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rkduet

Allen Bradley Vendor Pricing

8 posts in this topic

I have the unique ability to price 2 suppliers for my AB products, I will not go into detail so as to not jeopardize this relationship. But I have found huge differences in pricing between them, one exact same BOM as much as $8,000.00. With the use of IAB from Allen Bradley I can create a bill of material and send it to anyone to price. I am curious and would be willing to share this pricing info and compare with other OEMs and System Integrators as to how badly we are getting ripped off by the dedicated territory Allen Bradley has set in place for its distribution. I think this is what networking is for, and why we should take advantage of sharing info. And hey if your pricing is more than mine and there is not a conflict of interest then maybe we can work out some power purchases? You never know, I have seen from one supplier a 35% difference in Pricing. This is huge. looking forward to feedback. Rod

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Rod - looking strictly at the cost of a BOM doesn't tell the whole story. The more expensive distributor may have aproduct specialist who'll visit your site for free, while the cheaper distributor doesn't normally carry or support that line of product yet and is passing savings on to you. I've worked for multiple firms in a large metro srea and seen the same distributor provide a variety of proces based on annual volumes and other such factors. I'd strongly encourage you to talk with your distributors rep as to the dicrepancy it could be something as sinister as a 8 for a 3 typo a time or three.

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This happens to us occasionally when our annual negotiated pricing expires. You get what you give out of your vendors. If you simply place orders when you need something without reaching out to your vendors, you may get pricing that is close to list price. Our AB distributor is fantastic. They help when needed and stay away when I don't have time. I keep them posted on my projects and they keep me up to date on new products and technical issues. I recommend checking out your available distributors and finding which one can give you the best LONG TERM bang for your buck. You may find that once they get to know you and the potential your company has to their bottom line, that you can get good discounts AND good service.

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I have often wondered about the pricing that goes on for this. We have regional offices in many locations, and can get pricing from those other locations for comparison, but are only allowed to purchase from the distributor in our Headquarters' locale. Often pricing is lower elsewhere. Our distributor is great, giving us support when needed, having most common items in stock etc. There is a question around town that floats as it is a small town and everyone knows everyone: employees of this distributor left and started their own controls/engineering firm, and of course noone in town can compete with the pricing they get, they are already set up as AB with all the major accounts in town so those accounts won't give anyone else the time of day. To me this is a borderline ethical issue but again, I was not around town when this all occurred so I do not know the ins and outs of it, nor do I fully know the distribution contract. We have similar problems with CH which we are listed as a distributor ourselves, yet I can go on Automation Direct and get better pricing on many items. Pricing for any manufacturer seems to be very territorial based. i was told by one salesman that they weren't cheap in my area (meaning priced lower than their competitor) because the line was established and they were targeting another area. Basically using the high margins in our area to dump cheap into a market they were losing in to gain a foothold. Perhaps you are seeing AB do similar things as well.

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Post a few items with your price and we can compare.....

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I have to agree with the guys here. I am able to buy my AB stuff off two different suppliers, and the price differences can be significant. For me it comes down to which one is giving me the best customer support. I will buy most of my stuff off one supplier, but always keep the other in the loop, as this way if I need a part quickly I can get off both. Also the cheaper one does not always have the stock.

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I am a system integrator / OEM. This reply might be a little off from your situation. I have great reps. These have at least 5 support guys. 1 for PLC, MOTION /DRIVES, CONTROLS , SOFTWARE, and some other guy that I really don't know what he does. I get really good pricing now. I used to get a little better than list. After we started working together they realized I had something to bring to them, besides some parts sales every now and then. They needed someone to do little jobs that the where loosing to other suppliers. I bring them customers that they where not reaching. I was steering big jobs there why. Those jobs where not going on my account but they realized that I helped steer the job their way. These things are give and take.

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I mostly do subcontract programming for other integrators and OEMs, and the few full panels I have done were brands other than AB. However, I quoted a job recently and got my first ever price quote from my local AB distributor. They gave me the exact same price break as an integrator I work for that buys and/or specs a lot of AB equipment! He's buying from a different distributor, and his price break is pretty good, so I was really surprised! As everybody has said, it really depends on the distributor and (usually) to your relationship to them.

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