Quotation entry
Quotations may be entered for existing customers or prospects, prospect details being entered at this stage. Once the sales person details, follow up date and the length of time for which the quotation is valid have been entered, any number of product codes may be selected. Any staff not used to the SOP system will be able to easily locate products via simple lookup tables capable of locating products by their code, description, supplier, supplier product code or a word within the description. A free-format text box allows any special conditions to be added to the quote before it is printed and sent to the customer or the prospect.
Follow up reports
Follow-up reports may be printed at any time for a range of dates and will list all quotes with expected action between those dates.
Profitability
The potential profitability of quotations sent out may be monitored via the profitability report. Available in quote, customer or sales representative order, any low margin or loss making quotations are easily spotted and trends soon become evident. |
Quotation Progression
When action is taken on a quote, the results of that action may be recorded against it, along with any expected date of further action. Such actions may be assigned a user-defined progress category, for example ‘modified quote required’, ‘sales visit arranged’ etc.
Quotations may of course be accepted or rejected. Acceptance of a quote will cause its transferal into the order processing system and the creation of customer records if the acceptee was a prospect. Rejected quotes may have detailed reasons for rejection recorded against them.
Enquiries
Powerful enquiry facilities provide full information on quotations and their current status. Quotations are easily located via the quote number, customer account number or short name lookup tables. Full details of each line of the quotation may be displayed, including the profitability and margin information. Viewing all actions against a quotation can give a full history of the life of the quote.
Analysis
Various analytical reports, all available by quote, customer or sales representative, provide vital information on the reason for the lost quotes, the number of actions taken to gain orders, the profit margins achieved and the quotation lifetime. This information allows for effective management decisions to be taken to improve the productivity and the profitability of the sales team. |
