Rule-Based Pricing
Duplex body material adds a surcharge. Short lead time triggers expedite. Put IF/THEN pricing rules in CPQ, not in spreadsheets every rep interprets differently.
Rule-based pricing · session
IF → THEN on the quote
Example rule
IF Material = Stainless Steel AND Thickness > 8 mm
THEN Apply surcharge +12%
Priority / conflict resolution · illustrative stack
What this controls
IF/THEN
Surcharges fire when configured conditions match
One ruleset
Same pricing logic for inside sales and dealers
On the quote
Applied rules visible before approval
The challenge
Your pricing policy is in spreadsheets. Every rep applies it differently.
Finance publishes a rate card. Applications keeps a surcharge matrix in Excel. Inside sales remembers that stainless trim on a high-pressure class adds fifteen percent, but only on certain sizes. Dealers never see the same version.
Two reps quote the same valve assembly on the same day. One adds the alloy premium. One forgets the expedite fee. Both PDFs look authoritative. Margin review catches the gap after the customer compares offers.
Dynamic pricing rolls up price as options change. Volume tiers depend on quantity. Customer lists set account rates. Rule-based pricing is different: you encode IF/THEN commercial rules, when material class is X, add surcharge Y, when lead time is under four weeks, add expedite Z.
Inquiry to config to price to approval to order should apply the same pricing policy every time, not whichever spreadsheet was open that morning.
How it works
How Mercura turns pricing policy into executable rules
Pricing ops define rules in Mercura: conditions on configuration attributes (material, pressure class, region, lead time) and actions (surcharge, discount cap, fixed fee, margin floor). When a rep or dealer builds a quote, matching rules apply automatically and show on the document. Dynamic roll-up, volume tiers, account lists, and discount workflows can still layer on top. This page is how commercial IF/THEN logic leaves email and Excel. Pricing rules need an owner when policy or products change.
Price waterfall
How pricing layers combine on a deal
Illustrative stack · each page highlights its own contribution
What's included
What rule-based pricing covers
Define
- IF/THEN rules on configuration attributes and options
- Material, pressure, and rating class surcharges
- Expedite and service fees tied to lead time or region
Apply
- Conditional premiums visible on the quote
- Same rule library for inside sales, dealers, and portals
Version
- Rule versioning when pricing policy updates
Trace
- Works alongside dynamic roll-up and volume tiers
- Traceability of which rules affected the total
The difference
Applying pricing policy before and after rule-based CPQ
Spreadsheets and memory
- 01 Surcharge matrices sit in files reps rarely open
- 02 Dealers apply different add-ons for the same configuration
- 03 New hires learn pricing policy from shadowing, not systems
- 04 Expedite and alloy fees appear inconsistently on PDFs
- 05 Finance audits quotes after margin surprises
With Mercura
- 01 Matching rules apply when conditions are met
- 02 Reps and dealers share one published pricing ruleset
- 03 Surcharges and fees appear on the quote automatically
- 04 Policy updates publish as rule changes
- 05 Margin review sees the same applied logic as sales
Real-world example
Example workflow: industrial valve assembly pricing rules
A valve manufacturer prices assemblies by body material, pressure class, and trim package. Inside sales used to check three spreadsheets before sending a quote and still missed the duplex surcharge on busy weeks. After encoding IF/THEN rules in Mercura, selecting duplex body and high-pressure class applies the alloy premium on the quote, expedite rules fire when lead time drops below four weeks, and dealers see the same surcharges as inside sales.
Business impact
Why rule-based pricing is policy encoded, not rep judgment
Rule-based pricing is how manufacturers enforce commercial IF/THEN logic on every quote. It complements dynamic roll-up, volume tiers, account lists, and discount governance. Mercura does not replace finance's ownership of pricing strategy or ERP as cost source of record. Someone must maintain rules when alloys, regions, or fee schedules change. If margin surprises start with "the rep forgot the surcharge", putting pricing rules in CPQ aligns inquiry, configuration, price, approval, and order with the policy you already believe you have.
Business impact
Consistent surcharge application
IF/THEN rules on configuration attributes and options.
Fewer missed pricing rules
Conditional premiums visible on the quote.
Faster policy changes
Rule versioning when pricing policy updates.
Compare
Rule-based vs dynamic pricing
Rule-based
Defines individual conditional pricing logic
IF → THEN
Example: IF material = stainless → +12%
Dynamic
Calculates the final price by combining all relevant pricing inputs
many inputs → final price
Example: base + options + rules + customer + volume + channel
Pricing map
How starting price, adjustments, live calculation, discount control, and margin fit together
Starting price
Adjustment logic
Live calculation
Commercial control
Profitability check
Triggered rule · surcharge on quote
See IF/THEN pricing rules apply on the quote
Book a demo and configure an assembly until surcharges and fees appear before approval.
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