to link different groups within organisations such as pricing and sales. Let’s face it: internal teams often operate in their own silos. For example, consider a pricing manager who sets a strategy to improve margins by 15 percent on a particular product category, only to have a salesperson use rebates or discounts to unknowingly erase all of the gain.

Driving Results

Many companies want to turn their data into something actionable – whether it’s identifying market opportunities, understanding the true impact of promotions and concessions, or targeting prices, volume and product mix – so  their sales teams can better serve their customers at the point of negotiations.

By leveraging the power of informed pricing, coupled with familiar and easy-to-use tools, sales teams are able to drive improved financial performance and more fully realise their company’s market potential.

By: Sean Duclaux
Service Parts Industry Marketing Manager, PROS.

Consider attending PROS Outperform 2013 The Big Data Event for Sales and  Pricing.

For more information go to: http://www.outperform2013.com 

The Least Understood Pricing Parameter Among Business People!

An uncertain global economy, ever-increasing competition and relentless demands from traditional and new channel partners have placed more pressure on pricing well. Fortunately, changes in the law of pricing—particularly in the United States and Canada—have resulted a great deal of freedom that effectively narrows or eliminates formerly convenient legal rules of thumb.



Eugene F. Zelek, Jr.Partner and Co-Chair,
Antitrust & Trade Regulation Group,
Freeborn & Peters LLP

"Legal issues are probably the least understood pricing parameter among business people," but often significantly affect pricing strategy and its implementation. Indeed, lingering misperceptions may block the use of powerful tools that help achieve improved pricing performance.

During the next PPS Spring Pricing Conference in San Francisco you will have a great opportunity to learn how the considerable flexibility in the law and the cutting-edge legal tools that go with it can be applied to achieve pricing excellence in three key areas of growing current interest: (1) embracing value pricing to maximize return, (2) combating resale price erosion over the Internet or elsewhere and (3) engaging in effective price signaling to avoid lowest-common-denominator pricing,

The following topics, among others, will be addressed:

• Reaping the Rewards of Value Management
• Paying for Value: Account-Specific and Channel-Specific Pricing
• Addressing Internet Price Problems
• Lawfully Setting and Enforcing Resale Prices
• Controlling Distribution: Effective Non-Price Restrictions
• Price Signaling: Using Controlled Transparency

Learn how to take the legal fear out of being assertive; Why the law is not a roadblock to smart pricing;  The relevant standards, what they really mean and their implications for pricers; And, practical approaches that can be readily implemented.

 

Eugene F. Zelek, Jr. focuses on marketing-related law, applying extensive counseling, transactional, and litigation expertise on behalf of leading consumer and industrial businesses and consulting firms throughout the world. His areas of emphasis include antitrust, pricing, and distribution, as well as branding, licensing, entertainment, strategic alliances, supply relationships, complex contracts, advertising, and new product development.

Mr. Zelek joined Freeborn & Peters LLP after practicing marketing law at a large international law firm and The Quaker Oats Company, then becoming a Quaker Product Manager with shared responsibility for Quaker’s Cap’n Crunch cereal and Chewy granola bars. He is a partner in the firm’s Business Law Services and Litigation Practice Groups and co-chairs the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Practice Group.

After receiving an undergraduate degree in journalism with high honors from the University of Illinois, Mr. Zelek graduated cum laude from the Northwestern University School of Law and, as a marketing major, with Distinction from the Kellogg School of Management. While at Northwestern, he was an Executive Editor of its law review and a Distinguished Scholar. Subsequently, Mr. Zelek has served as a member of the Kellogg marketing faculty, teaching “The Legal Aspects of Marketing Strategy” and executive programs on pricing and channel management.

Do you have a pricing problem?

Guest post by Stephan Liozu

For the past few months, and since leaving the corporate world, I have had the privilege to work with a few companies as a consultant, as a speaker or as a trainer. Many companies called me initially to discuss their “pricing problems”. It seemed that the focus had switched to pricing when in fact they had not done a proper diagnostic of their internal gaps. The reality of their situation was that they did have a pricing problem. Because pricing excellence is a journey and not a destination, every organization might be faced with pricing problems of different nature and different intensity.

But the reality also was that, for these companies, the pricing problems were a symptom of a greater internal problem. So trying to resolve their pricing problems might yield some positive short term developments but might not solve their internal structural issues.

