Many organizations rely on a spreadsheet-based quoting process, quoting software that is not built for the industry, or applications that stand alone and do not support flow of information across the organization. The challenge with these approaches is that there are few, if any, controls in place to validate that pricing on quotes generated are based on correct pricing, and that quoted information is quickly and accurately moved through to operations.
When the quoting process does not ensure that accurate pricing information is carried throughout the business processes, quotes based on incorrect margins get submitted. This often leads to order fulfillment fire drills and costly credits and rebills.
It’s very manual and time consuming to roll-up individual sales reps’ forecasts into one master sales funnel spreadsheet, and to keep the CRM/opportunity management software up-to-date. If information is updated manually, it’s immediately out-of-date as soon as the next quote revision or next new customer quote goes out. This makes it very hard for management to be able to rely on the sales funnel for accurate revenue, margin and resource forecasting. Without the correct information, it’s difficult for them to make informed operational and strategic decisions.
Implementing an automatic sales solution can eliminate the inaccuracies of manual quoting processes and enable the flow of information across your organization in a timely manner. This solution can be accessed through a mobile device – like MOBILEsales by Command Alkon – allowing sales reps to sell, deliver, invoice, and receive payments quicker and with greater accuracy.
