Today many companies must juggle hundreds of thousands or even millions of price points. Traditional approaches for managing prices are inadequate in an environment of such complexity—so companies need a new operating model if they are to set prices effectively. Critical priorities include creating better visibility into pricing performance, and establishing a common system for pricing across brands, channels, and segments  Companies also must strive to maintain an organizational balance between centralization and decentralization.   An interview with the president of the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development Profiting from Proliferation

The common perception among selling organisations is that reverse auctions commoditise their offering, destroy established relationships and focus single-mindedly on price. And who can be surprised with this mindset, when the vice president of supplier management in a Fortune 10 technology firm has publicly observed: “There is no reason suppliers should like reverse auctions. It is a tool that is designed to transfer margins from them to me.”Finally, when participating, suppliers can get into a bidding war that drives prices down below their bottom line, as the desperation of the ‘herd mentality’ takes over. The sales director of an industrial product distributor explains: “It was one of the most frightening experiences I have ever had. I went in with a limit, was soon bidding far below it and realised I had lost control.”