Automated price validation is the use of software to check the prices on an incoming order against the prices you have actually agreed with that customer, before the order is accepted. It compares each line against contract pricing, active promotions and current list prices, and flags or corrects anything that does not match.
Pricing is one of the easiest things to get wrong on a wholesale order and one of the most expensive. A few pence per case, repeated across thousands of lines, adds up quickly.
Why pricing goes wrong on orders
Customers quote old prices. Buyers often copy last month’s order, so the PO carries a price that has since changed.
Contract pricing is complex. Many distributors run different prices per customer, per volume band and per promotion period.
Promotions expire. A buyer may still be using a promotional price after the campaign ended.
Reps work from memory. Under time pressure, prices get keyed from habit rather than checked, which is one of the more expensive manual order entry errors in wholesale.
Catalog data lags. If price changes are not reflected everywhere, orders get validated against the wrong figure.
What automated price validation checks
- The customer’s contract price for each SKU
- Volume and tier break pricing
- Active promotions and their end dates
- Currency and tax treatment
- Minimum margin thresholds
- Differences between the price on the PO and your agreed price
What happens when prices do not match
A good process does not treat every mismatch the same way:
| Situation | Sensible handling |
|---|---|
| Customer quoted an old, lower price | Apply the current price and state it clearly in the confirmation |
| Customer quoted a higher price than agreed | Apply the correct lower price and tell them |
| Price falls below minimum margin | Escalate to a manager |
| Expired promotion claimed | Confirm current pricing with the buyer |
| Item has no contract price | Apply list price and flag for review |
Silently accepting whatever price the buyer wrote is how margin leaks. Silently correcting upwards without telling them is how disputes start.
The cost of poor price validation
- Margin leakage from under-charging
- Credit notes and rework when invoices are challenged
- Invoice disputes that delay payment
- Deductions claimed by larger retailers
- Time spent on back-and-forth over pricing
Because pricing errors usually surface at invoicing, they are found by finance long after the order desk has moved on.
How Ordana helps
Ordana checks pricing on every order line before the order is accepted. The Ordana Desk Agent compares each line against the customer’s agreed pricing in your ERP, including contract rates and active promotions, rather than relying on what the buyer wrote on the PO.
When a price does not match, the agent applies the correct one and states the change in the order confirmation, so the retailer sees it before delivery rather than arguing about it at invoicing. Cases that need a commercial decision, such as a line below your margin threshold, are escalated with the detail attached. Because the checks run against live ERP data, price changes take effect immediately. This article explains more about how ERP order processing works in practice.
Schedule a demo to see price validation run on your own orders.
Frequently asked questions
Should you accept the price a customer puts on their PO?
No. The agreed contract price should apply, with any difference communicated clearly to the buyer.
What is margin leakage?
Lost profit from selling below your intended price, often through small pricing errors repeated over many orders.
Can price validation work with complex contract pricing?
Yes, as long as the system reads your live pricing rules rather than a static price list.
When should a pricing mismatch be escalated?
When it needs a commercial decision, such as a line that falls below your minimum margin or a disputed contract rate.
← Back to all blogs