--- title: "Bye-Bye Excel in Automotive Supplier Price Management: Save Time and Avoid Mistakes" description: Automation in sales management --- [Automotive Supplier Sales ](https://digital-automotive-supplier.com/en/blog) # [Bye-Bye Excel in Automotive Supplier Price Management: Save Time and Avoid Mistakes](https://digital-automotive-supplier.com/en/blog/automation-sales-management-1) Written by [Erik Reiter](https://digital-automotive-supplier.com/en/blog/author/erik-reiter) | Dec 8, 2024 3:33:45 PM   Managing **thousands of part prices** with **countless changes per year** is commonplace in the automotive supply industry. Every adjustment has a direct impact on a company's **profit and loss situation**. In this environment, the use of **Excel is no longer up to date**: **susceptibility to errors**, **manual effort** and **a lack of transparency** pose considerable risks to profitability. **Digital solutions** offer clear advantages here by automating the entire pricing process, **from calculation and pricing to quotation generation**. The **12 most important advantages** of replacing **Excel with a digital price management solution** are described below.   #### **Advantage 1: Importing calculation bases from upstream systems** Manual entry of **bills of materials (BOM)** and **production times** is time-consuming and prone to errors. Digital systems import this data automatically from upstream systems such as PLM or ERP systems, which significantly increases **efficiency and accuracy**.   #### **Advantage 2: Automated costing in acquisition and change management, including profit calculations** Complex calculations with **factors and surcharges** require a lot of manual effort in Excel. **Digital systems** automate this process, always use up-to-date values and **even automatically calculate profits** resulting from changes or acquisitions. **Error-prone manual calculations are a thing of the past.**   #### **Advantage 3: Quotation creation including automatic CBD filling** **Quotation creation** is time-consuming, especially the **filling of customer cost break-downs (CBDs)**. Sales teams often find this step tedious and error-prone. Digital systems **fill customer CBDs automatically**, including **individual formats**. **This saves time and creates consistency.**   #### **Advantage 4: Automated calculation of amortization allocations** Amortization allocations are based on **quantities**, **interest calculations** and **start and end dates**. Digital systems **automatically retrieve volume figures from upstream systems** and calculate the **allocations correctly**. **Price changes** due to the start or end of the amortization period are automatically **transferred to the price list.**   #### **Advantage 5: Automated amortization tracking to detect quantity deviations** **Insufficient quantities in the agreed amortization period** lead to underpayments and have a significant impact on profitability. A digital system automatically detects such deviations and creates the basis for **extending amortization periods or adjusting prices.** This saves companies **extensive manual tracking** and avoids **financial losses**.   #### **Advantage 6: Automated transfer of changes, claims and amortizations to the price list** The manual transfer of **changes**, **claims** and **amortizations** to price lists is time-consuming and error-prone. **Automated processes** ensure seamless integration and guarantee **up-to-date and consistent price lists**.   #### **Advantage 7: Quotation generation directly from the price list with CBD filling** Customers expect **regular quotations** with transparent **CBD documents**. Digital systems make it possible to **create quotes directly from the price list** and fill the CBDs automatically. **Manual entries are no longer necessary** and **sales management is accelerated**.   #### **Advantage 8: LTA calculations with automatic exclusion logic** A **common mistake** in automotive supplier sales is the **incorrect price reduction** of materials that are actually excluded - e.g. **mandated materials**, **logistics costs** or **raw materials**. Digital systems recognize these components on the basis of predefined (customer-specific) price templates and carry out LTA/LTC reductions correctly and effortlessly.   #### **Advantage 9: Automated index changes in the price list** **Index changes** for **raw materials** and **currencies** are complex and need to be adjusted regularly. Digital systems **update the indices centrally** and **automatically** transfer changes **to all relevant part numbers** - without manual effort.   #### **Advantage 10: Standardized price lists (compliance) ** **Standardized price lists** are a **must** for **compliant work**. Individually created price lists are prone to errors and do not follow company standards. Digital systems ensure that **all price lists comply with company guidelines** and that the sales teams work correctly.   #### **Advantage 11: Seamless price history and traceability** Manually managing **price** and **quotation histories** over **10-year** periods is almost impossible in Excel. **Digital systems** store **all price changes transparently and seamlessly**. Even if **employees change ****, all data **remains **secure and traceable.**   #### **Advantage 12: Integration of the price list into sales planning for real-time updates** A **fully integrated price list** enables **real-time updates** in **sales planning**. **Manual data transfers are no longer necessary** and companies benefit from **up-to-date, precise data** for well-founded business decisions.   #### **Conclusion** Switching from Excel to **digital solutions** in **price management** is **no longer an option, but a must** if companies want to remain **profitable and competitive**. **Automation** saves time, avoids errors and enables **efficient, accurate and transparent pricing**. In an industry where **speed and accuracy** are key to success, **digital solutions** offer a clear **competitive advantage.** Important to know, the absolute No. 1 in price management for automotive suppliers is Digital Automotive.     **Are you curious about how automation works in the leading solution for sales planning and sales management? Make an appointment for a live demo with Digital Automotive today! **     [View full post](https://digital-automotive-supplier.com/en/blog/automation-sales-management-1) ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Erik Reiter" }, "dateModified" : "2024-12-08T15:35:35.507Z", "datePublished" : "2024-12-08T15:33:45Z", "headline" : "Bye-Bye Excel in Automotive Supplier Price Management: Save Time and Avoid Mistakes", "image" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 60, "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png", "width" : 60 }, "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://digital-automotive-supplier.com/en/blog/automation-sales-management-1", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 60, "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png", "width" : 60 }, "name" : "Automotive Supplier Sales" } } ```