Case Studies

Building a Scalable Channel-Based Wholesale Pricing Framework

2 minute read

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: A fast-growing pet products company needed a more consistent and scalable approach to wholesale pricing as its customer, product, and channel mix expanded. Catena Solutions developed a channel-based pricing framework that consolidated customer-specific pricing into five standardized price lists, strengthened margin management, and created a repeatable approach capable of supporting approximately 30 future distribution opportunities.

Project at a Glance:

• 5 Standardized Price Lists: Consolidated customer-specific pricing into five channel-based structures
• ~30 Future Opportunities: Built a framework capable of supporting approximately 30 targeted distribution opportunities
• Improved Margin Consistency: Established standardized pricing methodologies aligned with channel economics and gross margin objectives
• Scalable Pricing Governance: Created principles and guidelines for evaluating future customers, products, and channels
• Reduced Pricing Complexity: Eliminated the need to develop individual pricing structures for each new customer opportunity

The Challenge: How Can a Growing Company Simplify & Standardize Wholesale Pricing?

After experiencing significant growth across customers, products, and channels, the company’s wholesale pricing had become increasingly complex. Pricing had evolved customer by customer, resulting in multiple price lists, inconsistent methodologies, and varying gross margins.

As the business continued to grow, leadership needed a more structured and defensible approach that could account for channel requirements, trade spending, fulfillment methods, and cost-to-serve considerations.

Key challenges included:

• Multiple customer-specific price lists with inconsistent pricing methodologies
• Difficulty maintaining margin consistency across customers and channels
• Increasing complexity around trade spend, fulfillment, and cost to serve
• Limited documented pricing governance and decision-making criteria
• Significant time required to evaluate and price new customers and products

Leadership needed experienced pricing expertise to bring greater structure, objectivity, and industry best practices to its existing analysis.

The Solution: How Did Catena Build a Scalable Channel-Based Pricing Framework?

Catena Solutions deployed an experienced Revenue Growth Management & Pricing Consultant to evaluate the company’s existing practices and develop a comprehensive wholesale pricing framework.

Rather than rebuilding the company’s existing work, we established a standardized approach that balanced margin objectives with retailer expectations, channel economics, trade investments, shipping costs, fulfillment requirements, and cost to serve.

The engagement included:

• Developing standardized channel-based pricing methodologies, principles, and governance guidelines
• Consolidating customer-specific pricing into five channel price lists across Food, Mass, National Pet, Ecommerce, and Regional Pet
• Creating a repeatable pricing architecture for evaluating future products, customers, and growth opportunities
• Incorporating trade spend, marketing investments, shipping, fulfillment, and cost-to-serve considerations into pricing decisions

The Benefit: How Did Standardized Pricing Improve Margin Management & Support Growth?

The company now has a standardized wholesale pricing framework that improves consistency, supports targeted gross margins, and gives leadership predefined principles for evaluating new customers, products, and channels.

Key outcomes included:

• Consolidated customer-specific pricing into five standardized channel price lists
• Created a framework capable of supporting approximately 30 targeted future distribution opportunities
• Reduced pricing complexity while strengthening consistency around targeted gross margins

With standardized pricing and governance in place, the company is better positioned to evaluate new opportunities, protect margins, and scale distribution.