B2B pricing strategy consultants for building materials, manufacturing and distribution

Margin expansion. Revenue growth. Culture transformation. Pricing Insight is a Sydney pricing strategy consultancy founded in 2007 by Ron Wood, a pricing expert with 30 years in industry and consulting. Clients have added A$2m to A$9m of EBIT for every A$100m of revenue optimised, within 12 months of go-live.

160+ engagements since 2007

Ron Wood, Founder and Managing Director of Pricing Insight
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Trusted by
Stramit logoTradelink logoMitre10 logoBunzl logoStaples logoBoston Scientific logoCummins logoOrica logoToll logoStryker logoFarmlands logoArnotts logoRicoh logoAdvent Partners logo
What we do

What does Pricing Insight do?

We are pricing consultants. We set pricing strategy, optimise prices for every product and customer, and build the rules and sales skills that hold those prices once the project ends. Price is the strongest profit lever a business has: a 1% price gain with no loss of volume lifts EBIT by about 10% in a business earning a 10% margin, yet few of the people who set, quote and negotiate prices have had formal pricing training, so most of that lever goes unused. Our clients are private-equity-owned, ASX-listed, Fortune 500 and family-owned businesses across Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, India, the United States and the United Kingdom. The work moves them from cost-plus and compliance pricing to prices set on the value each customer receives.

160+
consulting engagements across building materials, manufacturing, distribution and services
5,000+
executives trained in pricing, negotiation and value selling
A$2m⁠–⁠9m
EBIT delivered for every A$100m of revenue optimised
30 years
of pricing experience, in industry and as a pricing consultant, behind every engagement
Why pricing

Why is price your biggest profit lever?

A 1% improvement in price, with no loss of volume, lifts operating profit about three times more than a 1% gain in volume. Most management attention still goes to cost and volume, which is where the smaller levers sit.

Price
+10%
Variable cost
+7%
Sales volume
+3%
Fixed cost
+2%

Increase in EBIT from a 1% improvement in each lever. Pricing Insight worked example: A$100m revenue, 70% variable cost, 20% fixed cost, 10% EBIT margin.

Industries

Who do we help?

We work with businesses that sell thousands of products to trade and project customers through a sales team. That is where pricing is most complex, where discounts and rebates drift furthest from policy, and where the margin at stake is largest. Use the arrows to move through the eight industries we work in.

1 of 8 industries
Specialist sector

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
IdentifiedA$10.8mannualised margin opportunity at Tradelink, 200+ branches
Building materials pricing →
Business services

Business outsourcing & services

Managed services, logistics and outsourced supply, sold on contract and renewed every year.

  • Procurement that compares rate cards line by line
  • Contracts that roll over at last year’s rate
  • Delivery, call-outs and after-hours work given away
ModelledA$8.4mEBIT uplift modelled in year one at Toll Group
Services pricing →
Manufacturing

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
RealisedA$100k loss to A$3m gainEBIT turnaround at Hyster-Yale Asia Pacific in 12 months
Manufacturing pricing →
Consumer

FMCG & retail

Brand owners and retailers investing in trade spend, promotions and markdowns to hold the shelf and the shopper.

  • Promotions repeated because last year’s budget depends on them
  • Rebates paid on turnover with nothing in return
  • Price matching on lines shoppers never compare
RealisedA$5m+EBIT recovered within 12 months at Arnott’s
FMCG and retail pricing →
Healthcare

Healthcare & medical devices

Device makers and healthcare distributors selling through tenders, group purchasing bodies and hospital procurement.

  • Tenders scored on price per unit, not clinical value
  • Best and final offers that set the floor for the next tender
  • Contract prices held while input costs rise
IdentifiedA$25mEBITDA potential identified at Sigma Healthcare
Healthcare pricing →
Industrial

Industrial & chemicals

Coatings, plastics and specialist chemical suppliers whose input costs move faster than their price lists.

