Life of a Business Principal in Consulting

In the good old days of retailers having a single channel with a steady and relatively well forecasted demand, pricing was the forte of the merchandising managers. Ability to negotiate with CPG majors or wholesalers, retailing based on shelf space and target segment was very helpful. The basket analysis can be used very effectively - having Key Value items and anchor items to be able to optimize product mix and margins as well. This ensures we have a good rein on retail operations and also contributing to both the top line and the bottom line.

A product team , when it has more than one client, faces a challenge when it has to maintain multiple versions of the product. Typically the implementation team would have made some customizations for every installation for the product. However, when they release a new update, they struggle to make it work for all the products since there are customizations and the new update might not be compatible. There are several considerations that a product manager needs to take while deciding on the product strategy. Saas versus Installation Having a saas product makes it easier for the engineering team to push updates. If it is a installer distribution, There are the team will face challenges with distribution. Compatibility is also an issue. The biggest issue however, from the user perspective, is data migration from the previous version to current version. The best way out of this is to make it a service as well. You can decide whether you want the customer to pay for tha...