Move guide
Name the owner and set the calendar
Your report suggested a move on at least one of these two practices:
- who owns pricing;
- how pricing decisions get made.
Every other pricing move rests on them. This move guide names one person who answers for price. It puts the decisions in one room, on a calendar, and writes them down.
If you took the consumer check, go to the consumer section. If your products reach shoppers through retailers, go to the section for brands.
1. When it applies
Use this move guide if your report placed either practice in the lowest two stages.
| Practice | Where it may sit today | Where this move guide aims |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns pricing | Lagging: "Nobody owns pricing; it lives in the gaps between sales, finance and marketing." Basic: "Pricing is someone's part-time job, attended to after everything else." |
Competent: "A named owner runs pricing with a written mandate, supported by finance and sales." |
| How pricing decisions get made | Lagging: "Price decisions happen in email threads and are discovered later." Basic: "Decisions are made in meetings that exist for other purposes, when pricing forces its way onto the agenda." |
Competent: "A regular pricing forum decides list moves, big deals and exceptions, with decisions minuted." |
If both already sit at the middle stage or higher, skip this move guide. Writing down who decides what, and running the forum from analysis, comes later in making it stick.
Start here whatever else your report says. If it gave the foundation moves, do this step and the next two before anything else.
2. What to do
Seven steps, in this order. They take about two weeks.
- Name one owner. The chief executive names one person to own pricing. Choose someone who can read a margin report and hold a line with sales. A sales manager with a volume target will find that hard.
- Write the mandate on one page. Say what the owner decides alone, what goes to the forum and what goes to the chief executive. The ownership worksheet does this.
- Find the owner a sponsor. The chief executive, or another executive, gives the owner an hour a week in the diary.
- Set the forum. It meets monthly for an hour, with a standing agenda: list moves, big deals and exceptions. The owner, the finance head and the sales head sit on it. Every decision is minuted with the name of the person who made it.
- Write who decides what. List your ten most common pricing decisions. For each, name who decides, who is consulted and who is told. The decision-rights worksheet does this.
- Plan the rest. Give each later step a name, a start date and the time each person will give. Table A below does this.
- Tell the business. Tell sales, finance and operations who owns pricing now, and how decisions are made.
The two free worksheets do the recording:
- /worksheets/pricing-b2b/ownership for the mandate and the first 90 days;
- /worksheets/pricing-b2b/decision-rights for the forum's agenda, who decides what, and the minutes.
3. What to produce
One table, plus the two worksheets above.
Table A. The programme plan
| Step | What it delivers | Owner (name) | Start | Finish | Time a week from each person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2. One source of pricing data | One agreed source of price and margin | ||||
| 3. See where the price goes | The price waterfall for your biggest customers | ||||
| 4. Cost the customer | Cost to serve by customer group | ||||
| 5. Discounts and exceptions | The discount ladder and the exception log | ||||
| 6. Giveaways that buy something | Conditional rebates and pass-through clauses | ||||
| 7. The monthly price report | Price, volume and mix on one page | ||||
| 8. Customer value and competitor prices | Next-best alternatives and a competitor price file | ||||
| 9. Segments and the strategy | The one-page pricing strategy | ||||
| 10. The price structure | A published structure for most business | ||||
| 11. Price moves | Each major move sized and piloted | ||||
| 12. Making it stick | Incentives, training and the annual calendar |
Not every step will apply. Leave out any step whose practices already sit at the middle stage or higher in your report.
4. A worked example
Illustrative. Written for this move guide. It describes no client.
An industrial packaging maker sells to about 900 business customers through a sales team of 25.
Before.
- Prices were set in email between the sales director and the chief financial officer.
- Finance moved list prices when a supplier cost went up. Nobody else was told until invoices changed.
- Exceptions were agreed by phone and found later in the ledger.
The owner and the mandate.
- The chief executive named the commercial finance manager as pricing owner.
- The mandate let the owner move list prices by up to 3% inside the strategy. Bigger moves went to the forum.
- The chief executive gave the owner an hour every Monday.
The forum.
- It met on the first Tuesday of each month: the owner, the chief financial officer, the sales director and the operations manager.
- The first meeting took two list moves, three big deals and nine exceptions due to expire.
- The decision table named one decider for each of ten common decisions.
Three months on.
- 3 forum meetings, each on its calendar date
- 23 decisions minuted with the name of who made them
- 3 of 3 next steps with an owner and dates
- The forum had met three times on its calendar.
- The minutes recorded 23 decisions, each with the name of the person who made it.
- Steps 2 to 4 had owners and dates.
On a retake, both practices could be answered at the middle stage.
What it looked like in our work
From our own work. Redrawn.
Our own pricing process ran in four phases. Each phase had its own work, and the owner planned all four at the start.