  • One annual increase after a quarter of absorbed cost
  • Buyers who negotiate on oil, indices and imports
  • Technical service and urgent delivery supplied free
IdentifiedA$4.3m–6.5mmargin opportunity identified at Axalta
Industrial pricing →
Investors

Private equity

Owners and portfolio companies that need EBITDA from pricing inside the hold period, with evidence a buyer will test.

  • Growth bought with discount and paid on revenue
  • Renewals rolled over at last year’s price
  • Nobody reporting price realisation to the board
IdentifiedA$2.7m–5.1mannualised EBIT opportunity at NEXON Asia Pacific, an EQT portfolio company
Private equity pricing →
Distribution

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
RealisedA$6.8mEBITDA in 12 months at Staples on A$80m of addressable revenue
Distribution pricing →
Our methods

What makes our approach different?

Three methods, built over 160+ engagements and run on your own sales, rebate and customer data. Each one turns pricing from opinion into a managed, measured part of the business.

Method 1

Diagnostic roadmap and immediate earnings

The 9PE Pricing Diagnostic scores nine capability elements across three layers, sizes the margin opportunity in A$, sets a two-year roadmap and starts ranked quick wins in the first month.

Strategic
Why and what
1
Value proposition and customer understanding
2
Pricing strategy and positioning
3
Portfolio architecture
Structural
How price flows from list to net
4
List price architecture
5
Customer discount structure
6
Rebate architecture
Operational
How pricing runs day to day
7
Tactical discount controls
8
Price increase management
9
Margin monitoring and analytics
See the 9PE Diagnostic →
Method 2

Algorithms and architecture

The Blackbird engine sets an optimised price for every SKU and every customer from what each customer values and the pricing power you have with them. New list, discount and rebate architecture holds those prices in place.

Floor
Target
Ceiling
Each dot is a customer. Prices below the floor are lifted first. Prices near the ceiling are protected.
See Project Blackbird →
Method 3

Capability and culture

Roles, rules, KPIs and sales-team skills that keep better pricing in place. Progress is tracked on a five-level scale: most B2B pricing functions start at Level 2, and the target is Level 3 within 12 months and Level 4 within 24.

1
Initial
2
Repeatable
3
Defined
4
Managed
5
Optimised
See Capability & Governance →
How we work

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.

STAGE 1

Diagnose

Size the opportunity

Size the margin your pricing leaves behind in A$, score pricing capability and start quick wins in the first month.

9PE Pricing Diagnostic & Quick Wins →
STAGE 2

Optimise

Set the prices

Set an optimised price for every SKU and customer from your own sales data, with floors and guardrails, and measure the result against a finance-reconciled baseline.

Project Blackbird price optimisation →
STAGE 3

Transform

Hold the gains

Install the roles, rules and skills that hold prices after the project ends.

Pricing Capability & Governance →Pricing Masterclass (12 weeks) →Sales & Negotiation Workshops →
Starting the conversation with your leadership team or a sales conference?
Keynote on strategic pricing →
Results

What results have clients achieved?

Every figure comes from a published case study. Realised means measured by the client after implementation; modelled and identified mean sized before it. Use the arrows to move through the case studies.

1 of 15 case studies
Distribution
+800bps
gross margin on targeted SKUs, A$5.7m EBIT

Bunzl

Realised

Cost-plus pricing replaced across 18,000 SKUs within 12 months, with 98.3% of customers retained.

Read the case study →
Distribution
A$6.8m
EBITDA in 12 months on A$80m of addressable revenue

Staples

Realised

Cost-plus pricing and 60 price lists replaced with one national structure, and more than 5,000 prices optimised.

Read the case study →
Capital equipment
A$3m
EBIT gain within 12 months, from a A$100k loss

Hyster-Yale Asia Pacific

Realised

Discounting, dealer economics and configuration pricing addressed through analytics, controls and quoting.

