We hope 2025 has already started proving successful and productive for you and your business. We know that the upcoming changes in economic regulations might be on your mind, so we wanted to provide something useful on the topic. Please read on for Nelson's Editorial.
Why Our Customers Stay Resilient Despite Rising Tariffs
Since 2019, when I first wrote about the impact of tariffs in Link Magazine, we've been helping distributors manage cost volatility. Now, with the industry facing tariff pressures of 10-25% on key imports, I’m proud to say that customers using our “standard cost” add-on are already prepared to handle these challenges.
Our Proactive Approach Pays Off
Our early recognition of tariff challenges led us to build robust cost volatility modeling into our solutions. This foresight means:
- Your pricing models already account for tariff-driven cost changes
- Your systems can respond quickly to supply chain disruptions
- Your margins are protected through automated adjustments
Our just-released benchmark report, "How Distributors Protect Margins During Cost Volatility," validates this approach. While many distributors see up to 35% of annual revenue at risk from cost volatility, our customers consistently outperform the market.
The Cost of Being Reactive
Our latest analysis of over 400,000 SKUs reveals the stark difference between proactive and reactive approaches:
Reactive Distributors Face:
- 1.6% margin erosion from delayed price updates
- 6.0% margin erosion from poor implementation
- 15-30 hours weekly spent processing updates manually
- High risk of errors in manual data entry
- Critical pricing processes relying on tribal knowledge
Intuilize Customers Experience:
- Weekly standard cost adjustments
- Automated price optimizations
- Protected margins across product categories
- Reduced manual processing time
- Data-driven decision making
Success Story: Proactive vs. Reactive
Let me share a tale of two distributors facing the same tariff increases:
- Distributor A (Without Proactive Solutions):
- $150M annual revenue
- 2-week delay in implementing price changes
- $1.5M+ in lost margins annually
- Constant scramble to update prices
- Customer dissatisfaction from pricing inconsistencies
- Distributor B (Intuilize Customer):
- Similar revenue profile
- Weekly standard cost adjustments
- Protected margins despite tariff increases
- Automated pricing updates
- Strengthened customer relationships through consistent pricing
Looking Ahead: Gaining Your Competitive Edge
With new tariffs on the way, our solutions are evolving to help you stay ahead. Recent updates include:
- Improved volatility modeling
- Tools to analyze cost changes
- Impact assessment features
Next Steps
- Download our benchmark report
- If you'd like to discuss how our proven approach of standard cost can help your business, let's schedule a call.
Remember, while others are just starting to react to tariff challenges, our customers are already prepared. That's the power of working with a partner who stays ahead of market changes.
Best,
Nelson Valderrama CEO, Intuilize
Intuilize Updates
On our end, we're starting this year with significant enhancements to our platform and our communications, all designed to deliver even more value to your business. Let us share some exciting updates that will directly impact your experience with Intuilize.
Platform Enhancements: Faster, More Reliable, More Secure
We've made substantial investments in our IT infrastructure, resulting in immediate benefits for your daily operations:
- Enhanced platform speed for quicker analytics processing
- Improved reliability with increased uptime
- More responsive user interface for seamless interaction
Introducing: New Price Optimization Diagnostic Feature
Coming soon, we're launching a powerful new diagnostic feature in our Price Optimization module. This enhancement will help you: Identify opportunities to win back customers
Detailed access instructions and best practices for utilizing this feature will be included in our March newsletter, so stay tuned!
Looking Ahead
March's newsletter will feature:
- Detailed guide to identify opportunities to win back customers
- Additional platform updates and enhancements
Thank you for your continued partnership with Intuilize. We're excited about the opportunities ahead in 2025 and remain committed to your success.
Best regards,
The Intuilize Team
