How Does a Partner-led Implementation at Pricefx Work?

In today's dynamic and competitive business landscape, staying ahead of the curve requires a laser focus on optimizing pricing strategies that are powered by the right software has become an essential rather than a luxury. Pricefx, the world’s leading enterprise pricing software solution, empowers businesses with advanced functionalities and data-driven insights to achieve this goal. However, navigating the implementation process of such a powerful tool can sometimes feel daunting and many organizations might require a guiding hand to help them maneuver their way through the process. And that is precisely where the assistance of a partner-led implementation of Pricefx can help your business escape any hiccups along the way to achieving better pricing.

For over 10 years, Pricefx has helped hundreds of businesses like yours to discover their own distinctive pricing strategies with the help of cutting-edge pricing software technology. On many occasions, we have connected them with our pricing industry partners who can support them in setting up their pricing software solution on their way to reaching their specific business objectives and getting their software working and producing ROI (Return on Investment) as soon as possible.

To learn more about meeting your ROI expectations, please check out our informative article , What Return on Investment Should I Expect from Price Optimization Software

This guide sheds light on the world of partner-led Pricefx implementations, a collaborative approach that unlocks the full potential of the software and streamlines your journey towards pricing excellence.

Partner Implementation Delivery: Expertise Beyond Software

Imagine implementing Pricefx with the support of a seasoned expert by your side. Partner-led projects provide a distinct and valuable experience compared to a solo implementation with Pricefx. Here is what sets them apart:

• Consulting Services: Partners go beyond software implementation. They offer strategic guidance on pricing strategy, operational efficiency, and change management, ensuring your new solution integrates seamlessly with your existing workflows and empowers your team to maximize its potential.

• Fit-for-Purpose Resources: The right tool needs the right people to use it. Partners assemble a team with the perfect blend of skills and experience to address the specific needs of your project. This ensures optimal resource allocation and a team that speaks your language. What’s more, also having the right kind of non-Pricefx experience that might be part of your company's unique implementation requirements (e.g., SAP, Salesforce etc.) will should a key component when considering partner expertise.

• Industry-Specific Expertise: Don't reinvent the wheel. Leverage the partner's deep understanding of your industry to tailor the Pricefx solution for maximum impact within your competitive landscape. Partners can leverage industry best practices and adapt the software to address the unique challenges and opportunities you face.

• Organizational Knowledge: Some partners might already have a footprint within your organization and be aware of your systems, company culture and have a deep understanding of your business that they can apply to your pricing transformation.

• Scalable Resources: Every project is unique. Partners offer a variety of resources tailored to the size and complexity of your project, ensuring cost-effectiveness and a perfect fit for your needs. All large enterprise organizations vary in their respective business models.  Pricefx has a range of eco-system partnersall with different sets of experiences and skills.  Ask uswhich will be the right team to support you.

• Organizational Transformation Support: Complex integrations with other systems can be a roadblock in your digital transformation journey. Partners can handle these integrations efficiently, ensuring a smooth flow of data and a successful transformation process.

• Change Management:The implementation phase is where the change initiative is executed. This phase should involve the partner, project team, stakeholders, end-users, and the pricing software vendor, wherever appropriate. The project team should communicate regularly with stakeholders and end-users to keep them informed of progress and address any concerns they may have.

• Ongoing Pricefx Development and Support: The world of pricing software is constantly evolving. Pricefx remains readily available to both customers and partners, offering ongoing support and guidance throughout the solution's lifecycle. You will have access to the latest updates, bug fixes, and best practices to ensure your Pricefx solution remains at the forefront of pricing innovation.

Pricing software integration partners often offer a more involved and personalized service, which can give customers peace of mind that they will not be left in the lurch.

Often, larger pricing software partners have more experience in implementation projects than do pricing vendors themselves. We are not saying that pricing vendors do not know how to implement their own software, they do. Please note, make sure you have engaged with a partner that specializes in implementations. Some pricing software partners only assist in pricing strategy for example. Interestingly, some businesses might engage a system integrator thinking they are also winding up with a pricing strategy consultant too.

