When we were engaged with this company the business owner was looking for an exit strategy. They’d previously had a Consultant trying to understand their processes, but they’d gotten nowhere. We took on this complex project that involved trying to download and systemise a lifetime’s work by the business owner.
Up until we got involved, the owner of the business had always priced the work. The work wasn’t complex, but the number of variables was large and each one had an impact on price. The owner couldn’t put into words how he priced items, so we took on the task of trying to understand.
Variables included material types, stock purchase prices and materials. Then there were multiple processes the material could go through, and one was infinitely variable. We established a relationship between these processes, the materials and prices so that we could automatically produce accurate quotations. The user of the application just had to be specific about what work was to be undertaken.
Once a quotation was produced and emailed to the customer (all via the application and its integration with Outlook), the job could be processed.
If a customer decided to change the order it was just a matter of opening the previous order, amending it and resending it.
A complete history of all the orders produced was automatically stored centrally on the network so there was no need to delve into people’s personal accounts or computers if you were interested in the history of an order.
Although the initial brief was only to produce quotations, the customer ended up expanding this to include the production of all manufacturing and invoicing records. The application also ended up predicting lead times, so that the quotation process gave a better insight into the likely delivery.
All-in-all a satisfactory solution that can be further built on as needed. The application now provides a structured approach to pricing allowing almost anyone to use it with minimal training.
More importantly, it formed part of an exit strategy for the business owner allowing him to take a well-earned retirement.