Worksheet: Set one list price per product

When prices are agreed net and the list is worked out afterwards, one product ends up with many list prices. Then nobody can see what each customer really costs in terms. This sheet counts the list prices, models the move to one, and logs every exception that remains. It builds the Competent step of the check:

One list price per product is loaded in the system, and every customer's price is list minus stated terms.

Step 1. Count the list prices

Start with your biggest product, then do the top twenty.

Product	List prices in the system	Highest	Lowest	Gap (%)	Where they differ (state, channel, customer)
e.g. Biggest pack	14	$3.60	$2.50	31%	By state and by channel

Step 2. Model the move in four stages

Stage	What you model	What comes out
1. Today	Current lists, terms and contract prices, reconciled to the ledger	A base that matches the management reports
2. One list	One list per product that keeps the product's contribution. Each customer keeps today's net price, now shown as list minus terms	The terms each customer needs to hold its net price
3. Winners and losers	Customers whose net price would move	Who gains, who loses, and by how much
4. Product positioning	Similar products side by side	Adjusted lists for products that sit out of line

Step 3. Customer by customer

Customer	Product	Net price today	New list	Terms needed to hold net (%)	Terms in the agreement now (%)	Gap	Action
e.g. Customer 7	Biggest pack	$2.70	$3.40	20.6%	12%	8.6 points not written anywhere	Write into the next agreement

A gap means a discount sits somewhere outside the agreement. Find it before you load the new list.

Step 4. The exceptions that remain

Any price that is not list minus stated terms goes on this register.

Customer	Product	Price	Reason code	Owner	Review date

Reason codes: legacy contract, tender, competitor match, clearance. Add others only with a reason.

Done when: each product has one list price loaded in the system, and every customer's price is list minus stated terms.

Adapted from our own pricing conference material (PSP, 2008).