European Best Pricing Master Thesis Award

European
Best Pricing Master Thesis
Award
Academic Year 2011 - 2012

OVERVIEW
PRICING KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT
Cutting costs and increasing sales volume are not the only roads that lead
to increased profitability. Managing a company’s price is in most cases a
much more powerful lever to focus on. But there is not just one solution for
a successful pricing strategy that suits everyone. Understanding what
specific opportunities to capitalise on and how to do it, is a major challenge
for all companies that want to improve their profitability through pricing.
The need for pricing expertise will increase significantly in the coming
years. Knowledge development of the importance and impact of pricing,
pricing strategies, pricing instruments and tactics is key for organizations
aiming at sustainable growth and value capturing.
In Europe experienced pricing professionals are still scarce. Only few
organizations have pricing managers today. As the need for more talent will
seriously increase, students who focus on the pricing subject might be one
step ahead of others at the moment they enter the career market.
The importance of pricing knowledge development at student level - and
herewith stimulate a new generation of professionals starting their careers
with fundamental and applied knowledge in the pricing area - is the driver
behind the European Best Pricing Master Thesis Award.
THE AWARD
The European Best Pricing Master Thesis Award is rewarded yearly to the
writer of the best final paper that addresses pricing as the main subject.
The winning student will receive a cash reward of € 1,000, an EPP Pricing
Training of choice, and a Bundle of Pricing Books.
The second prize winner will receive an ePP Pricing Training of choice and a
bundle of pricing books. The student with the third prize receives the
bundle of pricing books.
FOR WHOM
Any student graduated from a European University or Business School at
Master level may enter the competition.
THE JURY
A jury will decide on which final thesis is the winning one.

PRACTICAL INFO
CLOSING DATE
The official closing date for submission is August 1 st , 2012 until 09.00 hrs
AM.
SUBMISSION
All entries must be submitted through the application form on the website of
the European Pricing Platform (www.pricingplatform.eu). Please refer the
Rules and Regulations pages in this brochure for further details.
NOMINEES & AWARD WINNER
The jury will appoint three nominees who will be invited to the EPP event late
2012 where the Award winning student will be announced.
LANGUAGE
The submitted master thesis must be written in English.
QUESTIONS?
Contact Joyce Verfaillie
European Pricing Platform
Izegemsestraat 7 3.01
8860 Lendelede
Belgium
E-mail: joyce.verfaillie@pricingplatform.eu
Telephone: +32 51/ 32 03 72

ABOUT THE EPP
The European Pricing Platform (EPP) is the first - independent -
European platform and network focused to support pricing and
profit optimization decision makers in a wide variety of industries
and sectors.
! The EPP brings the best of pricing in Europe !
On the EPP you can find and share pricing knowledge, best practices and
tools, extend your network of pricing professionals, build and update
relations, and search and post pricing jobs.
The EPP offers a platform and network for everyone involved in pricing and
profit optimization decision making: general managers, marketing, sales,
operations, revenue managers, and financial management.
Professors and lecturers at European universities working on pricing research
and projects link academic knowledge to managerially relevant pricing
knowledge and solutions.
www.pricingplatform.eu

ABOUT THE AWARD SPONSORS
ACCENTURE
Accenture is a global management
consulting, technology services and
outsourcing company, with
approximately 236,000 people serving
clients in more than 120 countries.
Accenture collaborates with clients to
help them become high-performance businesses and governments.
Intense price competition for materials and services, more
sophisticated customers and less predictability all require a new
approach to sustained profitability. Accenture offers a suite of road-
tested Pricing and Profit Optimization services that can help clients
optimize profitability by building, implementing, and sustaining
advanced capabilities in four areas: pricing strategy, analytics, price-
setting, and execution.
www.accenture.com
DELOITTE
Deloitte is an organization of member
firms devoted to excellence in providing
professional services and advice. We are
focused on client service through a
global strategy executed locally in nearly
150 countries.
With access to the deep intellectual capital of 120,000 people
worldwide, our member firms (including their affiliates) deliver
services in four professional areas: audit, tax, consulting, and
financial advisory services. Our member firms serve over one half of
the world’s largest companies, as well as large national enterprises,
public institutions, and successful, fast-growing global growth
companies.
www.deloitte.com

