Another price increase letter, another spreadsheet
An insulation manufacturer writes to say prices rise on the first of next month. Attached is a spreadsheet with their own product codes, list prices, and a discount structure that has changed since last year. A plaster supplier sends a PDF. A timber importer sends a new price every fortnight. The buyer has to find each product in your merchant system, work out the new cost, and decide whether sell prices move.
Some files are loaded late. Some are never loaded. The counter keeps selling at the old price while you are paying the new cost.
Why the load takes so long
The arithmetic is not the problem. Matching is. Every supplier describes its products differently, and your codes don't always carry the supplier's code.
- Supplier codes are missing or out of date on your product records.
- Pack sizes and units differ between the supplier's list and your stock unit.
- Discount structures change with the list, so net cost has to be recalculated.
- Sell prices are tied to cost in some price bands but fixed in others.
- Nobody can see the combined effect on margin until invoices start arriving.
What a late load costs
Every day at the old sell price after the cost has risen is margin given away, on your fastest lines. The mismatch shows up later in supplier invoice matching, where invoices arrive at a price your system doesn't expect and get held. And customers on contract prices may have terms that let you pass increases on only with notice, which is missed if the increase is loaded late.
A backlog also hides the files that were wrong to begin with. Suppliers make mistakes in their own lists, and a price that has been keyed without a sense check can sit in your system for months, either losing money or losing sales, before anyone notices.
A price file importer with a check step
- Each supplier's file format is set up once. Spreadsheets are mapped column by column; PDFs are read with AI extraction and checked.
- Lines are matched to your product codes using supplier code, EAN and description. Unmatched lines go to a short review list, and each confirmed match is remembered.
- Pack and unit conversions are applied so costs are per your stock unit.
- The buyer sees each change: old cost, new cost, effect on each price band, and the products where margin would fall below your threshold.
- Once approved, costs and any sell price changes are written to your merchant system for the effective date.
- Customers on special prices affected by the change are listed, so the sales team can give any notice their terms require.
| Check | What it catches |
|---|---|
| Unmatched supplier codes | Products that would keep the old cost |
| Unit mismatch | Pack price loaded as a unit price |
| Large change | Typing errors in the supplier's own file |
| Margin below threshold | Sell prices that need a decision |
| Contract customers affected | Special prices that need notice |
What the buyer's month looks like
Price files are loaded the week they arrive, with the changes reviewed rather than typed. The margin effect is known before the effective date, so decisions about sell prices are deliberate. Supplier invoices match the expected cost more often, and the counter sells at the price you meant.
Does your pricing look like this?
- Price increase files queue up waiting to be loaded.
- You find out about a cost rise when the invoice doesn't match.
- Supplier codes are missing from many product records.
- Nobody can say what an increase does to margin before it lands.
- Contract customers are not told about increases in time.