Challenges

• Provide dealers with online self-service capabilities to produce quotes and place orders
• Deploy a single tool for both internal and external users and simplify the quote and order user interface for all users
• Reduce the expense of custom software development and maintenance
• Introduce new products and product changes more quickly

Benefits

• Embedded nearly 20 years of product design and quoting knowledge into a guided selling platform within six months
• Simplified the quote and order user interface with a guided product selection and configuration process that uses dynamic product visualization
• Transformed the dealer buying experience with an easy online self-service tool for developing quotes and placing orders for all custom-designed residential and commercial products.
• Reduced the time to train sales staff with a more consistent and simplified quote and order process
• Generated manufacturing information to drive production within the company’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system
• Reduced the cost of custom software development and maintenance
• Accelerated the introduction of new products and permitted product changes without the need to outsource programming resources

“With Infor Product Configurator, we’ve cut the expense of custom software development and maintenance, plus we can introduce new products and product changes faster using internal staff only.” —Steve Terhune, IT director, Plastimayd

Facts at a glance

Products: Infor Sales Portal, Infor Product Configurator, 2D Design Automation, Document Automation

Industry: Industrial Manufacturing

Country: US

“Infor Sales Portal provides our dealers with on-line quote, order, and status capabilities, which is the key to continuing our steady growth in sales.”

—Kevin Blansett, general manager, Quaker Windows & Doors

About the company

Quaker Windows & Doors is a diversified window manufacturer with a range of products that incudes wood and vinyl residential windows and doors for replacement and new construction markets, as well as aluminum windows and doors for commercial and residential markets. With 550 employees in its corporate offices and manufacturing facilities in Freeburg, Missouri, Quaker is one of the largest manufacturers in the region.

Challenges

• Improve the quote process and bid document quality to fuel continued sales growth.
• Add ability to dynamically generate 2D models for immediate visual confirmation of configured products and generate configuration-specific thumbnail images for documents.
• Provide dealers with the option for 24x7 self-service quoting, bid creation, order entry, and order status inquiry.
• Streamline internal processes.
• Reduce training requirements to support continued growth without equivalent growth in      staff.

Benefits

• Reduced the time to produce quotes and bid documents from one day or longer to minutes and significantly improved bid document quality.
• Increased order accuracy with dimensionally correct images on screen in all bid, manufacturing, and shipping documents.
• Trained new dealers on self-service quoting in 45-minute web-based training sessions.
• Reduced the load on customer service by producing 100% of quotes using Infor® Product Configurator, with 40% of quoting done by dealers on a self-service basis.
• Reduced new customer service representative training from six months to two days.
•  Preserved sales margins through accurate and complete pricing at the dealer’s fingertips.

“Infor 2D Design Automation automates the generation of product drawings and therefore eliminates the time previously required of our engineers. This reduces our overall product lead time and frees up valuable resources for more product innovation.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                  —Kevin Blansett, general manager,

                                                                         Quaker Windows & Doors