In other words, be thoughtful about the partner you select based on what you need from them to help you accomplish.

For example, there are some partners that specialize in implementing pricing software 24/7/365 and often know the specialized implementation ‘quirks’ and ‘translating’ business requirements to solve implementation problems better than pricing vendors.

Vendors specialize in their own software, where as a partner with a broader view or technical expertise might understand that moving some functionality from one system to another might suit the business process better than using just the software they know.

Learn more about the different perspectives between pricing vendors and pricing partners here:

A Step-by-Step Guide to a Partner-Led Pricefx Implementation: Maximizing Your Time-to-Value (TTV)

Disclaimer: Every business is unique, and so are their implementations. The following information serves only as a general guideline.

Now that you understand the value proposition of a partner-led approach, let's delve deeper into the generalities of the implementation process itself, emphasizing the importance of quality and timeliness for achieving the best possible Time-to-Value (TTV).

Step 1: Partner Selection

Choosing the right partner is crucial for a successful Pricefx implementation. Here are some key factors to consider:

• Industry Experience: Look for partners with a proven track record in your specific industry. They will understand the unique challenges and opportunities you face and can tailor the Pricefx solution accordingly within our industry catalog strategy. Learn more about Pricefx industry catalogs in the handy article below:

• Pricefx Expertise: Seek partners with extensive knowledge and certifications in Pricefx. Ideally, they should have a history of successful implementations for clients in your industry or of a comparable size. This ensures they possess the in-depth knowledge required to configure the software to meet your specific needs.

• Specialization Areas: Does your business need help from a partner with pricing strategy expertise or does your company’s require experience with data issues or project preparation (or even a combination of all, or some of those factors)? Some partners cover all these skill sets while others specialize in one area or another.

• Project Management Capabilities: A strong project management methodology is essential for ensuring timely delivery and adherence to budget. Look for partners with a proven record of accomplishment of successfully managing complex projects. What’s more, look for a partner that has an intentional focus on methodology - essentially a partner that can explain their methodology to you and why it's effective.

• Cultural Fit: Select a partner with a collaborative approach and one that aligns with your company culture. Clear communication and a shared vision are vital for a successful partnership.

Step 2: Discovery and Planning

This phase involves a deep dive into your current pricing processes, challenges, and goals. The partner will work with you to understand your business model, customer segments, competitive landscape and where your implementation can leverage the Pricefx Industry Catalog strategy.

Industry Catalogs are standardized sources of information that provide a comprehensive overview of specific industries and how they use Pricefx to solve their industry-specific challenges, using the most relevant value drivers, or capabilities and features.

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With Industry Catalogs, Pricefx can offer potential customers a selection of industry-specific scenarios and how they affect their business, which our experts constantly update to reflect the latest business needs and market conditions.

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These scenarios are based on the real-world experience of our customers and industry experts and have been shown to deliver the fastest value time to value.

A software solution requires many components to work together, and both the client and the implementation partner have important roles. The process starts with a requirement gathering stage, also known as a scoping workshop, where the client and the implementation partner collaborate to define the project scope and determine what needs to be done. This output is converted into a Statement of Work (SOW), which describes the project details at a high level.

The following stage is what we call at Pricefx, 'the foundation sprint,' (sometimes also called the 'requirements refinement phase'), where the SOW is broken down into actionable items, including technical implementation details like what information is shown on the screens and what calculations need to be performed. The agile methodology used during this stage encourages prototyping, allowing for a quick feedback loop, and changes to be made rapidly if/when required.

This collaborative effort forms the foundation for a customized Pricefx implementation roadmap that prioritizes achieving your fastest possible TTV. On the flip side, your company may not ready for doing things quickly despite the value benefits on offer. Learn more about the value benefits possible with Pricefx here.

Step 3: Configuration and Development

Leveraging the insights from the discovery phase, the partner team configures the Pricefx solution to meet your specific requirements. This may involve defining pricing rules, automating workflows, and integrating Pricefx with your existing systems. Here, the partner's industry expertise shines through, ensuring the configuration aligns with best practices within your market.

