Challenge
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- Need a professional and accurate quoting tool
- Evolving pricing models, different measures being used, e.g. $/kWh vs kW/module
- Distance based pricing, installs outside of a perimeter are billed to recognise the additional travel time and fuel
- Different options created to show the prospect, so the prospect can make a decision.
- Multiple levers to change final pricing.
- Need to provide guidance to the sales person in the field as to what commission they would receive based on their quote.
- Need to know the profitability of each job.
Solution
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- The inputs for the quoting tool needed to be grouped into different domains e.g. Customer, Site Parameters and System Parameters.
- Input fields need to be standardised, so rather than having free-form fields, where possible drop-down lists were used and if this was not possible data validation rules were created so for example, only whole numbers could be entered that were within a certain range.
- Business intellectual property was included in the tool to indicate to the user what fields were needed, for example if the Roof Type was Flat Concrete then Roof Angle was not needed, or if a property was Multi-storey then the cost for a Scissor lift was automatically added.
- Several calculation layers (spreadsheets) were created, the layers which were visible were based on the role of the employee logging into the tool. Layers included
- Quote
- Profitability
- Commission
- Input Parameters
- System Specifications
- Pricelists
- Version Control
- A “Valid until” pricing parameter was added to ensure that reps refreshed the tool every month.
- Calculations incorporate STCs. (Small-scale Technology Certificates)
- Also calculated the commission that the sales agent would receive.
Outcome
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- Quote tool makes it clear to all parties what has been ordered. That the quote is valid since it is timestamped.
- Specific make and model of panel, inverter and extras identified. Allows for multiple panel configuration sets.
- Specifies how many arrays are to be installed and the installation surface, array orientation and angle.
- Number of tiltframes are calculated
- Obstructions on the roof are listed based on a drop-down so we get a consistent answer.
- Product and performance warranties are shown where appropriate as well as performance degradation alongside price.
Figure 1: Partial screenshot of the Quote preparation interface