Client Overview

Industry: Industrial and Refinish Coatings – OEM, Refinish, and Commercial Vehicle

Business Size: Global operations with regional manufacturing and distribution hubs across APAC, EMEA, and the Americas

Client Context: Axalta serves OEMs, body shops, distributors, and industrial manufacturers with high-performance coatings, systems, and accessories. The organisation had grown through acquisitions and regional expansion, but pricing execution was fragmented, discounting practices varied by territory, and margin leakage was hidden within complex rebate, transfer pricing, and distribution structures.

Challenge / Problem

Symptoms Observed:

• Country managers and sales leaders applied different pricing logic, from strict list adherence to aggressive localised discounting
• Trade programs and rebates were inconsistently applied or poorly tracked, especially at sub-dealer and workshop levels
• Sales teams lacked visibility into margin impact of override discounts or deal-specific bundles (e.g., free tinting, accessories)
• Internal knowledge gaps on pricing maths, contribution margin, and elasticity-based pricing decisions

Strategic Impact:

• Regional pricing inconsistency eroded brand trust and channel discipline
• Margin compression in high-volume SKUs due to cost-plus pricing and competitive match-downs
• Over-reliance on discounts to defend share, rather than monetising technical support, product performance, or service capability

Internal Viewpoint:

“We’re leaving margin on the table. Pricing decisions are being made by gut feel, and no one knows how much support or discounting is too much—or too little.”

Objectives of the Engagement

• Identify and quantify margin leakage across key markets (India, Australia, Southeast Asia)
• Establish a unified pricing capability framework and maturity baseline
• Build internal confidence and control in pricing decisions, reducing override dependency
• Align sales teams to a structured pricing approach across commercial and refinish channels
• Develop tools and training to improve technical pricing fluency, value selling, and rebate governance

Our Approach

Phase 1: Capability Diagnostic

• Over 40 managers and frontline leaders completed a pricing capability diagnostic survey across APAC
• Scored key capabilities across pricing strategy, quote governance, margin visibility, customer segmentation, and discount execution
• Established a maturity baseline: Australia scored highest (94.5%), India showed deeper gaps with mixed ratings (mid-60s to low 80s)

Phase 2: Root Cause & Action Planning

• Facilitated regional insight sessions to discuss inconsistent deal practices, tools, and pricing delegation logic
• Identified urgent improvement areas: customer tiering, localised rebate design, and contribution margin modelling

Phase 3: Execution Toolkit & Education

• Delivered training workshops on pricing mechanics, cost/margin impact of discounts, and value quantification
• Developed SOPs for discount approvals, dealer rebates, and bundled product pricing
• Initiated roadmap for building pricing governance into CRM and ERP quoting flows

Key Actions Taken

1. Regional Pricing Maturity Mapping
   Created capability heatmaps to guide roadmap by country and channel
2. Discount Approval Workflow
   Introduced tiered delegation limits based on discount %, deal type, and margin thresholds
3. Rebate Program Governance
   Developed standard frameworks for rebate setup, accrual, and post-deal ROI tracking
4. Pricing Fluency Training
   Delivered targeted training on price elasticity, gross vs contribution margin, and price waterfall logic
5. Service Monetisation Framework
   Created toolkit for pricing technical services, tinting support, and advisory time per customer segment

Results Achieved (Within 12 Weeks)

1. Margin Recovery Opportunity
   $4.3M–$6.5M identified via discount control, service monetisation, and SKU repricing
2. Capability Uplift by Region
   Australia and Singapore approaching 90%+ maturity; India and Thailand on structured uplift plans
3. Discount Discipline
   Sales override dependency projected to reduce 40–60% with guardrails in place
4. Rebate ROI Visibility
   Structured templates for rebate setup and tracking introduced in 3 key countries
5. Pricing Confidence Lift
   Post-training assessments showed 35% improvement in pricing maths fluency among sales managers

Client Feedback

“We had pricing knowledge in pockets, but no structure. Now we have a playbook, a shared language, and real discipline in our deals. That’s the real value.”
— Regional Business Director, South Asia, Axalta Coatings Systems

What This Means for Similar Companies

In industrial coatings, price erosion often hides behind channel rebates, legacy discount structures, and product bundling. Without pricing governance, even premium brands struggle to defend margin. Axalta’s case shows how regional sales teams can shift from reactive pricing to value-based growth—when backed by education, data, and role clarity.

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