- ScopeSummarise the work done so far, assess how sophisticated pricing is, size the opportunity, agree the work plan and tell the business.
- Quick winsBuild the data, decode the price waterfall, align prices with cost to serve, remove skewed incentives and set the disciplines.
- OptimiseBuild value propositions, classify the product lines, understand elasticity, and test the options in a model before choosing.
- ImplementPlan the rollout with owners, timing and measures, pilot it, change the organisation, and keep testing prices in the market.
Table A above is where each phase gets its owner and its dates.
A grid to assess the pricing process
Illustrative.
Assess the pricing process at three levels, one row each. Here it is filled in for a building materials supplier with many sites.
| Level | Key questions | Current state | Pain points | Owner | Tools | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strategy and principles | Is there a cost floor? Are exceptions for big customers agreed? | Each site sets its own floor | Prices below cost on some lines | No one | None | One floor rule, set by the general manager |
| Setting and analytics | How do the principles become prices at each site? How are rivals' prices tracked? | Last year's list plus a rise | Sites priced the same product far apart | Site managers, each alone | A spreadsheet per site | One price list per region, reviewed each quarter |
| Execution | Does the sales team see every part of the price? Who decides a special price? | Reps see list price only | Rebates and special deals out of sight | Unclear | None | Every price part visible, with authority levels by deal size |
Fill in the questions first. Then the owner column shows where decisions fall between chairs.
5. Effort and dependencies
- Chief executiveNames the owner, signs the mandate and sponsors the work.
- Pricing ownerWrites the mandate, runs the forum and plans the programme.
- Finance and sales headsSit on the forum.
What you need
- A list of the pricing decisions made last quarter, and who made each one.
- An hour a month in four diaries.
How long
- About two weeks to name the owner and hold the first forum.
- The mandate settles by the second forum.
What gets in the way. We have seen these in our own work:
- Handing the lead to sales. Our own pricing process notes say the sales manager should not lead the pricing work. Front-line habits change slowly.
- Fixing systems before owners. An industrial distributor had run years of pricing projects, most of them about systems. Its national reset of list prices still ended in manual overrides.
- An owner in name only. A food processor moved pricing from sales to a new commercial manager with no mandate. Every account stayed on cost-plus, and nobody managed the tender renewals.
6. How will you know it worked?
The test is how decisions get made once the forum is running. Retake the check after three months. Each of these should be true when you answer:
| Practice | You can answer Competent when | A document alone does not count if |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns pricing | One named person holds a mandate signed by the chief executive, and named people in finance and sales give it time each month. | The owner has a title but no written mandate, or sales still sets prices alone. |
| How pricing decisions get made | The forum has met on its calendar for three months running, and it decides list moves, big deals and exceptions with each decision minuted. | The forum meets, but decisions still happen in email and reach it afterwards. |
For consumer businesses
This section is for the B2C Consumer Pricing Health Check. The job is the same: one person answers for price, and the decisions meet in one room on one calendar.
When it applies
Use it if your report placed any of these three practices in the lowest two stages.
| Practice | Where it may sit today | Where this move guide aims |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns pricing | Lagging: "Prices belong to whoever last touched the system." Basic: "Pricing is split between buying, marketing and finance with no referee." |
Competent: "A named owner runs pricing decisions on a calendar, with the trade-offs argued in one room." |
| How pricing decisions get made | Lagging: "Prices change when someone with system access feels strongly." Basic: "Decisions happen in trading meetings under this week's pressure, and reverse next month." |
Competent: "Price and promo decisions follow a documented process with the analysis attached." |
| Whether marketing, merchandising and finance are aligned | Lagging: "Marketing announces the discount before finance hears about it." Basic: "Functions coordinate through escalation after conflicts surface." |
Competent: "The promo calendar, range plan and price moves are agreed jointly on a cycle." |
Delegating routine decisions within guardrails comes later, in taking control of discounts and exceptions. One shared target across the functions comes in making it stick.
What to do
- Name one owner. The chief executive names one person to run price, promotion and markdown decisions.
- Put the decisions in one room. Marketing, merchandising or buying, finance and e-commerce meet monthly with the owner.
- Put them on one calendar. Price moves, promotions, range changes and markdowns go on one calendar. The functions agree it together each cycle. Table B below does this.
- Write what a decision must attach. A price or promotion decision carries its analysis: the reason, the expected effect on units and margin, and who decided.
- Tell the business. Tell store and online teams who owns pricing now, and that changes come through the calendar.
The three free worksheets do the recording:
- /worksheets/pricing-b2c-direct/ownership for the owner, the room and the calendar;
- /worksheets/pricing-b2c-direct/decision-discipline for what a decision attaches;
- /worksheets/pricing-b2c-direct/cross-functional for the joint cycle.
