Build a competitor price review

Procurement manager · Time: 30 min · Research

Tools that fit this task

• ChatGPT $20/mo
• Perplexity $20/mo
• Gemini $14/mo
• You.com $15/mo
• Elicit $12/mo
• Consensus $8.99/mo

Prompt

Role: you are a market analyst collecting prices from open sources.
Context: market {{industry, country}}. Competitors: {{list}}. Items to compare: {{item 1 with an exact description}}, {{item 2}}, {{item 3}}. Review date {{date}}.
Task: build a price table for each competitor and item. For each price give the page link and date, and what the price includes (delivery, installation, service, tax). If the price is missing from the site, mark [not in open sources] instead of guessing.
Format: a table competitor | item | price | what is included | link | date. Then a short conclusion: the price spread for each item and who changed prices in the last month, if the sources show it. No long dashes.

Steps

1. List five to eight competitors and three items to compare with an exact description of each
2. Give a search assistant the list with a prompt for a price table with a link and date for every cell
3. Get the table, open every link and correct outdated or wrong prices
4. Ask it to mark whose price includes delivery, installation or service so the comparison is like for like
5. Add your own prices and calculate your position against the market for each item
6. Repeat the same prompt every month and keep the history

How to check the result

Every price in the table has a link and a date, comparison terms are aligned, and your position against the market is calculated for each item

Pitfalls

• The model takes prices from old pages and caches: check the date on every page
• Competitor prices from confidential price lists under NDA stay out of public services

Data that stays out of public AI tools

• Supplier prices and terms from sealed bids: a trade secret of both sides, into a service with codes
• Annual procurement plans and budgets: before a tender is announced, only inside a corporate environment
• Contracts with real parties and amounts: into a public service as [Party A], [Party B], [amount]

Other tasks for procurement managers

• Run a quick counterparty check before a deal
• Run a risk review of a contract for your side
• Compare two versions of a contract
• Write a formal claim letter to a counterparty
• Keep a contract register and track deadlines
• Find discrepancies in a counterparty reconciliation statement
• Write an email to a foreign partner in their language
• Translate a contract and keep the terminology consistent
• Get a spreadsheet formula from a plain-language request
• Write a business letter

AI tools for procurement managers · Prompt: Build a competitor price review