At a Glance
Quoting time reduced from hours to minutes
Configuration error rate significantly decreased, order rework notably reduced
Quoting and cost data linked in real time, gross margin forecasting precise and controllable
Sales, engineering, and production collaborate on a unified configuration logic
Customer Profile
An industrial equipment manufacturer with annual revenue of approximately USD 220 million and 450 employees, primarily engaged in the design and production of customized compressors, pump systems, and packaged systems. The business is project based with highly personalized customer requirements. Each unit involves hundreds of configurable options. Quoting had long relied on manual calculations by experienced sales and engineering personnel, resulting in long cycles, high error rates, and repeated cross departmental communication.
Quoting Is a Relay Race
A customer wants a compressor. They ask how much and how soon.
Sales asks engineering can this configuration be done. Engineering checks drawings does this model exist. Sales then asks procurement how much does this component cost. Procurement asks suppliers what is the lead time. The supplier says two weeks. Procurement tells sales. Sales tells engineering. Engineering tells sales. Sales tells the customer.
After one full circuit, the quote is ready. Then the customer asks what if we change the motor to a different brand. Another circuit begins.
Quoting is not calculated. It is run. The more people involved, the more room for error.
This company was once exactly that. Until they brought quoting onto CPQ.
Configuration Logic Unified
Previously, configuration rules lived in engineering minds, in drawing notes, in spreadsheet formulas, in sales experience. The same configuration would yield different answers from different people.
Now, all configuration rules are encoded in the system. Which options can be combined, which options are mutually exclusive, which configurations require specific add ons, which selections affect lead time, all are structured and logical.
When sales selects options, the system validates in real time. Wrong selections are blocked. Correct selections automatically bring up subsequent options.
Configuration is no longer experience. It is rule based.
Price Calculated Automatically
Previously, price was computed manually. Base price plus add ons minus discount plus shipping plus tax. A single digit error could wipe out profit.
Now, price is calculated by the system. After configuration is selected, price is generated automatically. Standard price, channel price, promotional price, volume discount all matched automatically according to preset rules.
Sales no longer need to memorize price lists, use calculators, or worry about calculation errors. Every number on the quote is defensible.
Documents Generated with One Click
Previously, quoting was followed by proposal writing, proposal writing was followed by drawing creation, drawing creation was followed by order entry, order entry was followed by handoffs to engineering, procurement, and production. The same information was entered repeatedly across departments, verified repeatedly, and errors occurred repeatedly.
Now, the moment configuration is confirmed, the system automatically generates the proposal, technical specifications, bill of materials, quote, and order draft. Sales no longer write documents. Engineering no longer redraw. Procurement no longer re enter.
Information is entered once. The system handles the rest.
Quote to Order Seamless Transition
Quote confirmed. Customer places order. Previously, sales would re enter information from the quote into the order system, then notify engineering, notify procurement, notify production.
Now, the moment a quote is converted to an order, the system automatically notifies all relevant departments. Engineering receives configuration requirements. Procurement receives the bill of materials. Production receives work order information.
A quote is not just a quote. It is the beginning of an order.
Customer Testimonial
Quoting a complex project used to involve four or five rounds of back and forth between sales, engineering, and procurement. It took at least a day, sometimes a week. Now I sit with the customer, configure as we talk, and generate the quote on the spot. The customer experience is different. Our efficiency is different. ——Sales Director