In the figure above, I list of few of these structural business problems. I will only focus on three critical ones:

1. Segmentation: Perhaps the most common marketing problem is a total lack of segmentation based on user needs. Without segmentation, these firms cannot separate various types of buyers and they try to be everything for everyone. The end results of this problem is customers’ confusion with pricing, severe pricing overlap across segments, and profit leakages when customers get things they do not value and are not willing to pay for. Segmentation is one of first steps of the value-based pricing methodology. It is also the fundamental step of a sound marketing strategy.
2. Business model: Another significant structural problem leading to pricing erosion is the lack of a sound and differentiated business model. I was recently in a customer’s executive suite meeting where the pricing discussion led to some serious exchanges on the organization’s business model. Let me be clear. If the business model is broken, there is a high chance that the pricing models are also broken. Therefore before working on their pricing models, business leaders should figure out what their business model is, how strong it is and what is needed to reinforce it. The same could be said about a corporate strategy that is not obsolete, internally oriented and not delivering value to customers. There is no pricing program or action that will solve this situation.
3. Strategic alignment: This structural problem occurs when teams work in silos with different goal systems, different compensation structures, and different perceptions of what the business model is. This lack of alignment generally leads to internal dysfunctionalities. The sales force for example will not deploy the marketing programs while cost accountants will focus on producing report that no one reads. Strategic alignment starts at the top. If pricing and value are priories are the top, everything cascades down the organization.

I could equally have focused on the lack of innovation, the lack of differentiation, and the lack of attention to customer value. In order for pricing programs and strategies to be successful, they have to be aligned with a sound business model and a strong corporate strategy which aim at creating and delivering customer value. Then pricing can become an effective weapon to capture that value. When the business model and the corporate strategy are broken, pricing cannot do miracles and be considered a silver bullet to save the day. So I start customer engagements by having that discussion with the top executives. Generally, it leads to excellent dialogs on business model innovation and value proposition.

Be bold. Join the pricing revolution! 

Stephan Liozu (www.stephanliozu.com) is the Founder of Value Innoruption Advisors and specializes in disruptive approaches in innovation, pricing and value management. He earned his PhD in Management from Case Western Reserve University and can be reached at sliozu@case.edu.

Pricing: Transforming Organizations and Fostering Change - By Kevin Mitchell

Rolling into 2013, as is often the case, we find ourselves thinking about important changes that have occurred throughout the year. Reflecting on the macro can widen our perspective, and as we reflect on the year we tend to reassess our personal and professional roles and roadmaps.

We recently featured the macro findings of one of our experts, the newly minted Ph.D. Stephan Liozu. Congratulations to Stephan for staying on the road to academic achievement and in doing so, expanding formal research into the role of pricers within the business organization. We all benefit when what we do is delineated, codified and quantified…

Stephan’s recent study titled “Survey on Organizational Change Capacity in Pricing” was compiled with assistance of over one thousand Pricing Society members. It reveals what many of us have witnessed but not always measured; that true pricing excellence transforms organizations.

Interestingly, the survey found that a vast majority of pricing professionals already have attended programs relating to change management. In fact, 73 percent of respondents indicated that they had already attended a dedicated formal program relating to change management at the corporate or university level.

For example, moving from a cost-basis to a value-basis is a huge shift in the DNA of the corporate structure. When total organization mobilization occurs, pricers will find the entire curriculum of their job changes with it. Pricers have to be ready to present to the entire company or C-suite, as well as collaborate more globally and persuasively on key concepts.
This engagement, while sometimes sink or swim, forces pricers to be included as leaders and change agents. When the unit of measurement is an entire organization, properly empowered pricers will deliver change by working in teams of skilled pros on revenue management, data analytics, business analysts and, yes, pricing.

Additional and counterintuitive…

It is surprising to note that the dimension of “innovation culture” was ranked by pricers in only seventh place in the “8 Dimensions of Organization Change Capacity” examined in the survey. This could indicate that change can still happen without necessarily having an innovative culture. With capable champions leading the charge, organizations can adapt and change with or without innovation leaders.

In the case of the change-educated pricing professional, this indicates that while pricing excellence doesn’t always have to include wide reaching corporate change, overall change theory is well understood and valued by a majority of pricing pros. When large-scale change is implemented, educated pricers can share the responsibility directly with company leadership to set the stage for successful implementation.

Overall, the executive summary of the report is a must-read with many interesting nuances and findings. And as we move into 2013, it gives us food for thought that can inspire us to take that high road, showing that pricers can in fact be change agents.

Good to reflect on the macro while focusing on the micro.

