B2B Revenue, Pricing and
Margin Expansion Experts.
We help building materials, manufacturing and distribution businesses lift margin by 200–900bps within 12 months of go-live, through pricing strategy, price optimisation and sales-team pricing capability.
160+ engagements since 2007
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What does Pricing Insight do?
Price is the most powerful profit lever in any business. A 1% improvement in price, with no loss of volume, lifts operating profit by about 11%. Yet few of the people who set, quote and negotiate prices have ever had formal training in pricing. Pricing Insight is a B2B pricing strategy consultancy that solves complex pricing problems for private equity portfolio companies, Fortune 500 businesses, ASX-listed groups and family-owned companies around the world. We help leadership teams move from a culture of compliance and cost-plus pricing to a culture of commitment to value pricing and earnings growth.
Why is price your biggest profit lever?
A 1% improvement in price, with no loss of volume, lifts operating profit three times more than a 1% gain in volume. Most businesses spend far more time on cost and volume.
Increase in operating profit from a 1% improvement in each lever. Source: Marn and Rosiello, Harvard Business Review, 1992.
Who do we help?
Businesses that sell thousands of products to thousands of trade and project customers through a sales team. That is where pricing is most complex, and where the margin is.
Building materials
Manufacturers and merchants of steel, timber, cement, insulation, surfaces, fasteners and plumbing supplies.
- Trade agreements and rebates that pay for volume, not value
- Discount overrides at the branch and quote desk
- Cost increases passed through late, or not at all
Manufacturing & capital equipment
Manufacturers of industrial products, equipment and parts, selling direct and through distributors.
- Cost-plus list prices
- Channel conflict between direct and distributor prices
- Parts and service priced below value
Wholesale & distribution
Distributors and wholesalers with large SKU ranges, contract customers and thin margins.
- Tens of thousands of SKUs priced by rule of thumb
- Customer-specific prices nobody reviews
- Rebates that erode net margin
What makes our approach different?
Three proven methods, built over 160+ engagements and applied to your own sales, rebate and customer data. Each one turns pricing from opinion into a managed, measurable part of the business.
Diagnostic Roadmap + Immediate Earnings Results
The 9PE Diagnostic scores nine elements of pricing capability in three layers, sizes the margin opportunity in A$ and sets a two-year roadmap. Ranked quick wins start adding to earnings in month one.
Algorithms and Architecture
The Blackbird engine sets an optimised price for every SKU and every customer, based on what each customer values and the pricing power you have with them. New list, discount and rebate architecture keeps those prices in place.
Capability and Culture Transformation
Roles, rules, KPIs and sales-team skills that make better pricing part of how the business runs. Progress is tracked on a five-level scale: most B2B pricing functions start at Level 2, and the program target is Level 3 within 12 months and Level 4 within 24.
How do we lift your margin?
Three stages, each with its own measured result. Most clients start with the diagnostic and move to the next stage only where the numbers justify it.
Diagnose
Size the margin your pricing leaves behind in A$, score pricing capability and start quick wins in month one.
9PE Pricing Diagnostic & Quick Wins →Optimise
Set an optimised price for every SKU and customer from your own sales data, with floors and guardrails.
Project Blackbird price optimisation →Embed
Install the roles, rules and skills that keep prices in place after the project ends.
Pricing Capability & Governance →Pricing Masterclass (12 weeks) →Sales & Negotiation Workshops →What results have clients achieved?
Every figure below comes from a published case study. The dark row shows building materials results.
Bunzl
Cost-plus pricing replaced across 18,000 SKUs within 12 months, with 98.3% of customers retained.
Staples
Algorithmic price optimisation of more than 5,000 prices, with a new dedicated pricing function.
Hyster-Yale Asia Pacific
Discounting brought under control and sales focused on the right segments.
What do clients say?
Senior leaders from private equity, manufacturing and distribution.
Pricing Insight were engaged by Advent Partners to assist in developing pricing and margin strategies for several of our investee companies. In one case they helped us generate an incremental EBITDA lift of 20%. We continue to use Pricing Insight for due diligence and our 100 day plans.
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I can highly recommend Ron Wood and his team at Pricing Insight. We have worked with them for 3 years and the knowledge gained by my team has been absolutely measured on our bottom line.
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Ron helped us develop a value-based sales model, simplifying our pricing and enhancing our team's understanding of the solutions' value.
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What should you read first?
Why B2B pricing projects fail, and how to keep the gains
Seven causes of fading margin gains and the governance fix for each.
Discounting techniques, KPIs and controls
How to measure and control discounts so they earn what they cost.
Eleven margin levers to improve profitability
The levers B2B businesses use to lift margin without cutting cost.
Common questions
Quick answers for leaders comparing pricing consultants.
What does a pricing consultant do for a building materials business?
A pricing consultant measures how much margin a building materials business loses between list price and invoice, through discounts, rebates, trade agreements and overrides, then resets prices, discount structures and approval rules. Pricing Insight also trains sales teams to hold price with builders, merchants and project customers.
How much margin can better pricing deliver?
In a typical B2B business with a 10% EBIT margin, a 1% improvement in realised price, with no loss of volume, lifts EBIT by about 10%. Pricing Insight’s public building materials case studies have identified opportunities of A$4m to A$10.8m a year.
Which industries does Pricing Insight specialise in?
Building materials, manufacturing and wholesale distribution, along with capital equipment, healthcare and medical devices, FMCG and business services. Clients include ASX-listed, Fortune 500 and private equity-owned businesses.
Where does Pricing Insight work?
Pricing Insight is based in Sydney and works with clients across Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, the United States and the United Kingdom, in person and online.
How does an engagement start?
Most clients start with the 9PE Pricing Diagnostic, an 8 to 12 week review that sizes the margin opportunity in A$, scores pricing capability and delivers ranked quick wins. Price optimisation, governance and training follow where the diagnostic shows the return.
Do we need new pricing software?
Not usually. Most gains come from better prices, discount rules and approvals inside the ERP, CRM and quoting systems you already run. Where software is worth buying, Pricing Insight helps specify it.
How much margin is your pricing leaving behind?
A 30-minute call with Ron Wood. We will look at how you set, discount and approve prices today, and where the first gains are likely to be.
Let’s work together
Whether you're ready to optimise your pricing or want to explore what's possible, we'd love to hear from you.