Vision Statement for a sales system

I'm amazed at what businesses don't see when it comes to repetitive tasks and rationalizing decision making for their customers.

Vision Statement
It will be a system that combines all sales knowledge and all engineering[1] knowledge into one powerful tool that creates ERROR FREE configurations that we can manufacture in the most effective and efficient manner possible. It will also enable money saving and permanent change. We NEVER have to deal with these issues again since the solution is embedded in the system.

Success and Failure
The accuracy and effectiveness of our communication chain and iterations between Customer, Sales Rep, CSR and Engineering is the economic driver behind our business.

Good Communication = Make money
Bad Communication = Lose money

Part of defining success in this area involves the Shop Floor and its involvement in an order:

Success = Shop floor has no questions after the router traveler has been delivered and they miss nothing[2] in the manufacturing process.

Failure = The Shop floor has to initiate upstream communication because of any questions.

Wrighttools allows input of quotes and configurations in a way that makes sense to Sales and the input is immediately validated.

It generates manufacturing information exactly how we need it.

It eliminates the tug of war over BOM structure between Sales and Engineering/Manufacturing.

The conflict disappears… Poof!


ULTIMATELY…

It gives us a huge advantage over our competition.
They won’t be able to catch up.

[1] The term “Engineering” encompasses the entire design and manufacturing process. It assumes that actual manufacturing practices and procedures are properly incorporated into designs, drawings, BOM’s and router packages (otherwise, what good are they?).

[2] “nothing” means that the information in the router package is complete and accurate and that, properly adhered to, will result in a fulfillment process that has no errors related to miscommunication of information/instructions.

How it does it:

Dynamically Scripted questions and validated answers:

• Ensures that all appropriate information is gathered by asking all appropriate questions of the customer according to established rules.
• All questions and available responses are guided by answers to previous questions. Only valid options are presented thereby ensuring the overall validity of the configuration.
• New information gathered during the process is validated against all previous answers.
• It is an extremely flexible information gathering tool. A number of paths can be chosen from:
• initially guiding and educating customers on how to achieve a front-end solution to satisfy their needs using a “Solution Sales” approach
• allowing the bypass of the solution script to an “I know exactly what I want” choice sending users to a preconfigured solution
• to almost anything in between.
• Begins by clearly identifying our customer’s issues/problems through a series of scripted questions that present a choice of answers. Allows us to define the customer’s goals, environment and operations before just jumping into detailed questions about checkstands.
• Suggests what will be the best fit of standard modules to satisfy customer’s true needs. Will certainly allows choices and customization, but it will give them a choice of our standard offerings along with rules driven cost estimates of engineering resources needed and what timing will be. As you are configuring the product, this lets you say to the prospect/customer- “Yes, a newly engineered widget for your checkstand is possible, but here are the 5 standard choices, and their features and benefits. Any of these widgets will satisfy the need you previously defined and will fit into the standard configuration we’ve specified thus far. If you’d like to proceed with the engineering, the time needed to complete the design work is an additional 2 weeks beyond the lead time I‘ve already quoted based on our current engineering schedule and the cost will be an additional $XXX per checkstand.” No more “I’ll get back to you”.
  
• Runs orders through ALL currently engineered products before offering customization.
  Orders can’t be placed unknowingly for what we can’t/don’t make.
• Flags any items that need engineering and will generate appropriate notifications to those who need to know.
• Allows for the inevitable choice of “none of the above” and the insertion of explanatory text if none of the standard choices satisfy the need.
• Electronic documents, i.e., agreements, correspondence, emails, drawings, etc. can be electronically “attached” to an order…forever! They are accessible to anybody up and down the communication chain.
• Quotes can be automatically converted to orders. No double entry.
• This is a powerful tool that will be customized to exactly how we all agree to use it. We define its look and feel.

Follow-up and Order Changes:

• Easy to understand[3]. Acknowledgements are immediately and automatically created and can be emailed or faxed to the customer for acceptance. Could include document attachments, i.e. drawings, etc.
• Everyone involved in the process will always understand exactly what was ordered. Their expectation and our expectation of the order will be in sync. Customers will also be impressed by the improved professional look of our acknowledgements and correspondence.
• Order changes will be handled the same way.

Ultimately…

This will give us total control over WHAT and HOW we sell.

Parts, Service and Warranty

• A web based catalog of all our parts and service offerings will be available to our customers on-line for immediate credit card purchase 24 hours a day, 7days a week.
• We could easily link to the existing order history database so that past order details could be accessed by internal or external users.
• Enables us to sell parts to our competitors’ checkstand customers, which opens avenues to win all business in the future. Could eventually lead to providing a “whole store” parts and service solution by partnering with vendors of other products, it doesn’t just have to be checkstands. We provide the conduit to the sales channel.
• Enables us to offer Service contracts with a fulfillment process our competitors will be unable to match.

Business Intelligence

• The system maintains all Prospect and Quote information.
• Provides real time information on all quotes including progression to a sales order. This is visibility we have never had.
• All authorized users up and down the communication chain will be able to monitor activity/progress online via web links.
• Enables customers to review their entire order and quote history if we choose to give them access.

Communication

• Gives us online quote/order collaboration between concurrent users.
• Becomes the primary means of quote and order communication between users. No more faxing.
• Effectively and efficiently disseminates real-time information to the entire sales channel

Training

• Eliminates current extreme learning curve for outside reps, customer service reps, engineering and operations.

