Each day, new data is transmitted to the system and users run quality control checks, review the results [image-nocss] and act when needed. Daily users run the price optimization model, review the results, make adjustments when necessary and then transmit approved prices. These processes can now be automated to save time and promote consistent practices.
Customers electing to automate the optimization processes will also receive "customized alerts," said the company.
The purpose of the alerts is to ensure that the best, most current data is available in the system each day before the automated optimization runs. The system will automatically alert users and their designees about missing, incomplete or extraordinary data circumstances which can be escalated as needed to ensure all data is in place before the optimization automatically runs. Alerts can also be set up to notify users of pricing anomalies, such as price recommendations that are initiating or following a market recovery or for some other circumstance. The framework for the automation has a flexible design that MPSI can readily customize to meet user-specified guidelines.
Users wanting to automate the pricing process can choose how much or little they want to automate, the company said.
The system can be set up to be fully automated where the model runs, approves and transmits prices each day, or it can be partially automated. Some users may only want the system to transmit prices when it finds an optimal pricing solution. When the solution is not optimal and instead strategic (i.e., rule-based) or is initiating or following a recovery, then the user may want to review and analyze the result before prices are approved and transmitted.
"This automation was developed in response to requests we received from our clients," said Don Spears, managing director of global pricing for MPSI. "Automating the routine processes our users go through daily should help to promote consistent implementation across the organization."
The online PriceIt! Pro system is designed to help users set the best motor fuel prices for each outlet in their network. It combines daily fuel volumes, users' costs and prices, key competitor prices, consumer price sensitivities and an optimization routine to establish a price position that achieves optimum profit and volume.
The MPSI online PriceIt! Pro system is currently available globally.
Tulsa, Okla.-based MPSI is a leading provider of fuels pricing and site evaluation solutions. Its products and services help customers with fuels price management, price optimization, volume projections, retail asset management and retail outlet data. MPSI is also a principal provider of traffic data, demographics and online mapping.
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