Kevin Mitchell
President
Professional Pricing Society

Official Program Release - PPS Spring Pricing Conference San Francisco - 2013

REGISTRATION IS OPEN!

It is our honor to officially release the program for the 24th Annual Spring Pricing Workshops & Conference to be held in San Francisco, CA from April 30th to May 3rd, 2013.





The 4-day conference program includes:

Two 2-Day Workshops
Twelve 1-Day Workshops
Post-Workshop Reception
Six Keynote Speakers
Conference Reception
Three Breakout Tracks with
Eighteen Different Sessions

 

PRICING Strategies for Today's World is happening in San Francisco

 Join us!

Amsterdam Conference Recap - Day 3

Thursday, December 6th, Day Three, Keynotes & Breakout Tracks

Our keynote speakers were the perfect way start the last of out three pricing-filled days in Amsterdam.  Our first keynote, by Dr. Georg Tacke, CEO of Simon-Kucker & Partners, shared his recommendations for future pricing strategies and identified the most important challenges in the coming years.

Dr. Tacke highlighted the facts resulting from the 2012 Global Pricing Study conducted by Simon-Kucher &Partners in cooperation with PPS. He stated “Those Companies that have a professional pricing organization do much, much better than those who don’t” This fact-based statement brings great expectations for all of us involved in pricing. There’s a lot of work to do, lots of room for improvement and the need for professional pricers continues to increase.

We also heard from Laura Preslan, general manager of strategic practices for Microsoft, who allowed us to learn from her painful mistakes by sharing her strategies that worked, and those that did not.

Dr. Frederic Jallat from ESCP Europe shared with us compelling study results that explain why online price dispersion and price instability not only persist but have even increased over time.

Miguel Serrano, Director Global Pricing Strategy for Medtronic, Inc., told everyone in the room to become a pricing evangelist, to move, flight and talk to stakeholders in every country where your company has presence at. He also told the crowd how to achieve a long-lasting cultural change [on pricing] within the organization, which guarantees both the sustainability, as well as the returns on investment from creating a Price Management / Value Selling culture and practice.

After refueling energies the afternoon was packed with 12 breakout track options, lots of activity, learning and networking among the best in pricing in Europe and the World!

We shared some fun and laughs with all our exhibiting sponsors while they handed out fun and valuable prizes to the lucky winners, many walked out with iPad Minis, 3D Cameras, Vintage Champagne, and several other great prices.

We thank all our speakers for sharing such valuable pricing strategy knowledge.

Amsterdam Conference Recap - Day 2

Wednesday, 5th December 2012,
Day Two, Pricing Workshops and 4th Annual Global Pricing for Executives Summit

Nothing makes us happier than seeing hundreds of international pricing practitioners and executives gather together and share industry knowledge and lessons learned. Our Pricing for Executives Summit was a big hit, and participants walked away with practical, easy-to-use tips to improve their pricing strategies, like:

·         How to eliminate the discounting habit in sales people

·         Why pricing is the great opportunity of the recession

·         How to gather information needed to accurately price products

Participants also shared with us that the Summit’s format makes it very dynamic and engaging with 5 different speakers and closing with a presenter’s panel where their questions were addressed with tailored answers to their specific industries.

Stephen Martin led an enlightening workshop about Channel Pricing where he addressed the methodologies, tools and key issues about this complex and ever evolving field.

Paul Hunt and Fernando Ventureira had a massive workshop titled “Building a High Impact Pricing Strategy” they also added the effects of globalization, established markets vs. emerging economies and participants arrived to helpful conclusions about creating solid and enduring pricing strategies that are effective both locally and globally.

James Brown and Hong-May Cheng finished their 2-day workshop on Core Pricing Skills; this is a staple workshop that always draws great attendance in all PPS Conferences. The world of pricing keeps growing, PPS keeps attracting those new to Pricing and Core Pricing Skills is a must for anyone getting started in this fascinating and rewarding field.

The day started with a warm and cozy breakfast at the Sponsors Hall and ended at the same place with a lively networking reception sponsored by PROS, some cocktails and good food are always a good reward after a full-day of pricing training!

Check back with us tomorrow to read about the four great keynotes and twelve breakout tracks we have lined up for the last day of our conference.

Amsterdam Conference Recap – Day 1

Tuesday, 4th December 2012, Day one, first day of Pricing Workshops

We kicked off the first day of our European Pricing Conference with four information-packed workshops led by senior pricing experts from around the world – such a terrific way to celebrate Pricing Society’s 4000th member milestone as well.