Step 4: Testing and User Acceptance

Once the configuration is complete, rigorous testing is conducted to ensure the solution functions as intended. This includes system integration testing, data migration testing, and user acceptance testing (UAT). The UAT allows your team to interact with the new system and provide feedback before go-live.

Step 5: Go-Live and Training

With successful testing complete, it's time to launch your Pricefx solution! The partner will guide you through the go-live process and provide comprehensive training to your team on using the new system effectively.

Step 6: Ongoing Support, Collaboration and Optimization

The implementation journey does not end with go-live. The partner remains at your side, offering ongoing support and guidance as you navigate the new system. They can also help you identify optimization opportunities to continuously improve your pricing strategy and maximize the value you get from Pricefx.

Partner-led implementations prioritize ongoing collaboration and clear communication channels, fostering a successful project by ensuring everyone involved is on the same page. Key roles involved in this collaborative approach include:

• Partner: Acting as the primary point of contact, managing, and delivering the entire Pricefx implementation project.

• Partner Resources: A team of skilled professionals, including program managers, pricing consultants, solution architects, configuration engineers, and QA engineers, working collaboratively to achieve your pricing optimization goals.

• Customer Success Manager (CSM): Your dedicated point of contact within Pricefx, ensuring seamless ongoing support post-implementation.

By prioritizing a quality and timely implementation process, you can significantly improve your TTV with Pricefx.

This translates to faster realization of the software's benefits, such as increased revenue, improved pricing agility, and enhanced operational efficiency.

Partnering for Pricing Success

By choosing a seasoned Pricefx partner, you gain access to a wealth of expertise, ensuring a smooth and successful Pricefx implementation. Partner-led projects offer a collaborative approach, combining your business knowledge with the partner's implementation expertise and Pricefx's ongoing support. This collaborative approach empowers you to:

• Optimize your pricing strategy: Leverage the partner's consulting expertise to develop a data-driven pricing strategy that maximizes profitability and market competitiveness. Pricefx's functionalities provide the tools, and the right partners’ guidance can ensure you use them effectively to define competitive pricing rules, automate workflows, and gain valuable pricing insights.

• Enhance operational efficiency and transparency: Having perfect clarity for what is going on in your company, partners can help streamline your pricing processes by leveraging Pricefx's automation capabilities. This can lead to improved efficiency, reduced costs associated with manual work, and faster turnaround times for pricing tasks, allowing your team to focus on higher-value activities.

• Navigate change management: Effectively managing change is crucial for user adoption of any new software. Partner expertise ensures a smooth transition for your team, minimizing disruption and maximizing the impact of the new Pricefx solution. The partner will help develop a comprehensive change management plan to address any concerns and ensure your team feels comfortable and confident using the new system.

• Achieve a seamless integration: Partners with experience in complex system integrations and with your organization’s in-house integration tools ensure your Pricefx solution integrates seamlessly with your existing ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM, CPQ (Configure Price Quote), and other critical systems. This eliminates data silos, ensures a smooth flow of information, and provides a holistic view of your pricing data across the organization.

• Accelerate your time to value: Partner knowledge and expertise can significantly reduce the time it takes to implement and optimize your Pricefx solution. They can hit the ground running, leveraging best practices and established processes to ensure a faster implementation timeline. This allows you to reap the benefits of Pricefx faster, such as increased revenue and improved pricing agility.

Choosing the Right Implementation Partner for You

By understanding the value proposition of partner-led Pricefx implementations, the roles involved, and the resources available, you are well-equipped to embark on a successful pricing software journey. Partnering with the right expert empowers you to unlock the full potential of Pricefx, optimize your pricing strategy, and achieve sustainable growth.

In today's competitive landscape, a data-driven pricing strategy is no longer optional. Pricefx, coupled with a seasoned partner's expertise, offers a collaborative and efficient path to pricing excellence, ensuring you can confidently price to win. Quality and timely implementation deepen your company's chance to have the best Time-to-value (TTV) possible, maximizing the return on your investment in Pricefx.

If would like to learn more in depth on how to choose the best implementation partner for your business, check out this handy article on How to Choose the Right Pricing Software Partner for You

Meanwhile, Happy Pricing!