Read the case study →
Building materials
+250bps
gross margin, about A$2.25m annualised EBITDA

Fletcher Insulation

Realised

A new pricing structure, a price increase and less discounting after a pricing diagnostic and Pricing Fundamentals for 96 staff.

Read the case study →
FMCG
A$5m+
EBIT recovered within 12 months

Arnott's

Realised

Promotions and discounts repriced, and price decisions moved from 41 account managers to one team.

Read the case study →
Retail
A$4.1m
incremental EBITDA after implementation

King Living

Realised

King Living implemented Pricing Insight's price architecture advice.

Read the case study →
Retail
Up to 50%
less ad hoc discounting across four retail brands

Super Retail Group

Realised

Shared markdown rules, promotional evaluation and discount governance across four brands.

Read the case study →
Retail
A$1m+
incremental gross margin from staged price optimisation

Flannerys

Realised

Project Blackbird priced the organic grocery range SKU by SKU on customer, competitor and elasticity evidence.

Read the case study →
Logistics
A$8.4m
EBIT uplift modelled in year one

Toll Group

Modelled

Customer-level pricing analysis, value discovery and governance design.

Read the case study →
Building materials
A$3.6m
annual EBIT modelled from one price architecture

Allegion

Modelled

Four price lists left by an acquisition replaced with one architecture and new list prices for 5,300 SKUs.

Read the case study →
Healthcare
A$25m
EBITDA potential identified

Sigma Healthcare

Identified

Quick-win and longer-term EBITDA potential from rebate analysis, price architecture and commercial capability planning.

Read the case study →
Building materials
A$10.8m
annualised margin opportunity identified

Tradelink

Identified

Plumbing and trade supplies across 200+ branches. The business built capability first, training its sales force.

Read the case study →
Trade hardware
A$10m+
trade margin opportunity identified

Mitre 10 New Zealand

Identified

A diagnostic and two-day workshop gave the trade business a pricing strategy and a board paper.

Read the case study →
Building materials
A$7m–10m
margin potential identified in a A$600m business

InfraBuild Reinforcing

Identified

Eleven ranked initiatives for a market-leading steel reinforcing business that priced on tonnes.

Read the case study →
Building materials
A$4m–7.5m
annual EBIT opportunity identified

Stramit

Identified

A diagnostic found pricing built from cost. 99 staff completed Pricing Fundamentals.

Read the case study →
See all case studies →
Clients

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.

Mark Jago
Mark Jago
Partner, Advent Partners

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.

Tim Hulme
Tim Hulme
Sales Director Australia, Devro

Ron helped us develop a value-based sales model, simplifying our pricing and enhancing our team's understanding of the solutions' value.

Scott Deane
Scott Deane
Chief Executive Officer, Learning Seat
Insights

What should you read first?

Twelve white papers across Diagnose, Optimise and Transform. Use the arrows to move through them.

1 of 12 white papers
Transform
7
causes of fading margin gains, each with a governance fix

Why B2B pricing projects fail, and how to keep the gains

White paper

Why gains fade after the plan is signed, the fix for each cause, and how Staples, Arnott's and Fletcher Insulation held theirs.

Read the white paper →
Optimise
50
margin levers that do the work of a price increase

50 margin improvement levers for manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors

White paper

Costs are still rising and another list-price increase risks the account. Fifty levers that lift margin without raising the list.

Read the white paper →
Diagnose
4 tests
for choosing a pricing consultant, and eight questions to ask before you sign

How to choose a pricing consultant

White paper

What to check before you engage, with five client cases from Staples, Arnott's and others.

Read the white paper →
Diagnose
5 methods
a pricing expert uses to trace lost margin from the invoice to its cause

How a pricing expert solves pricing problems

White paper

How lost margin is traced from the invoice to its cause, and what fixes it, with results from Staples and Arnott's.