ABOUT THE AWARD SPONSORS
EVONIK INDUSTRIES AG
Evonik, the creative industrial group
from Germany, is one of the world
leaders in specialty chemicals. Its
activities focus on the key megatrends
health, nutrition, resource efficiency and
globalization. In 2010 about 80 percent
of the Group’s chemicals sales came from activities where it ranks
amont the market leaders. Evonik benefits specifically from its
innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is
active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2010 more
than 34,000 employees generated sales of around €13.3 billion and
an operating profit (EBITDA) of about €2.4 billion.
www.evonik.com
MODEL N
With over $150B in annual revenues
across 50 countries managed in our
systems, Model N supports Life Sciences,
High Tech, and Discrete manufacturing
customers through their entire revenue
life cycle across their pricing, bid and
tender, contract, compliance, settlements, and channel processes.
Our deep industry expertise and best practices, highly configurable
applications, and comprehensive services support your organization
on premise or in the cloud. Whether you are an emerging business or
a global leader, Model N results in revenue.
www.modeln.com

ABOUT THE AWARD SPONSORS
NAVETTI
Navetti is the leading provider of pricing
solutions for the manufacturing industry.
Navetti has received recognition for its
domain expertise in the field of pricing
for international manufacturing
companies, where price optimisation
between markets and product families
are critical. Navetti has over the years developed a solid value based
and market driven pricing methodology, which has delivered
increased profit and pricing quality to its clients. The methodology in
combination with Navetti PricePoint, has clearly increased profit,
customer trust and efficiency – all managed in a sustainable solution.
www.navetti.se
ONETREE SOLUTIONS
OneTree Solutions S.A. offers enterprise-
class, asset-based solutions that help
businesses to perform optimally.
OneTree Solutions is part of the OneTree
Group, which was formed in 2001 with a
vision to change the way software is
researched, engineered and delivered.
By harnessing the latest technologies and anticipating the
expectations of business domains, OneTree provides software
solutions which offer a fast ROI and quick time-to-value. OneTree´s
latest revenue maximization solution -OT ReMax- empowers
businesses to make the right decisions when it comes to preparing
quotes and negotiating deals and contracts.
www.onetreesol.com

ABOUT THE AWARD SPONSORS
PROS
PROS (NYSE: PRO) is the leading
provider of B2B price and margin
optimization software for manufacturing,
distribution, and services industries.
PROS Pricing Solution Suite (PPSS)
empowers you to understand
how pricing impacts profitability, bring scientific pricing strategies to
market, and negotiate pricing using scientific price guidance. PROS
customers have seen as much as $200M in annual revenue
improvement with millions in profit improvement achieved in under
30 days. PROS has implemented over 200 solutions in more than 40
countries. Founded in 1985, PROS’ 350+ employees in the US,
Europe, and Asia include over 25 Ph.D.s and the industry’s largest
commitment to pricing science and pricing software R&D.
www.prospricing.com
PRICING SOLUTIONS
Pricing Solutions Europe AG is an expert
Consultancy in Pricing, with more than
20 years of experience and quite well
known for the high standard deliveries
on services related to People &
Organizations (i.e. Training & Coaching),
Pricing Management (i.e. Pricing Diagnostic & Roadmap for
Excellence), Pricing Research & Analytics (i.e.: Value Map and Price
Optimizer) and Systems & Tools (RFP Management & Business
Intelligence).
Our mission is “To significantly improve our Clients Profitability by
helping them achieve a World Class Level of Pricing Competency”
www.pricingsolutions.com

ABOUT THE AWARD SPONSORS
VANAERDE CONSULTING
Vanaerde Consulting combines market
strategy and pricing expertise. We help
management to realize their top line
growth strategy. We and our clients
believe that a differentiated
business/market strategy - and effective pricing - are key value
drivers of successful organizations. VC consultants and project
managers work in sectors as industry, construction, chemical
industry, energy, telecom, leisure, finance and insurance, b2b
services & FMCG.
www.vanaerdeconsulting.com
VENDAVO
Vendavo is the leading provider of price
management and optimization software
for business-to-business companies
worldwide. Vendavo’s proven enterprise-
class software is built to address the
needs of the most demanding global
customers with a focus on reducing total cost of ownership. Vendavo
customers benefit from the solution’s flexible architecture, scalability,
usability and global support.
www.vendavo.com

