Practical Training: Cost Drivers and Market Prices
Your Personal Learning Coach: Dr. Stephan Hofstetter
Dr. Stephan Hofstetter has more than 20 years of experience in procurement and strategic consulting. His career includes 9.5 years at A.T. Kearney, most recently as Country Manager Switzerland, and 7.5 years as Chief Procurement Officer at HUBER+SUHNER.
Since 2015, he has been Partner and Managing Director at Kloepfel Consulting, responsible for the Swiss market. His focus lies on future-proofing procurement organizations, developing strategies, and strengthening operational execution capabilities. He designs hands-on training sessions, individually coaches procurement executives, and sharpens negotiation skills – with a clear focus on essentials, solid practical experience, and a keen sense for people and organizational dynamics.
Negotiate Prices Confidently and Data-Driven
Those who understand price trends negotiate stronger. In times of volatile markets and steep cost curves, it’s critical not to simply accept prices – but to question, analyze, and justify them convincingly. Shadowboxing with weak levers is no longer enough.
This practical training is designed for number-savvy procurement professionals who want to base their negotiations on solid cost analysis and develop targeted pricing strategies.
Understanding Cost Structures – From Castings to Beer Bottles
Whether castings, injection-molded parts, beer bottles, or T-shirts – every commodity group has its own drivers. Together, we analyze the impact of raw materials, energy, production, logistics, and exchange rates on prices. We discuss economies of scale, their calculation, and their relevance for price comparisons.
Using real-life procurement examples, we work with publicly available indices, calculate relative price changes from time series, and model target prices – even for more complex parts and weighted product baskets. Visual representation makes even complex issues easy to grasp.
Arguments Instead of Gut Feeling – Cost Analysis as a Basis for Negotiation
Technical drawings, cycle times, machine hourly rates: Procurement gains real advantages when such insights come from engineering, enabling tough but well-founded negotiations.
In the training, we develop coherent argumentation chains tailored to the participants’ individual topics. Target prices are not only calculated but also presented effectively. The result: negotiation strategies with substance – for noticeably better outcomes.
Methods That Work
The training is interactive, relevant, and practical.
- Live research on price indices and markets
- Case studies from real procurement scenarios
- Tools for cost analysis and visualization
- Expert insights on costing, argumentation, and index interpretation
Target Audience: Procurement professionals with a knack for numbers who want to respond to price demands professionally.
Typical Content: Castings, injection molding, glass packaging, T-shirts, metal components, and more.
Your Benefit: Greater clarity on price developments – more strength at the negotiation table.
Numbers can speak – if you understand them correctly.
This training opens eyes, sharpens arguments, and strengthens your negotiation performance.
By buyers for buyers. Step by step. For more depth in procurement.
Dr. Stephan Hofstetter, your learning coach
Here’s more information about the KLOEPFEL Academy!
Learn more about the Cost Drivers and Market Prices module!
Contact:
Phone: +41 41 248 08 88
Mobile: +41 79 829 34 77
Email: s.hofstetter@kloepfel-consulting.com