Custom interface for users

• Allows for personalized views of information.
• Users only see what we want them to see.

Manufacturing receives consistent complete information

• Accurate information would be generated in any format desired.
• Consistent reporting designed so that it looks the same way every time, but only includes what’s really needed to build the order.
• Can output full descriptive narrative including all notes, router travelers, drawings, supplemental documentation, special notice of any unusual variables, etc.
  

An analogy
A good analogy of what Wrighttools does is that it’s like the tax preparation programs Turbotax or Taxcut, which actually could be considered complex configurators; a tax return is processed very much how our orders should be processed. When using the wizard features of either program it asks a series of questions that, depending on the answers given, guides you down the appropriate path. Once completed, it takes the information that was gathered and, for a simple return, compiles and delivers a signature ready 1040EZ form, but for a complex one it can compile and deliver a 100 page 1040 with all the supporting schedules. My using tax preparation software as an example is critical in that its output (tax returns), are complex documents that are turned over to a stranger (IRS) who reviews them for accuracy and completeness. This reviewer expects that all the proper and latest version of tax forms were completed, that they will be in an acceptable format and in an acceptable order. Because of the design of the forms and their uniformity, it is relatively easy for an experienced reviewer to look at the lead form and then hone in on key forms and schedules (which are always included) and quickly gain the knowledge necessary to evaluate or process the package. Whether it’s one page or one hundred, there is a set path the reviewer knows to follow. A lack of strict uniformity would make efficient review of tax returns impossible. Rules guide all activity and a lack of adherence to them by filers can lead to rejection of the return or an audit. The tax system is often cursed for its complexity, but it is also exceptionally flexible, as it needs to be.

Wrighttools uses the same process with customer quotes and orders. It guides the person creating the quote/order through the questions that need to be answered in order for us to get all the information we need to build a checkstand. We write all the underlying rules for the questions asked of the customer and the answers determine which of the many possible paths are followed. For parts orders, only a couple of steps, but for checkstands, many more. I envision introductory rules to include asking customers questions having to do with their environment and goals for their front end. These answers will guide them through the solution we perceive to be the best for their needs, but gives them the flexibility to choose among options or go down a custom path altogether. Every step of the way we can highlight the features and benefits of every choice. We can, but don’t need to, limit responses and can accept free form text when none of the choices are applicable. Writing rules is one of the primary reasons I hired Joe. He is one of the best rules writers in the world and this could give us a huge advantage over our competitors. Wrighttools then generates lines of data that automatically feed Fourth Shift the information it needs to record the order and begin the fulfillment process. This is actually the “Black Box” part of the process because Wrighttools lets sales record the information in a manner that is best for them and the customer, then the information is …

COMPILED…

and entered into Fourth Shift so that it generates exactly what’s needed by manufacturing so they can make the product. I emphasize compiled because that breaks the extremely limiting ball and chain connection between sales order entry and our BOM. We can’t sell based on how our BOM is structured!!!!! Right now, we are trying to make the Bill of Materials serve two masters: Sales and Manufacturing. The dilemma is that the Bill of Material in Fourth Shift cannot serve both effectively and really should follow how we make things, not how we sell them. One master always gets the short end of the stick. We have swung the pendulum from a “sales” BOM to a “manufacturing” BOM since I came here and we struggle with it daily. In fact, it is the core conflict we deal with on a daily basis. We must break the inexorable connection between the two by giving sales the tool they need to configure products without regard to how manufacturing needs the BOM to be. Rules and the compilation process will handle that.

After the order is sent to Fourth Shift, the output to manufacturing would be uniform and only as complex as it needs to be (remember the example of the one page 1040 EZ and the 100 page 1040). This part of the process is of extreme and absolute importance and our current system is now doing a very poor job of delivering a complete and accurate package to manufacturing because we can’t deliver the customized, uniform, but only necessary information needed by manufacturing. We deliver the entire kitchen sink for most every order. Exceptions and nuances are not highlighted and large sections of the orders are unnecessary and things regularly are missed because it’s not reasonable to expect manufacturing personnel to digest an entire “phone book” for each order. It’s a crap way to try to make anything. We will take this weakness, fix it and turn the new process into a distinct competitive advantage. We’ll be able to deliver to manufacturing exactly what they need, including document attachments and work instructions from Wrighttools. The Paradox router traveler would go away.

In these scenarios, our reps are like the tax preparers at H&R Block, trained but not professionals. Our CSR’s are like newbie CPA’s prepping returns. Wilbur and Jim are like sole practitioner CPA’s doing tax compliance work. Our Engineers are like Tax Attorneys who interpret the law and do all our research (but who we now often ask to do the equivalent of prepping returns). Our manufacturing people are like the IRS (bet they’d love to hear that). Imagine if this was a tax office and they had up-to-date tax prep software available, but instead decided to do everything manually and referred to stacks of out of date instruction books for their guidance. That’s what we are like now and I don’t think that inspires a lot of confidence. Let’s just use the software!

[3] There are many different formats available since we will be working with a blank slate. Acknowledgements can be customized by rep/customer. We would interview reps, customers, and internal staff to design ideal solutions. Assuming we already know the “perfect” new format would be presumptuous.