Good pricing decisions are critical for every company. A key input into pricing decisions is using market research data to benchmark against competitors. However, to be actionable on that data, Pricing Analysts must be able to identify key competitors to review related pricing indexes and performance. In many companies there is a large range of products that need to be priced. Therefore, providing automated pricing insights and suggestions can be game changing.

A team of data scientists prepare a KNIME workflow which analyzes and then automatically benchmarks and ranks potential candidates. The workflow is deployed on KNIME Server as a Guided Analytics Application and assists pricing analysts in two ways. Firstly, by automatically identifying key competitors based on pricing. Secondly, by benchmarking the selected baseline product against these competitors to establish an understanding of its relation to the trade channel and market.

A KNIME workflow, deployed on KNIME Server is made available as an Analytical Application via the KNIME WebPortal. The automated approach of providing the competitor’s product and prices increases the speed and accuracy of decision making. Furthermore, by showing trends and directions, decision makers can adjust goals and make better decisions about pricing.