In today’s environment, there is increasing worldwide competition for organizations involved in the application, design, manufacture, and installation of pumping equipment. The competitiveness of an organization’s equipment is part of the buyer’s overall evaluation criteria. A pump manufacturer is expected to design and manufacture high-quality equipment that meets a specific set of pumping criteria. A buyer’s evaluation may be based on the cost of equipment only, or it may be based on more detailed information such as energy cost, maintenance cost, or total lifecycle costs. Whatever the case may be, preference is unquestionably given to manufacturers that are RESPONSIVE.
While the basic activities involved in the selection and purchasing of pumping equipment are essentially the same today as in the past and will be in the future, the information age, specifically technology, has and continues to redefine virtually all aspects of the entire lifecycle of this pumping equipment. It is essential to understand that while the technology ensures that the infrastructure is in place, it is critical for common work practices and procedures to be established between Buyer and Seller to first adopt and then adapt to this new technology to achieve the anticipated benefits and drive RESPONSIVENESS.
CECO’s objective is to seek and implement a sales and applications, web-enabled, front-end selling solution to improve RESPONSIVENESS by minimizing the time in selecting, configuring, pricing, and quoting.
The solution must be:
1) Acceptable to Different “User” Communities
Seeking interfaces and workflows that are suitable for customer service reps, regional sales managers, application engineers, specifying engineers, management (in general), distributors, and if desired, OEM’s and end-users
2) Simple/Intuitive
Solution should be simple and user-friendly.
CECO chose a leading provider as our software and automated solution. They are industry-proven and the world leader in providing (SCPQ) software to pump manufacturers and related fluid-handling equipment providers. Their Advanced Selector and Quick Select give CECO an immediate upgrade in hydraulic sizing and selection, and their Configurator is custom-tailored for our specific business.
Gone are the days of the primary tool which pump manufacturers traditionally used during the Request For Quote (RFQ)/Proposal Process, commonly known as the Infamous Pricebook.
Yes, in simple words, a Pricebook is a price list used to quote pumps. However, the Pricebook always accompanied a 500-page, 6-inch think engineering catalog, which contains extensive pump performance curves, engineering data including dimensional and cross-sectional drawings, and a ton of other helpful information, in addition to the pricing information. A factory-trained pump applications engineer would use the Pricebook/Engineering Catalog to create a customized quotation from a customer’s request for quote. Quotation documents are produced and include various data sheets, performance curves, general dimensional (outline) drawings, etc., and a price quotation including terms & conditions. In many cases, alternate selections, comments to a customer’s request for quote and/or specification, or other supplementary information are provided. This diverse array of information and expertise required to develop this customized information for quoting purposes has led to the need for this computer-aided technology that we are discussing.
While we are just at the onset of our journey, a tool has recently been introduced to our distribution channel for specific product lines, and our channel has embraced the technology.
Hayes Pump, Inc., our Northeast distributor covering the New Jersey, New York, and New England territories, appreciates the simple and straightforward landing page/dashboard (shown below) and the various data outputs (also shown below).
Mark Heckmann, Operations Manager, Hayes Pump, Inc., (NJ Division), states, “Hayes Pump uses the new tool with other manufactures as well. It is a good tool for distribution, customer and manufacture alike. It allows distribution to provide customers with a detailed electronic proposal, which helps the customer understand more clearly what is being offered. The program assists with order and ensures the product is correct and accurate. Having Fybroc implement this program will only make Hayes Pump more efficient in providing customers with a timely proposal.”
In closing, the tool will improve our RESPONSIVENESS while giving a more complete and professional appearance to our quotations. Our business and our industry are all about responsiveness, speed, and convenience.
Gennaro A. D’Alterio, Director of Global Business Development at CECO, always stresses a sense of urgency in the sales process and believes that the tool will reinforce the mantra of “speed kills” as the speed of response does matter. It is a real competitive advantage that ultimately translates into more sales and overall business growth.
This “guided selling” tool allows the customer or salesperson globally to access information in real-time (their local time zone) quickly and easily with a few clicks of the mouse.
Remember that the tool is not meant to be a replacement for the trained expert, application engineer, or technical team. This technical presence will always be available to help, but now the technical team can focus their energies on more complex pump applications and value-added initiatives while the tool helps process the more routine day-to-day quotation requests. It is our sincere hope that our customers and business partners will appreciate our effort and investment in this automated, front-end, web-based tool as it will enable us to remain razor-sharp and laser-focused with satisfying the customer base, taking market share from our competition, and growing our respective organizations.
