Did you know that the cost of living is the highest it has been in 40 years? Thank you, inflation! The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS for short) reported the producer price index to have increased 0.4% in September from August, and it doesn’t look like it’s cooling down.
“Price pressures remain elevated and volatile, particularly for food and gas, given the ongoing war in Ukraine and ongoing supply chain disruptions,” Matthew Martin, a U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, told the Wall Street Journal.
What does that mean? A consumer will feel the heat in their bank account or in their wallet. A wholesaler, distributor, manufacturer, or supplier will adjust their prices in their systems. This process could take a bit… unless they have Rockton Price Management.
Back It Up – What Do Wholesale Prices Have to Do with Inflation?
Inflation starts with wholesale prices. A wholesale price is the cost businesses pay producers and manufacturers for goods, setting the stage for if the prices have risen, declined, or are stagnant. Businesses will purchase from producers and manufacturers at a lower price, then turn around and sell the goods at a higher price. So, the wholesale price is the first domino to fall. Wholesalers rely on volume to make their profit, which explains why they are commonly more than happy to provide a small mark up in price if it means they can sell more goods. Whereas businesses sell the items to pay their bills and keep their doors open.
How Do You Know the Prices are Inflated?
The PPI (an acronym for producer price index) tells us. It measures price changes before customers purchase final goods and services. In other words, it measures inflation from the viewpoint of the producers; the average selling price they receive for their output over a period. To make this measurement less complicated, BLS publishes the index every month. No calculator required. They base their findings on approximately 100,000 monthly price quotes reported voluntarily online by more than 25,000 systematically sampled producer establishments.
How to Change Wholesale Prices in Seconds
Since wholesale prices constantly change, and are increasing at rapid speed, wouldn’t it be nice to upload an entire price sheet with the current prices for the certain dates? It’s possible with Rockton Pricing Management. The most flexible, powerful, multi-platform (yes, it works with any ERP system!) pricing solution ever available can make changing wholesale prices simpler and easier. Don’t believe us? See for yourself – book a one-on-one demo. Not ready to commit? No worries, check out Rockton Pricing Management’s features here. Want to see how many pricing strategies you manage in a day? Download our free Pricing Strategies Checklist. Feel free to reach out with any questions. We’re here to help you work simpler and easier®.
