If you’re reading this, you already know fixed pricing is for the birds. Maybe you’re tired of losing deals to competitors who seem to change prices on the fly, or you want to stop leaving money on the table. Either way, you’re looking for a practical guide to building dynamic pricing in Verenia—not a sales pitch, not a buzzword parade. Let’s cut through the noise and get you a system you can actually use.
What “Dynamic Pricing” Actually Means (and What It Doesn’t)
Dynamic pricing isn’t magic. At its core, it just means your price can change based on rules or market factors—like customer type, order size, inventory, or even what your competitors are up to. Some folks tack on “AI” or “machine learning,” but unless you have a data science team and deep pockets, start simple. Focus on rules you can explain and maintain.
Step 1: Figure Out What Should Drive Your Price
Before you touch Verenia, get clear on what you want your prices to react to. If you skip this, you’ll end up with a mess of spaghetti logic nobody wants to maintain.
Common drivers: - Customer segment (e.g., new vs. returning) - Order volume or size - Product configuration options - Time of day, week, or season - Inventory levels - Competitor pricing (if you have the data) - Contractual agreements or negotiated deals
Pro tip: Don’t try to do it all at once. Pick two or three drivers that will move the needle for your business. You can always add more later.
Step 2: Map Out Your Pricing Logic
Write your rules down, literally. Draw a flowchart or just jot them in a doc. You want everyone on the same page before you build.
Example:
If customer = new AND order value > $10,000 Apply 5% discount Else if product = X AND inventory < 20 Add 7% surcharge Else Standard price
This doesn’t need to be fancy. Just clear.
What to avoid: - Vague rules like “give a discount if it feels right” (you’ll regret this). - Overlapping or contradictory rules (test them together).
Step 3: Set Up Price Attributes in Verenia
Verenia’s CPQ system lets you define custom fields and attributes for products, customers, and orders. This is where you put your drivers into the system.
How to do it: - In Verenia admin, go to your product catalog and add custom fields for anything your rules need (e.g., “Customer Type,” “Inventory Level,” “Order Value”). - Make sure these fields are updated automatically by your other systems (ERP, CRM, etc.) if possible, so you don’t have to do it by hand.
Honest take: This part can get messy if your data isn't clean. Garbage in, garbage out. If your customer segments aren’t set up right in your CRM, fix that first.
Step 4: Build Pricing Rules in the Configurator
Now, create the actual logic in Verenia’s rules engine. Think of this as building “if this, then that” statements.
Tips: - Use simple conditions wherever you can. The more complex the rule, the harder it is to debug later. - Group related rules together. For example, put all volume discounts in one spot. - Give each rule a clear name and description. Future-you will thank you.
Example in Verenia: - Rule: “High Volume Discount” - If Order Quantity > 100, apply 10% discount. - Rule: “Low Inventory Surcharge” - If Inventory Level < 10, add 5% to price.
What doesn’t work: Building everything in one giant rule. Break it up, or you’ll lose track.
Step 5: Test the Rules—Really Test Them
Don’t assume your logic works just because it “should.” Fake some orders, run test scenarios, and see what prices you get. Have someone else try to break it.
Checklist: - Try edge cases (biggest and smallest orders, weird customer types) - Check combinations (e.g., high volume AND low inventory) - Make sure the right price shows up on proposals and quotes
Pro tip: Keep a spreadsheet of your expected results and compare them to what Verenia spits out. If they don’t match, fix the rules—not the spreadsheet.
Step 6: Roll Out, but Start Small
Don’t inflict your new rules on every customer at once. Pick a segment (or even just your sales team) and see how it goes.
Why? - You’ll spot mistakes before they hit everyone. - You can get feedback from real users. - It’s easier to back out changes if something goes sideways.
What to ignore: Requests to “just launch it for everyone.” Resist the urge. Slow rollouts save headaches.
Step 7: Monitor, Tweak, and Don’t Get Lazy
Dynamic pricing isn’t “set and forget.” Stuff changes—competitors, costs, demand. Make it part of someone’s job to review your pricing logic at least quarterly.
What to track: - Win/loss rates on quotes - Margin changes - Customer complaints or confusion - Sales team feedback (“Why did this quote price jump?”)
Pro tip: Build a simple report in Verenia or your BI tool that flags weird prices or sudden margin drops. Don’t wait until customers complain.
Honest FAQs and Pitfalls
Q: Should we use AI for dynamic pricing in Verenia?
Short answer: Probably not, unless you have a ton of clean data and someone who can actually explain the output. Rules-based pricing works for most B2B shops.
Q: What about integrating competitor prices?
It’s possible, but scraping competitor data is often unreliable. If you have a legit data feed, great—just don’t build your whole model around data you can’t trust.
Q: How do I stop sales from overriding prices?
Lock down editing permissions in Verenia. Otherwise, you’ll get “special” deals that kill your margin.
Q: Any gotchas?
- Complex rules break easily when someone changes a field name or adds a new product. Document everything.
- If your sales team doesn’t understand the pricing logic, they’ll find ways to work around it. Train them early.
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Dynamic pricing in Verenia can give you a real edge—but only if you keep your rules simple, test obsessively, and adjust as you go. Don’t fall for shiny features or try to automate the world on day one. Nail the basics, learn from your mistakes, and build from there. The best pricing models are the ones your team actually understands and uses.
Now, go build something that works—and don’t forget to check your own math.