How to turn cost volatility into competitive advantage—without drowning in spreadsheets.
Key Takeaways
- Transparency beats turbulence. When every cost component is captured, pricing confidence returns.
- Margin protection is cross-departmental. Sales, parts, and service all feel the impact—so the solution must span every workspace and department.
- Agility wins. The dealership that models, pivots, and reprices fastest turns volatility into competitive edge.
The Big Picture: Trade Rules Are Moving Faster Than Your Price Book
Global trade policy is a moving target. Overnight, duties, surcharges, and shipping premiums can spike—often without warning—and every one of those adjustments lands squarely on your balance sheet. Think of it as a “silent tax”: it chips away at gross margin long before a unit ever hits the showroom or a part makes it to the counter.
For multi-location dealers selling everything from powersports and trailers to marine, RV, and agriculture equipment, that silent tax poses the same fundamental question:
Can you see the true cost—and profit—of every unit and part in real time?
If the answer is no (or I’m not sure), keep reading.
The Hidden Math: What “Landed Cost” Really Means
Most DMS price books start with invoice cost. But invoice cost is only one layer in a five-layer cake:
- Invoice / FOB price
- Freight & insurance
- Tariffs, duties & surcharges
- Brokerage/clearance fees
- Currency variance
Miss, mis-code, or delay any piece of that cake and margins skew—pricing decisions lose their footing.
How this shows up on the floor
- Cashflow compression: Higher landed values tie up capital longer; aging gets riskier.
- Service & parts squeeze: Cost creep on components erodes RO profitability unless pricing updates stay in lockstep.
- Pricing paralysis: Teams hesitate to reprice, fearing customer pushback or mismatched online listings.
- Inventory lag: Slow movers absorb the shocks; fast movers starve if reorder logic ignores new costs.
Market analysts caution that policy uncertainty prolongs recovery in discretionary categories—so “wait it out” isn’t a strategy. Build systems that adapt.
A practical playbook
Tech-upgrade first, tools second.
You don’t need a miracle; you need better plumbing. Here’s the operating cadence top dealers are adopting—software-agnostic, but far easier with a modern DMS like Blackpurl in the mix:
- Capture every cost at receipt
Record freight, brokerage, and surcharges against the shipment/container—not just the unit—so Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) reflects reality from day one. (When your platform makes this native, pricing conversations get a lot calmer.)
- Make margin visible—everywhere
Standardize margin views for sales, parts, and service. When managers see the same truth, repricing and discount discipline stop being debates and start being workflows. Trade outlets and OEM watchers agree: transparency beats turbulence.
- Model “what-ifs” before you buy
Run scenarios on inbound POs (different vendors, shipping modes, lead times). If the landed math breaks target margin, adjust terms or quantities before the shipment exists.
- Reprice with intent, not panic
Batch updates by category or aging bracket; sync to website and marketplace feeds in one pass. Consumer-facing comms can stay positive (finance options, value adds) while you keep the business math honest.
- Point inventory toward velocity
Let reorder points react to the current turn, not last quarter’s guesses. If cost volatility rises, shorten buy cycles and tighten min/max bands.
Markup vs. Margin: getting the math—and the message—right
Featuring NATDA Trailer Show 2025
Raising markup doesn’t guarantee protecting margin. Markup is how much you add; margin is what you keep. When duties and fees inflate the denominator (true cost), a familiar markup can quietly produce an unfamiliar margin.
That’s why our recent panel, Manage By The Numbers, went deep on this distinction—because once your team speaks “margin,” everything else lines up: stocking decisions, quoting discipline, and service menu pricing. We unpacked practical ways to:
- Align margin targets across sales, parts, and service
- Avoid “accidental discounting” caused by stale cost data
- Communicate pricing changes without eroding trust
If you care about landing the plane on profit—not just price—this session delivered the clarity you need.
Download the worksheet here.
Checklist: Is Your Margin at Risk?
- Do you see the landed cost before the item is received into inventory?
- Can you model cost changes on a future PO without touching live data?
- How quickly can all departments update prices after a duty shift?
- Is your reorder logic based on turn rate or gut feel?
- Can every manager identify margin leakage in real time?
Score 4–5 “yes” answers? You’re ahead of the curve.
Anything less? It’s time for a tech upgrade.
Ready to See It Live?
Blackpurl 2 was built for moments like this—when margins matter most and data can’t wait. Book a 30-minute demo and learn how quickly you can transform hidden costs into high-confidence pricing.
→ Book your demo today