We learned 17 different economic, behavioral and psychological influences to customer price perception from Tim Smith, PhD and managing principal of Wiglaf Pricing.

The workshop conducted by Daniel Soto-Zeevaert and Frank Korf was quite revealing about the depths and importance of using good data and the right balance between facts vs. experience to produce effective pricing decisions based on more reliable pricing analytics.

Speakers from Simon-Kucher & Partners were in charge of two workshops today covering the fundamentals of pricing during a 2-day workshop and also sharing their experience about B2B pricing where attendees learned about the impact of pricing decisions in oligopolistic markets and had a chance to deal with price elasticity before experiencing it the hard way in real market scenarios.

The sessions progressed just like the day outside, by mid-morning it was warmer and lively; a great array of food, tea, coffee and sweets kept everyone going strong until the end of the day, it doesn’t get better than that when it comes to learning about pricing! 

We’re looking forward to day two, and especially excited for our 3rd Annual Global Pricing for Executives Summit.

The Pains and Gains in Pricing

Guest Post by Stephan Liozu

A recent survey conducted with 557 CEO’s and Business Owners around the world showed they pay little attention to pricing. When asked how they would allocated 100 points of attention between cost cutting, growth programs and pricing initiatives, pricing received an average of 16 points. A vast majority of the time is spend on fixed and variable cost control (54%). Clearly, and even though they realize the power of strategic pricing, top executives do not pay enough attention to it. So what is behind this lack of interest and attention paid to pricing by top executives? I conjecture that this lack of attention primarily comes from the fact that the pricing function does not excel at identifying, measuring and communicating the business pains of poor or non-existent pricing management. The pricing function also has a hard time measuring the gains generated by pricing activities as well as calculating the ROI of pricing activities.

So here are some tips on how to get started and make progress with this difficult exercise.

1) Show the pains

Pricing professionals should spend more time up front identifying and articulating the pains relating to pricing. That can be done by conducting a pricing capability assessment and performing the fundamental pricing analysis: cost-to-serve, waterfall, pricing cloud, etc. These pains then have to packaged in a dramatic fashion with one or two critical numbers that might turn into a story hook. These numbers have then to be communicated inside the marketing and pricing organization without created tensions and rejection.

2) Articulate the gains

Obviously, once the financial and efficiency related pains are identified, measured and articulated, the next step is to evaluate the potential gains of investing in pricing. This remains a very difficult exercise. A focus on short term gains might be necessary to get some initial attention. Like in the Lean Six Sigma methodologies, quick wins are greatly appreciated by top executives as they have a tendency to focus on short term impact. That gives pricers an opportunity to get a foot in the door, to tell their story and to come back for more "face time" later.

3) Create a story

Once pains and gains are identified and somehow measured, the next step is to create a story. That story has to be adapted to the business context, the dynamics of the external environment, the culture of the organization and the management style of the top leaders. Story starts with a strong hook which in this case is the pains: “every year, our organization loses $1 million in profit due to poor pricing.” The hook grabs attention and creates the opportunity to give your one minute non-technical elevator speech. The message is to convince top executives what you can deliver for them in gains to help reduce the pains. That story should be repeated in business meetings, in pricing discussions, and might be translated into goals and objectives for the pricing team. The story has to be crisp, credible, well articulated and somewhat dramatic.

4) Be ready to compete internally

In an organization, you compete for attention. You also compete for human and financial resources. This competition is internal and consists of functions that are in the mainstream and are able to calculate their ROI very well. That includes R&D, operations, innovation, technology and IT for example. For them, calculating ROI and demonstrating payback is expected and second nature. It is therefore very critical for the pricing function to be able to do the same.

5) Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS principle)

Top executives are busy people who have a very short attention span. Therefore you might have to talk to them like as if they were a two-year old child suffering from ADD. It is recommended to keep the message simple, well articulated, and business like. If you manage to get 30 minutes of top executive attention, do not bore them with long analytical explanations, super technical pricing methods, or 30 pages of PowerPoint. Work on a very simple story line using plain terms. That might sound like: "We are currently leaving $2.5 million on the table by not managing our profit leakages and not fully capturing pricing opportunities. With an investment of $150,000, we could get some quick wins, get our company on the path towards pricing excellence while getting a payback for it under 2 years."

I do find it paradoxical that pricing is a very analytically focused function which is not able to calculate and articulate the ROI of programs and activities. This is why Dr. Hinterhuber and I are launching another short survey to explore more information about how the ROI of pricing might be better calculated and communicated. Please support our initiative by taking this short survey.

