Welcome to FP&A Tomorrow, where we discuss financial planning and analysis, examining its current state and future prospects, with your host Paul Barnhurst.

In today’s episode, Paul engages in an insightful roundtable discussion with Nathan Kaemingk & Karan Sood on LinkedIn. In the episode, we discuss the nuances of strategic pricing and its immense impact on business profitability.

Karan, a seasoned pricing professional, shares his extensive experience across various industries, emphasizing the importance of cross-functional alignment and value-based pricing.

Nathan, with a unique background in mechanical engineering and forecasting, highlights the critical role of understanding costs and leveraging pricing strategies to combat inflation and optimize profits.

Key takeaways from this week's episode include:

Here is a concise summary of the key points from the discussion:

• Effective pricing requires collaboration between finance, FP&A, and pricing teams. Transparent communication and alignment on goals are essential to ensure cohesive strategies that drive profitability.

• Value-based pricing is the gold standard, especially in service industries. By quantifying and communicating the value provided to customers, businesses can justify higher prices and enhance profitability.

• Inflation significantly affects pricing strategies. Companies must adjust prices to keep up with rising costs and maintain profit margins, making strategic pricing more critical than ever.

• Relying solely on cost-plus pricing can lead to missed opportunities. Understanding customer value and competitive positioning allows for more strategic price setting, rather than simply adding a margin to costs.

• Constructively using promotions and discounts can drive volume without eroding profit margins. Measuring and optimizing these strategies ensures they contribute positively to overall profitability.

• Rebates can be effective for maintaining uniform pricing across different channels and incentivizing performance. However, companies must measure and adjust rebate programs regularly to ensure they are beneficial.

• Accurate forecasting and aligning sales with operational capacity are crucial. Effective sales inventory and operations planning [SIOP] can significantly increase net profit margins by optimizing resource utilization and pricing strategies.

Quotes:

Here are a few relevant quotes from the episode 

• "The art of pricing goes beyond just number crunching, it goes into cross-functional alignment on what the goals are."

• “The 1% increase in price leads to an 11% increase in profit margins coming out of McKinsey years ago. It still holds true.”

• “It's amazing how easy it is to increase profits by being good at pricing.”

• “Pricing is going to become one of the most important things that we get good at over the next half-decade.”

Exciting Announcement

I am excited to share my two new digital FP&A Courses with you FP&A Business Partnering, and Modern Excel. They launched yesterday and I am excited to offer a 20% discount to my listeners. Use code PODCAST.

Link to courses: 

FP&A Business Partnering (thinkific.com)

Modern Microsoft Excel (thinkific.com)

Follow Karan:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/soodkaran/

Website - https://www.kobo.com/

Follow Nathan:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathankaemingk/

Website - https://www.betterforecasting.com/

Follow Paul:

Website - https://www.thefpandaguy.com 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thefpandaguy

For CPE credit please go to earmarkcpe.com, listen to the episode, download the app, and answer a few questions. For AFP FPAC certification answer the questions and contact Paul Barnhurst for further details.

In today's episode:

[01:10] - Introduction

[02:00] - Guest Introduction

[03:00] - Misconceptions About Pricing

[04:20] - The importance of Value-Based Pricing

[07:00] - The Role of FP&A in Pricing

[11:40] - Leveraging Digital Courses for FP&A Professionals

[12:00] - Guest Backgrounds

[18:40] - Impact of Inflation on Pricing

[22:00] - Strategies for Competitive Markets

[26:30] - Effective Rebate Strategies

[31:00] - Collaboration Between Finance and Pricing Teams

[36:10] - Rapid-Fire Session

[58:30] - Conclusion