Earlier this year, I reviewed a margin improvement plan from a large B2B distributor. Internally, they called it Project Delta.
The overall goal was clear: increase gross margin from 27% to 30%. One main lever was boosting margins on bought-in lines and special orders — from 17% to 30%. Alongside were process updates, price file changes, and competitive resets.
The stakes were high - over $350,000 a month was being lost due to avoidable price support, and nearly $870,000 a year was leaking through outdated pricing and weak file control.
On paper, the plan had structure: owners, deadlines, and action steps.
In practice, the gains didn’t land.
The issue wasn’t a lack of intent - it was that the plan missed the fundamentals that make pricing change sustainable.
1. Too Many Priorities, No Clear Sequencing
In Project Delta, four major streams started atonce:
· Fixing the price support process
· Lifting bought-in and special-order margins from17% to 30%
· Reviewing every price file monthly
· Resetting the top 100 SKUs to stay competitive
All valid - but when everything is urgent, nothing gets done well.
Fix: Rank by financial impact. Land the biggest lever first, measure the result, then roll out the next.
2. Process Without Enforcement
The plan said, “Branches / ASM / KAMs to implement only valid price support claims.” Good policy — but no system to verify if ithappened.
Fix: Implement a compliance loop that includes weekly reporting, escalation for repeat breaches, and a direct link toperformance reviews and incentives.
3. Targets Without Clear Owners
Some goals were specific (“lift margin 1.5%minimum”), others were general (“focus on execution through sales channel”).Many were assigned to multiple people, which dilutes responsibility.
Assign one accountable owner per workstream. Other support, but only one person’s name is on the number.
4. No Operating Rhythm
Items marked “Commence in March and ongoing” or “in effect now and ongoing” are too loose to keep momentum.
Fix: Lock in a cadence:
· Price file reviews first Monday of every month
· GM performance calls every Friday
· Monthly scoreboard shared across branches
5. Fixing Symptoms, Not Causes
“Root cause analysis” was mentioned, but the plan didn’t show a prioritised leakage map. Effort risks being spread thin.
Fix: Quantify leakage first — e.g.:
· 40% from unapproved buy-in claims
· 35% from outdated contracts
· 15% from overrides on top SKUs
Address the top three before anything else.
6. Assuming Buy-In Happens Automatically
Raising special-order margins from 17% to 30% led to more price conversations with customers — yet there was no plan in place to equip sales teams to defend the change.
Fix: Provide sales with talking points, value justification, and handling for common objections.
7. Forgetting the Customer Conversation
The plan was internally focused - contracts, files, costs - but price changes that hit customers need a narrative.
Fix:Train the sales channel to lead with value. A price increase with no story is a short-lived gain.
The CEO’s Role
The CEO’s job isn’t to edit price files — it’s to ensure:
· Understanding – everyone knows the “why” and the upside.
· Alignment – priorities are sequenced, resources focused.
· Accountability – one owner per lever, not a committee.
Before signing off your next pricing plan, ask:
· Do we know exactly where the margin is leaking?
· Have we sequenced fixes by impact?
· Is there one accountable owner per target?
· Do we have a rhythm to track and adjust?
· Can our sales team defend the change to customers?
If you can’t answer “yes” to all five, the gains will be hard to bank — no matter how well the plan reads.
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