Costs are rising faster than we can raise prices
Here is how to work out why.

The short answer

A cost squeeze is a contract design problem as much as a pricing one.

When inputs rise faster than prices, the immediate reflex is cost reduction. It is worth doing and it is finite: you can only remove cost once, while the squeeze continues.

The durable responses are structural. Escalators tied to a published index rather than to negotiation. Shorter price terms. Repricing at renewal rather than annually across the board. Changing what is bundled so the price change lands on something the customer is not comparing.

The other half is mix. In most businesses the squeeze is not uniform — some lines pass costs through easily and some cannot — and moving volume toward the first group is usually faster than winning a price argument in the second.

How to tell this is actually your problem

These three together are the signature. One on its own usually points somewhere else.

✓ Gross margin is falling while volumes hold
✓ Price changes require a negotiation every time
✓ Contracts have no escalation mechanism

The move that usually makes it worse. Absorbing input costs to protect volume, which trains customers to expect it and makes the eventual correction larger.

Who this is not for

Percision is the wrong tool if you already know the answer and only need execution capacity, or if the business is pre-revenue — then the constraint is evidence about the market, not analysis of your own figures. Percision is not a lawyer, tax advisor, auditor, licensed appraiser, clinical or regulatory filer, or an AI implementation shop. It does not do HR casework, creative-only brand work, or impersonate a named consulting firm. It is a strategy analysis engine — not a template library. Also wrong if you need facilitation, politics, or someone to sit with a lender or buyer. Those are human jobs.

Percision is not a lawyer, tax advisor, auditor, licensed appraiser, clinical or regulatory filer, or an AI implementation shop. It does not do HR casework, creative-only brand work, or impersonate a named consulting firm. It is a strategy analysis engine — not a template library.

What it looks like in your industry

The diagnosis changes with the shape of the business. Each of these works the same question through one industry's actual economics, with an excerpt from a real analysis run on a company of that type.

What the engine does with this question

It routes to Cost & Margin Improvement (catalog id t10), one of 29 engagements. The output is a sequence with a stopping rule — which move first, what it funds next, and the observation that would say it is not working — rather than a list of things you could consider.

Read a complete report before deciding whether it is worth your time.

Questions people ask about this

How do I pass on cost increases without losing customers?

Tie them to something external and verifiable, and give notice. A rise attributed to a published index is a fact; the same rise attributed to your costs is an invitation to negotiate.

Should I use index-linked pricing?

Where a credible index exists, it removes the annual argument and usually pays for itself in the first cycle. The work is choosing an index the customer accepts as neutral.

What if my contracts do not allow price changes?

Then the lever is at renewal, and the interim work is mix and cost to serve. It is also the moment to fix the contract, because the same squeeze will happen again.

When is Percision the wrong tool?

Percision is the wrong tool if you already know the answer and only need execution capacity, or if the business is pre-revenue — then the constraint is evidence about the market, not analysis of your own figures. Percision is not a lawyer, tax advisor, auditor, licensed appraiser, clinical or regulatory filer, or an AI implementation shop. It does not do HR casework, creative-only brand work, or impersonate a named consulting firm. It is a strategy analysis engine — not a template library. Also wrong if you need facilitation, politics, or someone to sit with a lender or buyer. Those are human jobs.

Does Percision replace a lawyer, tax advisor, auditor, or AI implementation team?

Percision is not a lawyer, tax advisor, auditor, licensed appraiser, clinical or regulatory filer, or an AI implementation shop. It does not do HR casework, creative-only brand work, or impersonate a named consulting firm. It is a strategy analysis engine — not a template library.