Customer Background
Headquartered in the UK, our customer is a global leader in structured cabling and high-speed data technologies, serving some of the world’s largest enterprises in healthcare, industrial, automotive, education, consumer electronics, and government sectors. With more than three decades of expertise, our customer offers comprehensive solutions tailored to meet the most demanding connectivity needs across their diverse user base.
Customer Need
Given the complexity of managing proposals and quotations with spreadsheets across their global sales team, our customer’s process had become increasingly cumbersome, leading to inefficiencies and challenges in scaling operations. They sought to streamline the process with an advanced software application capable of securely managing quote generation, seamlessly integrating with their active directory, providing role-based access, and facilitating their end-to-end workflow from initial quote creation to hierarchical approvals. With over seven years of proven success working with this customer and 20+ years of custom application development expertise, Softdel was the preferred partner for this project.
Softdel’s Solution
- Softdel developed a tailor-made application for the customer to streamline their quotation generation process, enabling efficient management of the entire lifecycle—from creating quotes to seamless order conversion.
- This application, built using AWS-managed services, features a user-friendly interface designed to handle intricate product configurations with ease. Key functionalities include:
- Role-based access control: User management with single sign-on (SSO) integration via OpenID Connect (OIDC) and REST APIs.
- Structured approval workflow: Customisable hierarchical rules for quote authorisations.
- Comprehensive product and pricing management:
- Manage product details, pricing, regions, and currency rates
- Support for bulk updates using CSV files
- Full-stream margin management and dynamic quote validity based on material costs
- Market-specific/geographic-specific features:
- Tailored pricing and terms for vertical markets and distributors.
- Region-specific, predefined, and editable terms and conditions.
- User-friendly management tools:
- Password reset and email configuration capabilities.
- Additional features include audit logs, mass import & export of data, quote analytics reports, email notifications, and an intuitive search and filter system to enhance efficiency and transparency.
This application simplifies complex quoting workflows, supporting businesses with digitalisation and automated operations.
Standards and Technology
Database: RDS
Cloud: AWS
Backend: CloudWatch, S3, Lambda, API Gateway, SES, SNS, Cognito
Interface: REST API, Websocket, MQTT
Benefits
- 50% faster quote turnaround & accelerated sales cycle: Automated quote creation and approval processes reduced manual effort, empowering the global sales team to respond swiftly to customer inquiries and drive higher deal closures.
- 30% increase in sales productivity: Eliminating redundant tasks and manual errors through automated workflows, centralised data and predefined templates allowed sales teams to focus on customer engagement.
- 20-25% higher proposal success rates: Accurate, dynamic pricing, along with region-specific and market-tailored terms, ensured competitive optimized quotes and increased acceptance rates.
- 40% reduction in administrative overhead: The application eliminated dependency on spreadsheets and manual approval processes, improving operational efficiency through bulk updates and seamless integration with enterprise systems.
- Enhanced compliance and data security: Role-based access and audit logs ensured regulatory compliance and data integrity, while single sign-on (SSO) and encrypted access protected sensitive pricing and customer information.
