The implementation of a price optimisation software in a multinational enterprise: the Vendavo, Inc. and Ultradent Products, Inc. case study

The aim of this master’s thesis is to examine the implementation of Vendavo, a price optimisation software, in an American multinational medical device company, Ultradent Products, which decided to introduce a new solution to replace the pricing management system in use until today. The research objectives were identified in collaboration with the company itself and focused on three main areas: firstly, the identification of the main challenges in the implementation of similar software; secondly, employee perceptions of the new software and its features; and thirdly, the topic of governance and decision-making following the choice of software. The research on all these topics was of fundamental importance, as it allowed the formulation of recommendations that were then shared with the company. After introducing some topics on pricing discipline and price waterfall, and after presenting some success and failure cases of software for price optimisation and the like, the paper focuses on the presentation of the topics of perception and governance, discussed with the relevant key findings. The methodology used was the analysis of secondary sources, following the company interviews conducted. The main findings are reported in the conclusions of this final work, where they are discussed, and the main recommendations for the company are presented.