AUTO-QUOTING THROUGH SYSTEMS INTEGRATIONS
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Background
The company’s main line of business is in supplying retail fixtures to large retail chains.
Typically, a project would last 4-8 months and would include supplying, and sometimes also installations of retail fixtures to hundreds of stores.
The process was complex and long. It started with the design of each location. This design would include the different items and fixtures the company would supply. The design had to be approved by the store manager or franchisee and then by the franchisor or the regional manager. Based on the approved design, the company had to issue a quote that again, had to be approved by the different parties.
Based on the approved quotes, and projections, the company issues production orders, both internationally and domestically. Inventory traveled from around the world to warehouses in America based on these production orders.
When the store is ready for installation, pick/pack/ship orders are issued, as well as transportation and installation is being coordinated.
After store is installed, POD (proof of delivery) is collected and an invoice to the customer is issued.
The Challenge
The company used a team of designers to design the stores and make corrections. Once a design was approved, the company used a team of CSR clerks to review these designs and based on them to create quotes.
If there was a mistake with the design, or the design version the was passed to the CSR, or, as more commonly happened, there was a mistake on the quoting, such as omitting a fixtures from the quote, the mistake would have “chased” the company till the end, since production orders and pick orders were based on the same, “faulty”, quote.
Such a mistake would not have been caught, until all is delivered to the store and store manager would have realized that something is missing. At that point, the company had to rush production to rectify the mistake, absorb additional delivery and installation cost, and most of the times not even to charge the customer for the item, as compensation for the inconvenience caused as a result of the company’s poor delivery ability.
Consequently, the company suffered from the following–
1. Customer dissatisfaction – concern of losing the project
2. The long and manual process not only led to mistake, but all took a lot of time, keeping the company’s capacity at a lower point and constantly behind schedule.
Analysis
The process was heavily based on manual, not computerized and not automated process. Designers, beyond creating superb designs, had to monitor and administer design versions and customer changes. CSR clerks had to thoroughly review designs and track 20+ different type of fixtures, at the different quantities, and to manually create quotes, based on this manual review.
Chances of Not making mistakes through such a process were slims. Practically, there was no ability to completing the task on time accurately.
Solutions
Simple systems integration – the 3D Design system that the designers used is Cinema 4D. The ERP system the company used is SAP BO (SAP Business One).
We have create a simple software automation that achieve two main goals –
1. For each store in the system, a pre-set set of folders was created on the server, automatically. These folders, for all stores, save different versions of rendering, quotes and others.
2. We developed a scrip that “knows” how to read the data from a file that is created in Cinema 4D and import this data into SAP. Then through one time mapping process, a quote is created automatically. In other words – the software automatically reads the design and converts it to quote.
This Solution allowed –
1. Practically, elimination of manual work involved in the process.
2. 100% accuracy.
(This solution cost less than $5,000)
Results
The results were staggering – the company was able to eliminate all the mistakes that hunted the company through the supply chain.
The company was able to reduce its work force by 12 employees, meet schedule at a very high rate of customer satisfaction.
This solutions was implemented for all future projects to company won.