Here is the link: http://weatherhead.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_ezWVJUBYxXpYTiZ

An executive summary will be sent to you if you choose to participate. Thanks for the support.

Stephan Liozu (www.stephanliozu.com) is the Founder of Value Innoruption Advisors. He specializes in disruptive approaches in strategy, innovation and value management. He is also a PhD candidate in Management at Case Western Reserve University and can be reached at sliozu@case.edu.

What does it take to start your journey to Advanced Analytics? How can facts and numbers shape your pricing insights?

As many of our personal gurus have stated it the past, math will rock your world, and analytics is the new cool. So cool, actually, that the word is now being used and abused and many seem to lose track of what it actually really means. Our cozy pricing world is not immune to this trend, and we have enough material to spend days discussing about what it really means for us.

For example, did you ever stop to think for a minute that reporting hasn’t fundamentally changed since 1869? And there are no typos in this date; often we just keep applying the same old approach on a new medium, leaving untapped the incredible potential sleeping in our databases. Of course, “Advanced” analytics is something different, because it changes the game fundamentally. Or does it? And what type of skills does it require?

And when you start playing with the data you have available, what are the pitfalls to avoid? And with the plethora of data sources, software solutions, magical formulas and cutting edge processes, where should you begin your journey and what can you do with the data?

We started with a simple question: What information do we regularly use to make decisions, and how can we improve the insights by being a bit creative with analytics? The answer was as simple: we all have sales figures, an internet connection, and from time to time we get to do some market research. And with these three entry points, we want to show that it’s already possible to integrate pricing facts in your organization, and rationalize discussions and the decision making process.

After our extensive research and relentless passion for the subject, we came out with enough material to talk about this for a full-day. We selected real examples to illustrate our discussion; for example we will show you that the iphone did not, actually, make people smoke more. We will discuss why you should always build models, yet never trust them blindly, and realize why price elasticity is such a complicated thing to evaluate precisely. We will see how perceptions shape market reality and that failing to convert preferences to sales is NOT always a pricing issue, and why it’s a good idea to look for perception patterns before jumping to pricing actions. Finally, still with a real case to illustrate it, we will also see how you can run simulation and combine industry acumen with market data to set price strategies.

And we also found the best time and venue to share all of this with you! 

We called it  “Improve Your Pricing by Fact-Based Decision Making” and it will be a full-day live workshop on this subject conducted by Daniel Soto Zeevaert and Frank Korf from Deloitte; the workshop will be part of the PPS Annual European & Global Pricing Conference and Workshops to be held in in Amsterdam on 4-6 December 2012. For more information about this workshop and many other pricing training sessions please visit www.pricingsociety.com/amsterdam2012

Save the Date:
18-19 April 2013 - Singapore

Please mark your calendar and plan to attend the PPS Inaugural Asia-Pacific Pricing Workshops & Conference in Singapore on 18th – 19th April 2013. The event will take place at The Fairmont Singapore – Swissôtel The Stamford Hotel. You can learn the latest pricing strategies and tactics at the largest, most comprehensive pricing event of 2013 in the Asia-Pacific Region! The full program will be announced within towards the end of January 2013. Please stay tuned for updates. PPS delivers the best Pricing Training, Networking and Pricing Resources in the World. This conference will give you the necessary tools to deal with the current challenges and improve your company's profitability. We look forward to seeing you in Singapore! The Professional Pricing Society

Pricing Practitioners Speak! - PPS Conference in Amsterdam 2012

The 8th Annual European & Global Pricing Conference and Workshops
4-6 December 2012 Amsterdam Marriott Hotel

The top 3 reasons why pricers attend our conferences are:

1. Networking among peers
2. World-Class Pricing Training
3. Learning from other Pricing Practitioners

The list of pricing practitioners in this conference is extensive, but we want you to take a look at this impressive Pricing Practitioner's Track:

• Developing Strategy and Pricing by Country & RegionJim Rich, CPP. Director of Pricing, Spandex Group
• It’s Not the Pricing it’s the People: A Case Studywith Alistair Hands, Commercial Yield Director - Mainstream Tour Operations, Thomas Cook UK & Ireland
• Creating a Pricing Department in a Dramatically Changing Environment - with Eloy Sasot, Head of Pricing at HarperCollins Publishers

