Of the numerous areas of business affected by the growth of big data, pricing may be the most important.

The prices manufacturers and distributors give to their products can have a seismic impact on the retail sector and consumer spending. For example, 67 percent of revenue in the U.S. wine market is affected by pricing, according to an article from the North Bay Business Journal. Because of this, implementing big data strategies to improve the pricing process is crucial. However, not all organizations have obtained the right tools to manage pricing data.

Last week, roughly 200 industry professionals congregated at the Wine Industry Technology Symposium in Napa. Speakers discussed the use of data to improve operations, particularly pricing, and many expressed concern over the fact that most wineries are still utilizing old and inefficient systems.

“I’m shocked how many distributors are still using Excel for pricing and the system of record,” said Chris Spear, vice president of business solutions for Novato-based depletion data service TradePulse.

Others offered suggestions on how to improve pricing operations.

“Before you do price-sensitivity analysis, you need to create a central database, so all who need to can see the information and there’s less redundancy,” said panelist Steven Cuellar, a chairman in the economics department at Sonoma State University.

Like any other operation that requires data processing, it’s imperative that organizations are able to successfully manage and view their information in real-time. If pertinent information regarding pricing changes quickly, those tasked with processing that data have to be able to view it in real time.

Using FileMaker to build a custom database software system will allow businesses to accurately process data, which ultimately will put them in the best position to properly determine wine pricing.