Creating A Competitive Edge With 24/7 CPQ Operations Driving business by empowering dealers with quotes, pricing and order placement available 24/7.

Transcription

1 Creating A Competitive Edge With 24/7 CPQ Operations Driving business by empowering dealers with quotes, pricing and order placement available 24/7.

2 2 Table of Contents Summary 3 Search for a New System 3 Right Fit, Right Price 4 New Way of Working 5 Integration with ERP 5 Benefits 5

3 3 Niehaus Companies, Inc. currently operates 11 separate businesses within the building materials industry. The Wholesale Building Materials (WBM) division distributes quality building materials throughout five states; Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee. One of WBM s locations is a certified Therma Tru Distributor and operates a full service door mill from its Vincennes, Indiana location. Summary Niehaus Wholesale Building Materials (WBM) division needed to find a replacement for its product configurator software, a component of its old ERP system. WBM was looking for a web-based solution that was easy to use, and could be customized to their specific needs. The product configurator had to easily integrate with the company s new ERP system. WBM found the right fit at the right price in Configure One s Enterprise Product Configurator. On the surface, purchasing a door doesn t appear to be extremely complicated. However, upon closer scrutiny, there are hundreds of different styles and options available. Therefore, a product configurator is an essential component of the configure, price, and quote (CPQ) process. As a result of changing its ERP system, Niehaus WBM division needed to find a new product configurator and quotation solution. Previously, we used a product configurator that was a component of our ERP system, said David Niehaus, Vice President. Although it was very basic, it was still very cumbersome to use. We changed ERP systems and the one we chose was very specific to our industry, and did not include a product configurator. As result, we had to look for new software to support the quote-to-order process. After implementing Configure One in 2009, WBM has streamlined its quote-to-order process by empowering its dealer network. Today, its dealers generate 40 percent of all configurations and 25 percent of new sales orders. Not only has this implementation reduced errors, but it has also freed up WBM s internal sales staff from administrative duties so that they are now able to focus on sales and customer service. The fact that WBM is now open for business 24/7 has enabled the division to continue to expand even during the midst of a down market. Search for a New System The company was looking for a product configurator that provided a flexible framework so that the look and feel could be customized in-house. We evaluated a lot of configurators, said Niehaus. We didn t want to rely on an outside

4 4 Configure One has experienced staff who were always available to answer questions. After just two days of training, we started creating our own configuration rules. company to create the configuration rules. We wanted to be able to customize the look and feel of the product to meet our specific needs. A key criterion was the ability to fully integrate with our ERP system, and that requirement excluded a lot of vendors. As a certified distributor of Therma Tru doors, the WBM division s first stop was to evaluate its configurator. We started testing Therma Tru s configurator, and there were a lot of things that we didn t like, said Brian Kirwer, Marketing Director. We needed to be able to customize the user interface, and with Therma Tru s configurator there were just too many limitations. We needed to integrate with our new ERP system and that wasn t possible either. It was more of a selling tool. We needed not only a selling tool, but also the ability to generate a BOM and integrate into our ERP system. Right Fit, Right Price After a comprehensive evaluation, the WBM division selected Configure One s Enterprise Product Configurator. Kirwer explained: Configure One provided the best overall value for us. It s a great product with great functionality. Configure One has experienced staff who were always available to answer questions. They also provided additional modules that allowed us to grow with the software as we expanded as a company. Configure One continues to evolve and innovate with new releases, and is always developing new functionality. Niehaus echoed his colleague s comments. Configure One provided the functionality we needed and the value we were seeking. There were other systems that were cheaper, but didn t have the functionality we needed. In the end, it was the right fit for the right price. After successful implementation, the WBM division went live with Configure One in early Configure One s admin and setup tools were really easy to use, said Kirwer. After just two days of training, we started creating our own configuration rules. Since then we have called Configure One for support, but other than that we have been self-sufficient. David Niehaus Vice President Niehaus Companies, Inc. Brian Kirwer Marketing Director Wholesale Building Materials

5 5 New Way of Working Niehaus customers include independent lumberyards, home centers, and builders. Home centers do a lot of their business on weekends, said Kirwer. Many times our customers needed a quote and to order a door when we were not open. By utilizing Configure One, our customers can now access the configurator from their location, configure a door, produce a quote, and place an order 24/7. The streamlined quote-to-order process has made the company a lot more efficient. When a dealer configures a door, Configure One generates a professional-looking quote. The dealer can either print the quote or it to their customer for review. If the quote is accepted, the dealer sends us an order. Configure One has streamlined not only the configuration and quote process internally, but also for our dealers as well, said Kirwer. Integration with ERP The WBM division uses an ERP system acquired from Spruce Computers, which is very specific to its industry. It is designed for lumber, hardware and building materials dealers. To automate and streamline as much as the quote-to-order process as possible, Configure One had to integrate with WBM s ERP system. We used Configure One Connect, Configure One s integration module, said Kirwer. In addition to generating a quote and sales order, Configure One also creates a smart part number and BOM. A single door may contain 35 separate items. That data is passed to our ERP system to relieve inventory for the individual components. Benefits Our dealers now create 40 percent of the configurations and 25 percent of the sales orders. Since implementing Configure One in 2009, the company has grown its business even in the midst of a down market. By empowering its dealers, the company has streamlined the quote-to-order process and reduced the internal workload thereby freeing up sales staff from administrative duties. We definitely operate more efficiently, said Niehaus. Internally, we have reduced our staff by one person. Even though both our inside sales people and dealers use the system, our dealers now create 40 percent of the configurations and 25 percent of the sales orders since the introduction of Configure One. That has been a tremendous help to reduce our internal workload. Furthermore, we have some plans to increase those numbers even further. The result is our inside sales team is not just answering calls, but

6 6 they now focus on other activities, such as making outbound calls. Configure One has made us more competitive, because we now operate 24/7. By replacing an outdated system, the WBM division has not only improved efficiency, but also empowered its dealer network to be more responsive to customer requests. Before Configure One, it would have been impossible to allow our customers to use the configurator. We only used it internally and even experienced users found it cumbersome. Today, we have fewer configuration errors because our dealers are entering their own data. They are more accountable and review the data before submitting an order. Configure One has definitely streamlined the entire quote-to-order process, said Niehaus. The WBM division has continued to grow even in a down market. During the past few years, our business has grown even with less than optimal market conditions, said Kirwer. Configure One has made us more competitive, because we now operate 24/7. This has translated into a huge benefit. Many of our dealers work outside our normal business hours and Configure One enables them to configure a door, get a price, and place an order even when we re not open. Configure One is a leading provider of web-based configurator technology. Configure One has enabled both small and large companies to increase revenues and decrease costs by automating the way they sell, engineer, and manufacture their products.

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