What to produce
Table B. One calendar
| Month | Price moves | Promotions | Range changes | Markdowns | Agreed by (names) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A worked example
Illustrative. Written for this move guide. It describes no client.
A sporting goods retailer sells through 35 stores and a website.
Before.
- Marketing planned promotions, buying set shelf prices, and finance found the margin effect a month later.
- Twice in one quarter a promotion ran on a line that buying had just repriced.
The changes.
- The chief executive named the head of trading as pricing owner.
- Marketing, buying, finance and e-commerce met on the second Monday of each month.
- One calendar held every price move, promotion, range change and markdown for the next quarter.
- Each proposal came with a one-page analysis, and the minutes named who decided.
Three months on.
- The calendar had been agreed three times, and no promotion clashed with a price move.
- Every decision in the minutes had its analysis attached.
On a retake, all three practices could be answered at the middle stage.
Effort and dependencies
- Who. The chief executive names the owner. Marketing, merchandising or buying, finance and e-commerce sit in the room.
- What you need. Last quarter's price moves, promotions and markdowns, with who decided each.
- How long. About two weeks to name the owner and hold the first meeting. The calendar settles by the second.
- What gets in the way. A promotion calendar that marketing keeps on its own. Fold it into the one calendar at the first meeting.
How will you know it worked?
Retake the check after three months. Each of these should be true when you answer:
| Practice | You can answer Competent when | A document alone does not count if |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns pricing | One named owner runs price, promotion and markdown decisions on a calendar, and the trade-offs are argued in one monthly meeting. | The owner is named, but buying, marketing and finance still change prices on their own. |
| How pricing decisions get made | Each price and promotion decision carries its analysis and the name of who decided. | The process is written, but decisions still come out of the weekly trading meeting. |
| Whether marketing, merchandising and finance are aligned | The promotion calendar, range plan and price moves are agreed together on a set cycle. | The calendar exists, but one function still changes it without the others. |
For brands selling through retailers
This section is for the B2C via trade Brand Pricing Health Check. The job is the same: one person owns list price, the terms and the promotion rules, and the decisions meet in one room each month.
When it applies
Use it if your report placed this practice in the lowest two stages.
| Practice | Where it may sit today | Where this move guide aims |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns pricing and trade spend | Lagging: "Nobody; sales sets price customer by customer and finance finds out at month end." Basic: "Marketing sets a pack-and-price strategy that sales treats as advice." |
Competent: "A named pricing or commercial manager owns list price, the terms structure and the promotion guidelines, and a monthly cross-functional meeting reviews price and trade spend." |
What to do
- Name one owner for list price, the terms structure and the promotion guidelines. A commercial or pricing manager is usual.
- Start a monthly pricing meeting. Sales, marketing, finance and supply sit in the room with the owner.
- Give it a standing agenda. Cover list price moves, terms requests from retailers, promotions planned for the next quarter, and any price increase in preparation.
- Minute every decision with the name of the person who made it.
- Tell the account managers which decisions now come to the meeting. Table C below sets them out.
The free worksheet does the recording: /worksheets/pricing-consumer-trade/ownership-of-pricing, for who decides today, the owner, the room, the agenda and the minutes.
What to produce
Table C. Who decides, today and from now
| Decision | Who decides today | Who decides from now | Comes to the monthly meeting? |
|---|---|---|---|
| A list price move | |||
| A change to a retailer's terms | |||
| Promotion depth and frequency | |||
| A one-off deal | |||
| A cost-driven price increase |
A worked example
Illustrative. Written for this move guide. It describes no client.
A sauces and condiments maker sells through the two big grocers, independent grocers and food service.
- Each account manager agreed terms with their own buyers. Marketing set pack prices, and sales treated them as advice.
- Finance found out what had been agreed at month end.
- The chief executive named the commercial manager as owner of list price, terms and promotion rules.
- Sales, marketing, finance and supply met on the first Thursday of each month. The minutes named who decided each item.
- After three months, every terms request from a retailer had gone through the meeting before it was answered.
On a retake, the practice could be answered at the middle stage.
Effort and dependencies
- Who. The chief executive names the owner. Sales, marketing, finance and supply sit in the room.
- What you need. A list of last quarter's terms changes, promotions and list moves, with who agreed each one.
- How long. About two weeks to name the owner and hold the first meeting.
- What gets in the way. A buyer who calls the account manager directly. Agree with the account managers which requests they may answer on the spot and which come to the meeting.
How will you know it worked?
| Practice | You can answer Competent when | A document alone does not count if |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns pricing and trade spend | A named manager owns list price, the terms structure and the promotion guidelines, and a monthly meeting across the functions reviews price and trade spend. | The owner is named, but account managers still agree terms on their own. |
The worked examples are illustrative.
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