ABOUT THE AWARD SPONSORS
VISTAAR
Vistaar is an innovator of price and
revenue management solutions.
Vistaar’s pricing software enables
companies to achieve pricing best
practices through price analytics, price
optimization, price list management, and
deal management. Vistaar is working with companies such as AMD,
Beam Global, Cisco, Ford and GE to transform pricing operations into
a strategic advantage. For these companies, Vistaar pricing software
drives measurable price and margin improvements that deliver
profitable growth and maximum shareholder value. Vistaar’s
operations include six offices across North America, Europe and
South Asia.
www.vistaar.com

RULES AND REGULATIONS
DESCRIPTION
1. The European Best Pricing Master Thesis Award is awarded to a graduate
from a European University or Business School at Master level, who
addresses pricing as the main subject in his / her paper.
ENTRY
2. Any student graduated from a European University or Business School at
Master level may enter the competition. However, the jury reserves the right
to make a motivated exception for these written at Bachelor level.
3. Entrants must have completed their studies in academic year 2011 -
2012. However, the jury reserves the right to make a motivated exception to
this rule.
4. Relatives of members of the jury or officials of the European Pricing
Platform are excluded from competition.
5. Entrants are expected to have read the competition rules and regulations
and to have complied with them.
6. The official closing date for submission is August 1 st , 2012 until 09.00 hrs
AM. Students who want to enter the competition will notify the European
Pricing Platform by entering the pre-application form ultimately February 1 st ,
2008.
7. Entries must:
a. be written in English
b. be submitted through the application form on the website of the
European Pricing Platform: www.pricingplatform.eu
c. contain the following items:
- a summary of the final master thesis (max. 1 A4)
- the complete final master thesis
- a copy of the Master or proof of the thesis having been
accepted
- the curriculum vitae of the applying student
- a digital passport photograph of the student
d. be submitted in the following file formats:
- (summary of) the final master thesis > Word or PDF-file
- curriculum vitae > Word or PDF-file
- proof of acceptance > PDF or JPG-file
- photograph > JPG-file
Any submission lacking one or more of the requested documents could lead
to not acceptance by the jury.
8. Entrants will receive confirmation of their entry. The winner will be
announced during an EPP event late 2012. Those nominated by the jury will
receive an invitation to the award ceremony.
9. Documents / files are submitted electronically and therefore will not be
returned.

JUDGEMENT CRITERIA
10. Criteria and weighing factors for reviewing the submitted papers will be
determined by the jury. The following factors will be taken into
consideration:
JURY
a. thoroughness
b. depth of research
c. originality
d. (business) relevance of the pricing subject
e. structure and logic
European Pricing Platform delegates
Raffaele Vitale Accenture
Fernando Ventureira Pricing Solutions
Frédéric Duhamelle Syngenta
Manu Carricano EADA Barcelona
Sponsor delegates
Gernot Dambacher Evonik Industries AG
AWARD
1. The winner of the European Best Pricing Master Thesis Award will receive
a cash prize of € 1,000 (thousand euros), an EPP Pricing Training, and
a bundle of pricing books. The winner is free to choose a training within
the EPP training program.
2. The second prize winner receives an EPP Pricing Training, and a bundle of
pricing books. The winner is free to choose a training within the EPP training
program.
3. The third prize winner receives a bundle of pricing books.

PRIVACY & DATA PROTECTION
1. The EPP processes personal data in compliance with the European Data
Protection Directive (95/46/EC). To ensure that the entrant’s information the
EPP holds is accurate and up-to-date, entrants will notify the EPP as soon as
possible regarding to relevant changes in contact details. The EPP will collect
and hold entrant’s data that are necessary for the administration and
reviewing process of the European Best Pricing Master Thesis Award.
2. Entrants agree with the fact that the EPP provides their personal data,
curriculum vitae, (summary of) the final paper to the jury members for
reviewing purposes, and to the corporate sponsors of the European Best
Pricing Master Thesis Award. These companies might contact the entrants in
the near future.
3. Entrants agree with the fact that the EPP publishes any submitted
information on the EPP’s website, the EPP’s monthly newsletter, the Pricing
Blog, and in any press release regarding the European Best Pricing Master
Thesis Award.
4. Entrants may from time to time receive information about EPP initiatives.
FINAL CLAUSE
All instances for which these rules do not provide will be decided on by the
chair of the jury.