Margin Master Handbook
- Prerequisites
- Firewall and Network Requirements
- Microsoft Edge Download Block
- SQL Server Authentication Setup for IT Administrators
- Antivirus and Endpoint Security Exclusions
- SQL Server Tools
- Install or Upgrade SQL Server Express
- Install or Upgrade SQL Server Management Studio
- A Tour of the Main Window
- The Menus
- The Button Row
- The Main Data Grid
- The Summary Section
- Banners and Badges
- The Options Window
- Store Configuration
- Miscellaneous
- Export Options
- Vendor Settings
- POS / Connections Tabs
- Background Service
- AI Assistant (Experimental)
- How POS Import Works
- Supported Point-of-Sale Systems
- Data Import Workflows
- RockSolid POS Import
- Epicor Eagle FTP Import
- Epicor MySQL Compass Import
- Transact POS Import
- Paladin POS Import
- Falcon POS Import
- Spruce POS Import
- Bistrack POS Import
- RockSolid Max POS Import
- ECS POS Import
- Prosperity POS Import
- Catalyst POS Import
- Westlake POS Import
- MI9 POS Import
- AS/400 POS Import
- CounterWorks POS Import
- Dimension POS Import
- PacSoft POS Import
- ProStix POS Import
- Sympac POS Import
- Propello POS Import
- EagleVision POS Import
- MySQL/Compass Connection Configuration
- ECI VPN Requirement (Spruce, RockSolid MAX)
- Propello POS Integration Guide
- MI9 Data Pipeline — Import to Main Table
- Troubleshooting: Epicor Import Brought In 0 SKUs
- PACE POS Import
- Advantage POS Import
- General Store POS Import
- J-3 POS Import
- KeyStroke POS Import
- AutBusSystem POS Import
- Tomax POS Import
- Enterprise POS Import
- Computakey POS Import
- Redisell POS Import
- DART POS Import
- MIB POS Import
- Substruct POS Import
- DMAS POS Import
- RODS POS Import
- Procom POS Import
- Agility POS Import
- Acumen POS Import
- Cruise POS Import
- LSandE POS Import
- Retalix POS Import
- DIBCorp POS Import
- GMROI POS Import
- ECi Advantage POS Import
- Sunray POS Import
- ActivantAutomotive POS Import
- IBS POS Import
- Versys POS Import
- RMS POS Import
- TAMS POS Import
- Integrasoft POS Import
- Dynamic POS Import
- Microsoft ARS POS Import
- CDS POS Import
- Spartan POS Import
- Nitterhouse POS Import
- Jeds POS Import
- Theisens POS Import
- Emery Jensen POS Import
- SMS Pro POS Import
- Burdens POS Import
- Intact POS Import
- Bloom Retail POS Import
- NCR Counterpoint POS Import
- Horizon POS Import
- Cloud Vendor Data Sync
- Data Aging and Freshness Warnings
- Resetting Vendor and POS Data
- Rebuild Data and Rebuild Selection Lists
- Troubleshooting Vendor Sync
- Understanding the Strategy Hierarchy
- Pricing Strategies
- Creating a Strategy Step
- Updating and Deleting Steps
- Reviewing a Strategy and Running It
- Shared (Premade) Strategies
- SKU-Level Exceptions
- Manage Custom Groups
- Strategy Execution Cloud Tracking
- Importing from Excel
- Cost Break Analysis
- Cost Break Strategies
- Min/Max Strategies
- Strategy Backup & Restore
- Add Items from Catalog
- Store Grouping
- Data Diagnostics and Missing Index Recommendations
- System Diagnostics
- Margin Master Cannot Save Settings
- SQL Server 2025 Express vs. Full License
- Support Issue Management
- Catalog Lookup
- What's New After an Update
- Version History
- Documentation and the Help Buttons
- CTLD — Do It Best Catalog File
- MARGIN_MASTER — Ace Catalog File
- PCDITEMXREF — Do It Best SKU Classification File
- SAP_ZONE_PRICE_MARGIN_MASTER — Ace Zone Pricing File
- PCDPRODCLASS — Do It Best Product Classification Hierarchy File
- SAP_STORE_DEPT_ZONE_MARGIN_MASTER — Ace Store Zone Assignment File
- Taxonomy — Ace Product Classification File
- Mapp_Pricing — Ace MAP & IMAP Pricing File
- margin_mstr_plano — Ace Planogram File
On This Page
Price Sensitivity & Awareness Codes
What is this?
