- Recent study reveals that 87% of North American businesses are struggling to manage market fluctuations caused by supply chain issues, Covid-19 and Brexit
- Firms relying on outdated business models to manage pricing will face exacerbated issues
- North American organisations lose out on almost $1 million every year on lost profitability, without an intelligent way to manage profit margins
Las Vegas, Feb. 23, 2022 – A recent study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of intelligent pricing platform, Flintfox International has revealed that North American organisations will lose out on almost $1 million every year in lost profitability, as a result of supply chain issues.
The study has found that organisations with outdated practices around pricing will struggle to navigate the complexities of unpredictable supply chains. 2022 will see business model transformation pushed up the boardroom agenda as global change becomes increasingly unpredictable, with over half (56%) of North American businesses claiming that poor data quality and capture is hampering the ability to keep on top of market fluctuations.
Profit margins scrutinised amid slow supply chain recovery
As the U.S. and Canada continue to face ongoing supply chain issues caused by Covid-19, coupled with some of the worst inflation seen in decades, the research has highlighted the challenges facing retail, manufacturing and consumers goods industries. Hit severely by a slow supply chain recovery, they are undergoing a period of transition where profit margins have come under intense pressure.
Pricing strategies forced to undergo transformation
Due to the impact of the pandemic, 59% of North American firms renewed their focus on creating a pricing strategy that maintained demand and managed margins. 68% want their pricing initiatives to help them stay ahead of complex pricing changes at all stages of the supply chain.
However, 87% of these businesses report that COVID has had a critical impact on the ability to manage pricing across their product range, with 34% stating they are unable to keep up with the scale of real-time price fluctuations occurring in the market.
This is having a significant knock-on effect; with North American businesses losing on average $964,284 a year in lost profitability due to their inability to respond quickly enough to market forces.
Margin management seen as a key growth driver
Existing business models are preventing businesses from being able to manage the pace of change, with 26% still relying on manual processes to manage price fluctuations.
The research indicates that a shift to real-time, automated management of pricing, will be a fundamental business priority to manage the impact of global disruption in the year ahead, with over one in five (22%) North American businesses set to invest in intelligent pricing technology in 2022.
North American businesses have a huge amount to gain from intelligent pricing, with almost 70 hours a day being wasted by manual updating and amending of pricing.
“After the continued uncertainty of the pandemic, margins have never mattered more,” said John Moss, CEO of Flintfox. “As inflation and supply chain issues continue to wreak havoc, it’s becoming increasingly critical for businesses to be able to respond rapidly to market fluctuations. Moving to an intelligent pricing model will enable businesses to better handle operational complexities and future-proof their businesses from harmful market events.”
Note to editors:
Lizzie Lynch
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Methodology
A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Flintfox in December 2021. 926 respondents were surveyed who work on or oversee pricing teams.
About Flintfox
Flintfox helps you find magic in the margins, giving you enterprise pricing powers so you can analyze, act and automate at speed. We make your pricing, promotion, rebate and revenue management work for you.
Unraveling real-time transactional data can seem an impossible task with today’s tech stack.
Our intelligent pricing platform untangles this complexity, uncovering actionable intel and unlocking incremental value – providing you with fast and accurate pricing to improve margin and profit on every product. It gives you the competitive edge you need to drive your profits and thrive on a global stage.
Trusted by 225,000 users worldwide, we power more than 12 million transactions every day. As a Gold Certified Microsoft Partner, we also provide expert ERP Software consultancy and deployment services for Microsoft Dynamics 365.