MAP Monitoring Solutions to Protect Products and Brands
Manufacturers and suppliers have their own pricing guidelines. As there is a Recommended Retail Price (RRP) or Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for a product, there is also a Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) for each product. RRP refers to the maximum suggested price at which the retailer can sell products. MAP refers to the minimum price at which the retailer can advertise their products. It can go above the specified price but not below it. MAP is an arrangement wherein suppliers can set a lower limit on the prices its resellers may advertise for the supplier’s products. The MAP policy programs can either be a unilateral policy imposed by the manufacturer / supplier or an agreement between the manufacturer/supplier and its resellers.
The purpose of MAP programs is to ensure consistent pricing for consumers and profit for sellers. Besides that, MAP brings about an ongoing support channel for customers who require a retailer’s support for product purchase. It is critically important to manufacturers who sell their product on the Internet. Trouble starts when certain resellers violate the MAP policy programs to make quick money. They sell the products on the Internet at a rate lower than the MAP fixed by the manufacturer / supplier. Such a move on the part of the reseller damages distributor loyalty, margins and most importantly the brand. Since most manufacturers do not have the internal resources or expertise to effectively identify the violators, the resellers continue with their unauthorized activities unperturbed.
What manufacturers need to do is to deploy effective MAP monitoring programs and enforcement solutions to monitor channel violations and thereby ensure brand protection. MAP enforcement policies and monitoring programs help to
* Monitor the prices advertised by authorized channel, including in-cart pricing, to ensure adherence to MAP agreements
* Monitor authorized dealers and partners who are not adhering to their side of the agreement
* Allow manufacturers to monitor their distributors’ activities
* Monitor competitors’ sites to compare their pricing structure
* Ensure isn’t being undercut by competitors
* Know about changes in market dynamics
With MAP Monitoring solutions, manufacturers can guarantee channel integrity by ensuring appropriate product listings for the market and correct price structure. It makes it easier and faster to reduce lost margins, brand erosions, and distributor loyalty. MAP Monitoring programs are a means of encouraging a fair and reasonable minimum advertised price so that consumers can ultimately receive the availability, expertise and service deemed to be in keeping with the manufacturer’s standard of quality for that product.
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