Pricing and customer centricity
Caio Greco and Patryk Kwintal, Pricing Managers, Radial Europe
In ecommerce fulfillment, well-engineered pricing creates a win-win situation. It offers customers a range of options and fair prices, while it allows the 3PL to stay afloat and improve. How does it benefit customers?
- Choice & control: well-designed pricing structures offer customers options, depending on their needs.
- Transparency: clear valuation helps customers understand the cost breakdown and allows them to budget effectively.
- Competitivity: 3PL’s high #quality solutions, higher efficiency, and competitive pricing, keeps costs in check for businesses, which can ultimately translate to lower prices and better services for end consumers.
In Radial we are lucky to have the two Masters of Pricing: Caio Cesar D’Angelo Greco & Patryk Kwintal. They are part of the Solutions Engineering Team, the core of the hyper-tailored solutions we provide to our customers across the beauty, fashion, sportswear (and more) industries.
In this interview, they tell us more about the key tasks of a Pricing Manager.
An interview with the Pricing Squad
Q – What skills and knowledge are essential in logistics pricing management?
A – As a pricing manager for an international logistics provider, several skills and knowledge areas are essential in the logistics industry.
To name a few I’d start with:
- The ability to analyze data, interpret market trends, and identify costing opportunities.
- A deep understanding of the logistics industry, including market dynamics, regulatory requirements, and competitive landscape, is essential. This knowledge helps in formulating pricing strategies that are responsive to market conditions and customer needs.
- Strong financial acumen is necessary for evaluating pricing strategies in terms of profitability, revenue growth, and cost optimization. This includes understanding cost structures, profit margins, and pricing implications on the overall financial performance of the business.
By possessing these (but not only these) skills and knowledge areas, a pricing manager can effectively navigate the complexities of logistics costing management and drive sustainable business growth.
Q – How do you stay informed about current market trends and competitor rates?
A – Staying informed about current market trends and competitor fees is crucial for maintaining competitiveness and optimizing pricing strategies. Subscribing regularly to and read industry publications, reports, and newsletters focused on logistics, transportation, and supply chain management. These sources often provide valuable insights into market trends, emerging technologies, and competitor valuation strategies.
Conducting regular market research and analysis helps understand customer preferences, market demand, and competitive landscape. This may involve analyzing data on shipping volumes, pricing trends, and customer feedback.
Engaging with customers and collecting feedback helps capturing their needs, preferences, and perceptions of value. On top of that, regular communication and collaboration with sales teams, account managers, and other departments within the organization provide valuable insights into market challenges and competitor activities. By employing these strategies, we can ensure that our valuation remains competitive, responsive to market dynamics, and aligned with customer needs and expectations.
Data is the core of everything we do.
Q – What data and analytical tools do you utilize to inform your pricing decisions?
A – Data is the core of everything we do. Currently we use power BI find the insights that help us make a difference for our customers.
Trust is an integral value at Radial and for its crucial for us to honour our agreements.
Q – Any recent situations where you had to adjust valuation due to market fluctuations?
A – Trust is an integral value at Radial and for its crucial for us to honour our agreements. This is why we prepare a tailored solution that looks at each parameter and the risk and opportunities involved before we present an offer to our customers.
Q – Is it more difficult to price for automation or manual?
A – We provide tailored solutions for our customers, and we often explore both automation and manual solutions to be able to offer the best option for our customers. Each solution present some challenges, each with its own complexities.
We carefully evaluate factors such as investment costs, operating expenses, value proposition, labour costs and availability, efficiency, flexibility, and adaptability. When looking specifically at an automation project there is added complexity since we work partners in the designing and budgeting of the solution. We must constantly align to make an offer that will meet the needs of our customers (both now and in the future) without adding unnecessary costs.
Q – A recent project you are particularly proud of?
A – The rollout of one of the largest robots fleet in Europe. We did it for a fashion customer and in a brand new facility in Groningen, Netherlands.
Largest AMR’s rollout in Europe
By leveraging a blend of robotics, AI technologies, and human expertise in a brand new facility, Radial Europe helped a fashion customer achieving a 4x increase in picking performance and a 1.5x increase in packing performance.
Caio Greco, Performance and Pricing Manager at Radial Europe, with an MBA from ESADE Business School, brings a wealth of experience across logistics operations, supply chain, finance, and marketing.
He has a proven track record in leading cost reduction projects, managing budgets and contracts, overseeing maintenance and planning activities, and implementing pricing strategies.
Caio holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia, São Paulo, Brazil.
Patryk Kwintal is the Pricing Manager Europe at Radial Europe, where is in charge of:
Pricing strategy: develop pricing strategies that optimize profitability and market competitiveness.
Cost management: Collaborate with other teams to track cost movements.
Pricing negotiation: Analyze price change requests from the sales team, considering margin impact, potential sales volume, and competitor pricing.
New business development: develop pricing proposals for new customers and service offerings.
Market intelligence: track market trends and competitor pricing to maintain a competitive edge.
Before his current role, Patryk held several positions in business analysis, project management, and pricing.