Read the white paper →
Diagnose
11
price, cost, volume and mix levers that move gross margin

Eleven margin levers to improve profitability

White paper

The levers B2B businesses use to lift margin without cutting cost, with results from Staples, Fletcher Insulation, King Living and Stramit.

Read the white paper →
Diagnose
6 questions
to answer before signing, and a three-stage plan for the first 100 days

Pricing due diligence and the first 100 days

White paper

How investors test pricing before the deal and capture the gains after it, with results from Staples and Five V Capital.

Read the white paper →
Optimise
6 controls
and KPIs that keep discounts tied to profit

Using KPIs to control discounting and protect profit

White paper

Eleven reasons to discount and the controls that make each one earn what it costs, with results from Hyster-Yale and Super Retail Group.

Read the white paper →
Optimise
10 steps
to size, sequence and invoice a price increase that holds

Price increases that stick: sizing, sequence and invoice

White paper

Size the increase from the margin needed, spread it by pricing power, and check invoices at 30, 60 and 90 days.

Read the white paper →
Optimise
9
pricing principles for building materials companies

Nine pricing principles for building materials companies

White paper

From price-mix bridges to project prices, with cases from Stramit, Laminex and InfraBuild.

Read the white paper →
Optimise
3 places
margin leaks in building materials: the trade counter, the quote and the project price

How to reduce discount leakage in building materials businesses

White paper

How to measure and reduce discount leakage, with cases from Stramit, Laminex and Tradelink.

Read the white paper →
Transform
1 owner
for every price: a Pricing RASCI, an approval ladder, a Pricing Council and a margin culture

Who owns the price: decision rights and governance

White paper

Who decides, who approves and who records each price decision, with five client cases.

Read the white paper →
Transform
4 tools
that let a seller hold price: a value case, written rules, discount maths and pay for margin

Holding price in the field: rules, value cases and pay

White paper

Why sellers discount to close and what stops it, with results from Fletcher Insulation and Stramit.

Read the white paper →
See all white papers →
FAQ

Common questions

Quick answers for leaders comparing pricing consultants. More on pricing consultants in Australia.

What does a pricing strategy consultant do?

A pricing strategy consultant measures the margin a business loses between list price and invoice through discounts, rebates and overrides, then resets prices, discount structures and approval rules to recover it. At Pricing Insight the work also covers price optimisation for every SKU and customer, and training for the sales team that has to hold the new prices.

What does a pricing consultant do for a building materials business?

We measure where margin is lost between list and invoice across branches, states and customer types, reset the discount and rebate structures that cause it, and set rules for passing cost increases through on time. Building materials case studies on this site show A$4m to A$10.8m a year identified, and 250 basis points of gross margin realised at Fletcher Insulation.

How much margin can better pricing deliver?

A 1% improvement in realised price, with no loss of volume, lifts EBIT by about 10% in a business with a 10% EBIT margin, or A$1m for every A$100m of revenue. Across our engagements, clients have added A$2m to A$9m of EBIT per A$100m of revenue optimised within 12 months of go-live. The figure for your business depends on your margin, your discount spread and how much of the change your sales team holds.

Who is Pricing Insight's pricing expert?

Ron Wood, founder and Managing Director. Ron has 30 years in pricing, first as a pricing and commercial manager in FMCG, building materials and capital equipment, then as a pricing consultant since founding Pricing Insight in 2007. He has led more than 160 engagements, trained more than 5,000 executives through Pricing University, and was the first Australian to write a dedicated course on value-based pricing.

Where does Pricing Insight work?

We are based in Sydney and work with clients across Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, India, the United States and the United Kingdom, on site and online.

How does an engagement start?

Usually with the 9PE Pricing Diagnostic, which sizes the opportunity in A$, scores pricing capability and delivers ranked quick wins in the first month. Price optimisation, governance and training follow only where the diagnostic shows the return justifies them.

Next step

Price is your largest profit lever.

Book a call with Ron Wood to find out how much margin your pricing is leaving behind, and what it would take to recover it.

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.

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