The price is right! – Herth+Buss pricing

20. Sep 2017 | Education + Careers

In the course of my training, I pass through various different departments on a two- or three-monthly basis. The Pricing Department is no exception.

Pricing acts as an interface between the Managing Directors, Product Managers, Logistics, Sales, Administration and Research+Development. A lot of information and market statistics converge on this department, meaning that those who work here are confronted with huge volumes of data. Concentration is therefore vital. We work with a lot of different programs to make things easier. These obviously include Excel – a versatile tool that I will get to know much better during my training. You have to have a good head for figures to work here. Despite the concentration and precision, there has to be a good working atmosphere too. Pricing is a small department in which colleagues work closely together. This makes teamwork very important.

Herth+Buss_Pricing_Department

Pricing: Analysis, checking and calculation

One of the day-to-day tasks is compiling the calculation list for new products and items. The product managers are constantly hunting for new items to add to the product range. Prices need to be calculated for the newly added items. This is where the Pricing Department comes in. They draw on various bits of information concerning the customers, competition and market to define prices. The gross and net prices are worked out in cooperation with Product Management and Sales, as are the price strategies. The calculated prices are subsequently entered into the system.

After the prices have been determined and entered, they are published. The customers are then informed about the prices for the respective new items. Prices are constantly checked and the market systematically analysed so that we are able to orientate ourselves by the prices already out there. Information about competitors from the calculation list makes it possible for us to calculate sales prices in line with our expectations and based on market information.

Herth+Buss_Pricing_Department

So there’s much more effort involved in working out the prices than you might think. This makes Pricing a crucial component of the company. For me, too, working in this department as a trainee has been an exciting experience due to its enormous importance.