Every product in your vendor's catalog carries a classification code that reflects how price-sensitive that item is to consumers. Vendors assign these codes based on market research, consumer shopping behavior, and competitive analysis. In Margin Master, these codes appear in the Pricing Strategy column (for Ace Hardware) or the Awareness Code column (for Do it Best / True Value).
Walk through it in the app: lesson 2025 — Price sensitivity codes. Margin Master can walk you through these steps live: turn on Training / Guide Mode from the Help menu, then type 2025 into the Lessons & Guides box — or ask Margin Master support to run it with you.
Understanding these codes helps you make informed decisions about which products need competitive pricing and which give you more flexibility on margin.
Ace Hardware: Price Sensitivity Codes
- Store · 2. Current / Future Price · 3. Price level mix · 4. Item Ranking Mix · 5. Pricing Sensitivity Mix
Ace Hardware classifies every SKU with a single-letter Price Sensitivity (PS) code. This code appears in the PS column in the main data grid.
| Code | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| S | Sensitive | Highest price sensitivity. These are items consumers actively comparison-shop. Customers know what these items should cost and will notice if your price is out of line. Think batteries, light bulbs, and other commoditized staples. |
| C | Competitive | Moderately price-sensitive. Consumers are aware of general pricing but may not know exact prices. Competitive pricing matters, but you have slightly more flexibility than Sensitive items. |
| N | Non-Competitive | Low price sensitivity. Consumers are less likely to comparison-shop these items. You have more room to set margins based on your store's needs. |
| B | Blind | Minimal price sensitivity. Consumers generally do not comparison-shop these items and are unlikely to know what the "right" price is. These tend to be specialty, niche, or impulse-purchase items. |
| X | Default / Unset | The item has no sensitivity classification from Ace. Margin Master treats unclassified items as Blind for analysis purposes. |
Note: In Margin Master's analytics (MCStatistics), codes B, X, and Z are all grouped together as "Blind." If you encounter a Z code, it is a system fallback value that also maps to Blind.
How Ace PS Codes Appear in Margin Master
- Main grid column: "Pricing Strategy" (short label: "PS")
- OneClick Statistics: The Pricing Sensitivity Mix panel shows the percentage breakdown of your inventory by PS code, weighted by annual cost of goods sold
- MCStatistics report: Groups codes into four buckets -- Sensitive, Competitive, Non-Competitive, and Blind -- and reports each as a percentage of your total cost-weighted sales
Do it Best / True Value: Awareness Codes
Do it Best and True Value recently integrated their pricing teams and strategies, which resulted in a shift from traditional sensitivity codes to a new Awareness Code system. The underlying concept is the same -- classifying how price-aware consumers are for each product -- but the terminology and scale have changed.
| Code | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| A | Price Sensitive | The highest level of consumer price awareness. Shoppers actively know and compare prices on these items. Equivalent in concept to Ace's "Sensitive" classification. |
| B | High Awareness | Consumers have strong general awareness of pricing. Not quite as actively comparison-shopped as "A" items, but pricing still matters significantly. |
| C | Moderate Awareness | Mid-range awareness. Consumers have some sense of pricing but are less likely to comparison-shop. You have moderate pricing flexibility. |
| D | Low Awareness | Consumers have little price awareness for these items. Greater margin flexibility without risking lost sales. |
| E | Commodity | Despite the name, these are items where the product itself is so standardized that brand and retailer differentiation are minimal. Pricing can vary, but the classification signals that the product is widely available and substitutable. |
How Awareness Codes Appear in Margin Master
- Main grid column: "Awareness Code" (short label: "AC") -- Margin Master automatically uses this label when your primary vendor is Do it Best
- OneClick Statistics: Shows the A-E breakdown (plus a Not Assigned (X) row) in the same Pricing Sensitivity Mix panel
Using These Codes in Your Pricing Strategy
You can filter strategy steps by sensitivity or awareness code using the Pricing Strategy condition in the Strategy Manager. For example, you could create a step that targets only "S" (Sensitive) items with a tighter margin, and a separate step for "B" (Blind) items with a wider margin.
