A new price list and a very long weekend
A sofa manufacturer sends its new price list, effective in four weeks. It covers thirty models, each in several sizes, each size in several fabric grades, plus options for legs, cushions and arms. That is hundreds of cost prices. Someone in the buying office opens the PDF and starts updating the retail system, cell by cell, and then the website, which holds the prices in a different structure.
It takes days, and some prices are missed. Weeks later, a customer buys a sofa in grade D fabric at last year's price, and the margin on that order is much thinner than it should be.
Why price updates are so slow
- Supplier price lists arrive as PDFs or spreadsheets in their own layout.
- Each model has a grid of sizes and fabric grades, plus options.
- Your retail prices are worked out from cost using rules held in someone's head.
- The retail system and the website store prices differently.
- Nobody sees the effect on margin until after the change.
Furniture pricing is a matrix, not a list. The number of prices grows quickly with each size and fabric grade, and so does the chance of a mistake.
What slow price updates cost
| Problem | Result |
|---|---|
| Prices missed | Sales at old prices and lost margin |
| Prices updated late | Customers quoted one price and charged another |
| Showroom and website differ | Customer confusion and complaints |
| No margin view | Unprofitable combinations go unnoticed |
| Days of work | Buying team distracted from buying |
How we automate price updates
- Each supplier's price list is imported in its own format. PDFs are read and checked; spreadsheets are read directly. Any cell the system is unsure of is flagged for a person.
- The supplier's models, sizes, fabric grades and options are mapped once to your products. The mapping is kept for next time.
- Your pricing rules are written down and applied: markup by category or supplier, rounding to your price points, minimum margins, and any exceptions.
- A change report shows every price that will change, old and new cost, old and new retail price, and margin, sorted by the biggest changes.
- Your team reviews the report, adjusts any prices and approves it.
- On the effective date, prices are updated in the retail system and the website together. Open quotes at old prices are flagged, so you can decide whether to honour them.
The next price list
The manufacturer's new price list arrives. It is imported the same day. The change report shows that most prices move a little, but a few combinations in the top fabric grade will fall below your minimum margin with your standard markup. The buyer adjusts those, approves the report, and sets the effective date. On that date, the retail system and website change together. Nobody spends a weekend retyping.
Promotions and exceptions
Many furniture retailers run promotions on top of list prices, and some products are priced by hand for competitive reasons. Those exceptions are kept and applied after the update, so a promotion is not lost when prices change. Surcharges that suppliers add, such as for raw materials, can be held separately and added to cost where they apply. Pricing decisions and the law around price displays are for you and your advisers; the tool applies your rules.
Quotes need care too. A customer who was quoted last month may come back after the new list is live. The system flags open quotes that would change, so your team can decide whether to honour the old price and tell the customer, instead of finding out at the till.
Signs your price updates need this
- Supplier price lists are retyped by hand.
- Some prices are missed each time.
- Showroom and website prices differ after an update.
- You see the margin effect only after the change.
- Price updates take the buying team days.