How Pricefx Chooses Its Pricing Software Partners

Here at Pricefx, we take great pride in a thorough vetting process when considering new pricing partners for our Advantage Partner Program. Because when it comes down to it, in an industry as niche as pricing, having the right domain experience is decisive in a vendor’s ability to carry out implementations with quality and speed.  

In this article, we walk through the most important criteria Pricefx looks for when selecting (and excluding) partners, as well as what that process looks like in practice, to enable your business to assess the quality of their support in future pricing projects.  

A note before we begin: When referring to “pricing software partners,” in this article, we mean those in our Advantage Partner Program, a network of strategy and system integrators that work with customers to carry out implementation and use the solution optimally to address their business needs.

With that, let’s dive in.

Our Criteria for Selecting Pricefx Partners  

When evaluating potential partners, Pricefx largely considers pricing expertise and a few other factors for selection, including geographical reach, tech stack, and industry experience: 

1. Technology Stack 

One of the first things we want to know more about when speaking to prospective partners is their existing technology stack and infrastructure, including their use of Salesforce, SAP, and other third-party systems, to assess their level of familiarity with the applications our users work with most.  

The benefits of understanding a future partner’s technical footprint are twofold. First, we know that when it comes time to integrate across systems with Pricefx, the partners with an extensive tech stack will already have the expertise to hit the ground running. Second, it’s a good indicator of an effective data readiness program and ability to facilitate a streamlined implementation process.  

Ultimately, though, we believe that a partner who is already well connected in tech is a comfort to our users and establishes trust; after all, when looking for help, you’re more likely to call on a friend or neighbour than someone whom you don’t already have confidence in. 

2. Geographical Presence   

Pricefx also prioritizes partners with a wide geographical reach, as it allows for a broader market presence and increased accessibility for our customers in various regions. Having a partner with local implementation teams on the ground ensures that we can effectively serve a global client base. 

3. Pricing Expertise   

Of course, we are looking for partners who have a proven history in the pricing or commercial domain. Our evaluation of a partner’s expertise here involves a two-pronged approach: 

• Qualitative Evaluation by Solution Strategy and Sales  

Pricefx subject matter experts, namely sales and solution strategy teams, engage with and work alongside prospective partners to gain a deeper qualitative understanding of their skills, reputation, and general knowledge of the domain.  

• Qualification Exams & Pricing Project Track Record  

We also consider the number of team members certified to implement Pricefx solutions, as well as their past pricing project implementation successes. By offering an extensive training program, ending in a Pricefx-proctored certification exams, we can effectively gauge a future partner’s ability to deliver quality results for our users.  

4. Industry Expertise 

While not a requirement, it also helps if partners specialize in industries that our solution currently serves, such as Discrete Manufacturing, Retail, Distribution, Chemical and Process, and Food & Beverage. However, as our solution is designed to be industry-agnostic, we welcome all kinds of industry expertise; in fact, the more diverse a partner’s industry rolodex, the better.  

What Prevents Partners from Working with Pricefx? 

While we always leave the door open for qualified companies to join the Pricefx partner ecosystem, we do have several criteria that can prevent partners from continuing in our program if they aren’t met.  

Our partner program involves a matrix approach that assigns one of three tiers (Advantagef3, f2, and f1) to partners based on their engagement with us, namely: 

• Active project engagement (e.g., number of projects open) 
• Participation in joint marketing and sales efforts 
• Commitment to our implementation and sales training programs and certifications 

A partner may be disqualified from our program if they fall short of these responsibilities, or any other obligations required of their tier group that are outlined in our partner guide and ecosystem agreements.  

More than anything, our partner qualification matrix is designed to provide mutually gratifying opportunities for Pricefx and ecosystem partners to scale business reach and deepen expertise in delivering top-of-the-line pricing software to customers.  

What Does the Partner Selection Process Look Like?   

In essence, Pricefx selects its partners by initiating a thorough evaluation of their experience, led by our sales and solution strategy teams, followed by ongoing collaboration with partner managers and training leads to ensure their readiness for future projects.  

Screening  

Our sales and solution teams come together with a prospective partner’s key leaders and implementation teams to understand their customer base, the technology they currently use, and their implementation experience. Once they have a full picture of what kinds of projects a partner has worked on in the past, they decide from there if the company is the right fit for Pricefx.  

Training Program 

We require partners to undergo extensive product training and take a certification exam (Configuration Engineers, Solution Architects, and Integration Specialists), led by our own training team, to become (and remain) full-fledged members of our Advantage Partner Program.  

Project Support  

Throughout the project lifecycle, partners in need of extra support when navigating challenges or queries can always lean on Pricefx’s Partner Advisory Services and Training teams for guidance. In fact, partners are assigned a partner manager from the start to ensure a quick and painless implementation process for everyone involved. 

Ensuring Quality Partnerships with Pricefx’s Implementation Training Program   

The Pricefx Advantage Partner Program is committed to choosing pricing software partners that have the right mix of pricing and industry expertise, a strong technical footprint, and global reach and can ensure that your partner-led pricing project is set up for quick returns and effectively addresses your unique pricing needs.  

Our compulsory training program is another way we equip partners with all the tools necessary to support Pricefx users at every step of implementation. To learn more about the implementation training plan we offer our partners, consider checking out our article below: 

Or to learn more about Pricefx’s Advantage Partner Network, jump ahead to our partner landing page.