When Codes Are Useful
- Research and analysis: Understanding the sensitivity mix of your inventory helps you see where your margin dollars come from. The MCStatistics and OneClick reports break this down clearly.
- Broad directional guidance: If you notice your Sensitive items are significantly under- or over-priced relative to the market, the codes help you identify which products need attention.
- Critical retail compliance: For Ace Hardware stores, Sensitive items are often the ones flagged in Ace's Critical Retail Pricing program. See Ace Critical Retail Pricing for details.
The Pitfall: Shelf Neighbor Problem
Building pricing strategies based solely on sensitivity codes can create visible inconsistencies on your shelves.
Here is the core issue: two similar products sitting side by side on the same shelf may carry different sensitivity classifications. If your strategy applies a tight margin to Sensitive items and a wide margin to Blind items, those two similar products could end up with noticeably different price points -- even though a customer would expect them to be priced consistently.
Example: Two similar drill bit sets sit next to each other. One is classified S (Sensitive) and gets priced at a 30% margin. The other is classified B (Blind) and gets priced at a 45% margin. A customer comparing the two on the shelf sees a price gap that doesn't make sense for nearly identical products.
This happens because sensitivity codes are assigned at the national level based on broad market data. They don't account for how products are merchandised together in your specific store layout.
Recommended Approach
Sensitivity and awareness codes are best used for research and analysis rather than as the primary driver of your pricing strategy. Here are practical guidelines:
Use codes for reporting, not rules. Review your sensitivity mix in MCStatistics and OneClick to understand your inventory composition. Use that insight to inform your overall pricing philosophy.
Build strategies around product groups and departments. Department- and class-based strategy steps naturally group products that sit together on the shelf, avoiding the neighbor problem.
If you do use codes in strategies, keep it simple. For example, you might add a single step that caps Sensitive items at a maximum margin to stay competitive -- but avoid building an entire multi-step strategy where every step is code-based.
Cross-reference with cost breaks. Combining sensitivity codes with cost break analysis gives you a more complete picture than either tool alone.
Review the results visually. After executing any strategy that uses sensitivity codes, sort by department or class and scan for price inconsistencies among similar products.
Common Questions
Q: Why does my PS column show "X" for some items? A: "X" means Ace has not assigned a sensitivity code to that product. Margin Master treats these as Blind for analysis purposes. This is common for new items or items in transition.
Q: Do it Best used to show different codes. What changed? A: Do it Best and True Value integrated their pricing teams and strategies. The old sensitivity codes were replaced with the new A through E Awareness Code scale. The concept is the same -- it's a measure of how price-aware consumers are -- but the letter values and labels changed.
Q: Can I filter the main grid by sensitivity code? A: Yes. Use the selection panel on the left side of the main window. The Pricing Strategy (or Awareness Code) field appears as a filterable list. You can select one or more codes to narrow the grid.
Q: Do these codes affect which items appear in Ace Critical Pricing? A: Not directly. Ace Critical Pricing compares your prices against Ace's suggested retail, MAP, and IMAP prices regardless of sensitivity code. However, Sensitive items are often the ones most likely to be flagged because they tend to have tighter pricing targets.
Q: My vendor is Orgill or United Hardware. Do I have sensitivity codes? A: Orgill and United Hardware do not currently provide sensitivity classifications through the cloud sync. The Pricing Strategy column will show "Z" (Blind) for these vendors.
