In January, Simon-Kucher & Partners, a global consulting firm, released results from the Global Pricing Study 2012, including key results for distributors and wholesalers. Editor Lindsay Konzak spoke with Wolfgang Mitschke, director at Simon-Kucher, and Matt Johnson, a partner at the firm, about the key takeaways for distributors and the role of services in pricing and profitability.

MDM: The summary of your study says that no other industry faces more price pressure than distribution does. Why is this the case?

Wolfgang Mitschke: We ask executives from a lot of different industries if they are currently facing increased price pressure. The results revealed that 93 percent of the distributors we surveyed said they are currently facing increasing price pressure, far more than any other industry.

Matt Johnson:  Distributors get it from both ends of the spectrum. They’re dealing with …