Revenue Improvement: Right Data = Right Pricing Decisions with Daniel Golik, Sr. Director of Sales Processes & Tools, DHL Express

Join us in Amsterdam and learn from the best in Pricing from around the World. All in one place, all from the World's most trusted resource in Pricing: The Professional Pricing Society.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Call for Speakers San Francisco 2013

Why You Should Seriously Consider Earning Your CPP Designation

Guest Post by Stephan Liozu, CPP

In 2009, I was proud to earn my Certified Pricing Professional (CPP) designation. I was first in ARDEX Americas to reach CPP status. Today, we have over 20 CPPs in the company and half a dozen more professionals studying hard to join the group. Today I am still very proud to be a member of an exclusive group of CPPs who have earned the right to place these three letters at the end of their names. The aim of this short paper is to share my views about the value of the CPP designation and why it is important to have more CPPs directing pricing activities in firms around the world. 

Over the past few months, I have spoken with many pricing professionals who were considering the CPP process and I have strongly encouraged them to attain their designation. I have no hesitation in saying that this is the only designation that can bring your pricing career and your company's pricing success to the next level. 

1) Unique Designation Known Around the World 

CPP is a unique designation that you cannot get anywhere else. The process is terminal, meaning that you have to pass the exam to obtain the certification, to be able to add CPP next to your name and to join the exclusive group of CPP pricing experts. The process is not just a training class. It is a professional process consisting of courses and workshops - including a thorough review of all pricing concepts and methods - which is punctuated by a comprehensive exam. As a business executive, I strongly believe in professional certifications versus regular executive education programs. Whether you pursue a Six Sigma belt or the CPP designation, it shows employers and peers that you are serious about professionalizing and improving your skills. There is no other pricing program in the world that can offer you this designation and this is why I obtained my CPP in 2009. 

2) Strong Knowledge Foundation 

The CPP program covers all necessary pricing curriculum, including the critical aspects of business profitability, organizational dimensions of pricing, and technological aspects of pricing. The overall content is rich in methods, concepts and theories that will equip you to make superior pricing decisions. 

While you can choose CPP online-courses and workshops that match your interests, challenges or learning objectives, the CPP manual is a set curriculum with 14 chapters covering pricing from multiple angles. These 14 chapters have been written by the PPS faculty and have been validated by some of the best practitioners and scholars in the field. The content of these chapters is regularly refreshed to properly integrate new concepts, theories and best practices. 

The CPP process gives you a strong pricing foundation in all important theories, concepts and methods in pricing and value management. You will learn the vocabulary and terms necessary to be fluent in pricing. At ARDEX Americas, we have used the CPP process to bring everyone to the same level of knowledge and vocabulary. This is why sales managers, financial staff, operations leaders and marketing professionals have become CPPs. We all speak the same language and can move faster in our pricing transformation towards pricing excellence. 

3) Access to the Best Experts in the Pricing Sphere 

While pursuing your CPP designation, you have the option to attend pre-conference workshops or online courses. In both cases, courses are given by world-class experts you might not otherwise have a chance to have access directly. These experts are the best brains in the pricing space and have strong connections with the Professional Pricing Society. New courses on relevant and innovative themes are added constantly and new speakers are added to the roster based on their skills and experience in the field. You will have access to unique content from the best consultants, practitioners and scholars in the world. You cannot get this level of content and access anywhere else! 

4) Very Flexible Process 

The CPP process is designed to be flexible in many ways. You can select workshops to interact with faculty and network with your peers. You might prefer to choose the online process and watch online courses at your own pace and anywhere you want. These courses are available on demand. You also have access to an expansive  library of content. I recommend to my staff to go through the process in 12 months. Some of them have done it in less and others in more. You can pace your CPP training to reflect the reality of your work and personal constraints. 

The CPP designation is earned. It is not a difficult process but it is not easy either. You have to take the process seriously and earn the right to place CPP next to your name. People often ask me how difficult it is or how much time it requires. I always respond by saying that I take everything I do seriously and give it 100%. The question is not how difficult it is but how valuable it is. I say without hesitation that CPP designation differentiates you from the pack and show that you are a pricing professional. Be bold, become a CPP! 

Stephan Liozu is President and CEO of ARDEX Americas, an innovative and high-performance building-materials mid-sized company located in Pittsburgh, PA. He is also a Ph.D. candidate in Management at Case Western Reserve University and can be reached at sliozu@case.edu or by visiting www.stephanliozu.com. 

4 Days Left Early Bird EXPIRES on September 7, 2012