The Quote Builder enabled our client to simplify their sales quoting process
Client
A national street furniture company which sells everything from bins and bus shelters to playground equipment. They sell to local and central government clients as well as private organisations.
Needs
The client was undergoing a search for a new financial system and were interested in a Sage 200 solution incorporating Sage CRM and Sage Manufacturing. Their products are highly configurable with each client having different requirements. They soon discovered that Sage 200 alone would not be flexible enough to easily allow the level of product customisation required so they looked for a way to add this capability though a third-party solution, simplifying the sales quotation process.
After exploring several off the shelf systems, it was decided that there was no solution which gave them the flexibility they required, so turned to a customised solution.
They were looking for a system which integrates fully with Sage;
- Provided the ability to configure products based on a series of question/answer steps
- Emailing the resulting quote to clients
- On receipt of an order, the system to generate
- sales order paperwork
- A Bill of Materials
- A Scope of Works including manufacturing times & processes
All sent directly into sage.
- The ability to modify quotes before and after receipt of order.
- The ability to duplicate quotes for multiple diets
- quotes exported by email and as a Ward file.
Process
Having decided that a bespoke solution would be the best way to go, the client contacted Compass Data following a referral. They were keen to discuss the possibilities with us due to our experience of having provided such solutions before.
We were invited to discuss the requirement with their management team and to provide a proposal to develop a bespoke system to address the need. The project time frame was also tight due to other business objectives.
Following a series of consultative meetings to clearly understand the requirement and agree activities, actions and ownership. Based on these meetings, we presented a proposal which clearly defined the required objective, the project plan and processes to be followed. Once this was accepted, Our staff prepared wire-frames and relationship documentation for approval before development work commenced. Once these were signed off, Compass Data built a quotation system which addressed and exceeded the requirements.
The Quote Builder provided the core of the system which was configured to match the clients requirements. Using The Quote Builder greatly reduced the time to deliver the system an ensured that implementation was well within the required timeframes.
Solution.
Simplifying the sales quotation process and system.
Using The Quote Builder and Claris FileMaker. Compass Data designed and built a system which integrates smoothly with Sage 200 with a user interface similar to Sage, ensuring that it would be familiar to users and provide a seamless operation between the two systems.
Result
The new system allows the customer sales teams to easily prepare bespoke quotes for clients allowing greater freedom in building products, simplifying the sales quotation process and reducing waiting times. It also allows quotes to be exported in such a way that they can be added to other documents such as Request for Proposals which are for a larger scope.
When orders are received from clients, they can be checked for accuracy, the BoM adapted as necessary and then processed without delay. This reduces the whole process time and improves customer satisfaction. It also reduces the chances of errors due to manual entry mistakes.
Overall the new system has reduced the time clients need to wait for quotes and the overall time to deliver. The client was extremely satisfied that the system provides exactly what they wanted and in the way that they needed. What’s more, it actually delivers more than they expected.