Price discrepancies in B2B often go unnoticed. Automated monitoring provides control and prevents losses due to incorrect pricing logic.
Research by Turis shows that companies lose 1 to 5 per cent of their earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) annually due to incorrect price information in electronic data transfers (EDI orders).
Particularly alarming: 66 per cent of B2B companies lose up to £500,000 per year due to pricing errors alone.
For a medium-sized B2B e-commerce company with an annual turnover of £50 million, this potentially means a loss of £2.5 million per year – money that simply disappears.
Industry analyses by Rierino also confirm that the increasing complexity of individual pricing logic in the B2B environment – from volume discounts and customer-specific conditions to multi-currency setups – often leads to systematic errors.
Another critical issue is that these discrepancies often remain undetected for a long time because they are hidden deep within automated processes.
These figures clearly show that even highly digitised B2B systems are susceptible to price discrepancies. And each of these errors not only jeopardises margins, but also the trust of long-standing business partners.
Why B2B prices need to be monitored twice
In B2B e-commerce, precision counts – especially when it comes to pricing. Unlike in B2C retail, fixed price lists are rarely used here.
Companies work with individual terms, graduated prices, discounts or exclusive agreements.
These differentiated B2B prices are often the result of long-standing relationships – and thus a real competitive advantage. But it is precisely this complexity that harbours risks.
The error in the process: when a mapping slips
This scenario is more common than many B2B retailers initially suspect: a long-standing major customer calls in the morning.
Suddenly, their invoice shows the same prices as in the end customer shop. The cause? An incorrect price group assignment after a data import or system update.
Whether synchronising customer groups between the ERP system and the online shop, updating price lists or making changes to the discount logic – even a small mapping error can have serious consequences.
The financial damage: more than just a number
An incorrect price in the B2B environment is not a simple calculation error – it directly affects trust.
In the best case scenario, the error ‘only’ damages your own brand. In extreme cases, such a pricing error can lead to the loss of long-term business relationships.
After all, reliability is what counts in B2B business. If, for example, you accidentally quote end customer prices, you risk not only losing sales but also your reputation.
Securing B2B logic: data validation instead of gut feeling
Manual spot checks or reports are not enough to reliably detect incorrect price assignments.
It is crucial to automatically validate price groups after every data import or system update – for example, by comparing customer numbers, price lists and condition logic.
This ensures that every customer group continues to receive the correct prices – before an error becomes visible in the live shop.
Specialised B2B monitoring: when anomalies become costly
In practice, anomaly detection helps by continuously analysing order figures.
Systems such as INTELLIFANT act as an early warning system, detecting unusual deviations across channels and sounding the alarm in a timely manner before margins erode.
Conclusion: trust begins with control
Trust is the most sensitive currency in B2B commerce – and pricing errors are its greatest risk.
Those who actively monitor their pricing logic and customer groups not only protect their sales and margins, but also the most important asset in B2B online commerce: trust.
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