Negotiated pricing

In HCL Commerce, Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) possess the strategic flexibility to negotiate product pricing directly with customers. This capability allows CSRs to overcome price objections and close transactions by applying a manual Price Override.

A hardware store sells claw hammers and ball peen hammers. Assume that claw hammers have a nominal cost of $8, and ball peen hammers have a nominal cost of $10. These hammers sell for $15 and $20. CSR group A has a floor price that is defined as the Nominal Price + 25%, and CSR group B has a floor price of Nominal Price + 50%.

The architecture of price negotiation

Price overrides are governed by a structured "ceiling and floor" logic to ensure that discounts remain within profitable margins.
  • Quoted price (The Ceiling)
    The initial price offered to the customer (for example, the standard offer price). This serves as the upper bound of negotiation.
  • Nominal cost
    A unique, single monetary value assigned to a catalog entry representing its baseline cost. These values are stored in a Nominal Cost Price List, which is restricted and used solely for calculating override limits.
  • Floor price (The Minimum)
    The lowest price a CSR group is authorized to offer. This is calculated as a percentage markup over the Nominal Cost.

Group-based authorization logic

The level of negotiation power is determined by the CSR Group assignment. Administrators can grant different "leeway" levels based on seniority or the importance of a specific client segment.

Example Scenario: A hardware store sells hammers with different cost structures and group permissions:

To illustrate, consider the following example:
Product Claw hammer Ball peen hammer
Nominal cost $8 $10
CSR group A floor price $10 $12.50
CSR group B floor price $12 $15
Default offer price $15 $20

Result: A CSR in Group A (for example, a Senior Representative) can offer a Claw Hammer for as low as $10, whereas a Group B representative cannot go below $12.

Operational constraints and guardrails

To maintain financial control and prevent unauthorized discounting, the system enforces the following rules:

  • Strict blocking and approvals
    If a CSR attempts to enter a price below their group's floor, the system blocks the order submission and triggers a notification for management approval.
  • Order-specific application
    Negotiated prices are transient. They apply only to the current order. If the customer returns for a repeat purchase or if an order is copied to a new one, the price reverts to the default offer price.
  • Hosted store visibility
    In multi-tenant or hosted environments, a store owner can view all price-override limits they own. However, the system enforces a strict deployment lock: only the limits associated with the current active store can be utilized, while others are marked as active in external stores.

Strategic benefits

  • Enhanced conversion
    Empowers front-line staff to save sales that might otherwise be lost to price sensitivity.
  • Automated compliance
    Eliminates the need for manual margin checking by baking the "floor" into the system logic.
  • Tiered support
    Allows organizations to segment their support staff based on experience and trusted spending limits.