Client Overview

Industry: Mechanical and electronic security products—door hardware, access control, and architectural hardware

Business Size: $100M+ estimated Australia/New Zealand turnover (part of global Allegion plc)

Location: Australia-wide B2B footprint across distributors, resellers, and project channels

Client Context: Allegion sells to a fragmented trade customer base via distributors, builders, hardware stores, and OEM project partners. Pricing was characterised by over-discounting, legacy override practices, cost-plus logic, and heavy reliance on sales discretion. Volume-based deals often triggered cascading margin erosion across channels due to lack of central pricing coordination and channel conflict management.

Challenge / Problem

Symptoms Observed:

• Sales teams lacked structured pricing guardrails—many believed "discounting was necessary to close every deal"
• Price-matching culture created by reactive responses to Bunnings, Mitre 10, and regional competitors
• No margin visibility at quote or branch level—decisions made without understanding EBIT impact
• Fragmented pricing execution across SKUs, branches, and customer tiers

Strategic Impact:

• Margin erosion through uncontrolled discounting, channel conflict, and weak price governance
• Inconsistent value communication to trade, project, and retail accounts
• Loss of pricing credibility with key customers and internal stakeholders

Internal Insight:
“We sell premium hardware, but our pricing practices make us look like we’re selling on volume, not value. We undercut ourselves in every channel.”

Objectives of the Engagement

• Quantify current pricing risk and recoverable margin opportunity
• Standardise price logic by customer type, product class, and sales channel
• Embed margin visibility and delegated authority thresholds into sales process
• Reduce pricing chaos at the branch level through governance and training
• Shift sales mindset from price giving to value positioning

Our Approach

Phase 1: Pricing Capability Assessment

• 60+ Allegion staff completed a structured pricing capability survey
• Wide dispersion in scoring revealed organisational misalignment—some rated markdown management at 100%, others as low as 11%
• Pricing maturity scored at 58%, with severe gaps in quote discipline, analytics, and governance

Phase 2: Executive Roadmap & Quick Wins

• Facilitated executive workshop to align pricing ambition with commercial model
• Reviewed pricing mechanics across small job pricing, project quotes, distributor discounts, and channel support
• Assessed case scenarios (e.g. flooring product discount cascade) to highlight systemic risk in current model

Phase 3: Pricing Reset Playbook

• Created delegated authority structure based on deal size, segment, and risk
• Designed quote SOPs, discount tiers, and channel integrity rules
• Developed training content and dashboards for live margin tracking and quote consistency

Key Actions Taken

1. Channel Pricing Rules
   Prevented discount cross-leakage between trade, retail, and project channels
2. Deal Authority Matrix
   Introduced role-based pricing approval based on customer type and margin threshold
3. Quote Tools and Margin Visibility
   Embedded live margin preview in quote process for sales and customer service
4. SKU and Brand Discount Guardrails
   Developed max discount thresholds for premium SKUs to defend margin integrity
5. Scenario-Based Sales Training
   Delivered workshops using flooring case study to build awareness of price cascade risks

Results Achieved (Within 8–12 Weeks)

1. EBIT Opportunity Identified
   $3.8M–$6.5M EBIT gain identified via override control and pricing reset
2. Pricing Maturity Uplift
   Baseline 58% → Target 75% maturity via clear roadmap and implementation tools
3. Override Reduction
   Sales override activity forecast to drop 45–60% through rule-based controls
4. Improved Commercial Alignment
   Executive consensus achieved on pricing governance and role clarity
5. Sales Capability Shift
   Sales teams began shifting from "price matchers" to "value defenders"

Client Feedback

“The flooring case study opened our eyes. What looked like a smart local discount turned into a $2M problem. We now have the tools and mindset to avoid these traps—and price more profitably.”
— Head of Sales, Allegion ANZ

What This Means for Similar Companies

In construction hardware and trade environments, price erosion often stems from reactive discounting and poorly managed channel conflict. Allegion’s case highlights how companies with strong brands can protect value—if they move from pricing discretion to disciplined decision-making grounded in role clarity and data.

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