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All of this manual and time-con- suming effort often resulted in pro- longed turnaround times when responding to customer quote requests. SFI experienced additional and unnec- essary overhead costs, difficult tradeoffs on priorities and even “no-quoting” some jobs, all of which negatively impacted potential future business. In short, its estimating team felt it was always playing catch up. Every cus- tomer wanted its quotes yesterday because they were likely already behind
on their own schedule.
To resolve its quoting challenges, in
2010 SFI agreed to pilot a new product- cost management software solution from aPriori, Concord, MA. SFI also hired a cost-management expert, Hashim Alsaffar, to improve the timeliness and accuracy of its quoting process.
“With aPriori, we can quickly and accurately cost out any part or product from a CAD model,” says Alsaffar. “It allows us to really accelerate our response time and accuracy on project quotes—a big competitive advantage.”
Staying in the “Sweet Spot”
Two years after joining SFI, Alsaffar remains confident that the firm’s new product-cost management software plays a key role in its ongoing success.
“With aPriori, we get ahead of the whole process,” says Alsaffar. “We can respond more quickly to customer requests for quotes, respond to more requests overall and, equally impor- tant, we can learn immediately whether or not a job really fits into our sweet spot. The software makes us a better value-added supplier to our customers, because it makes our team and our customers more knowledgeable about the requirements of each project. It also helps to reduce our customers’ overall time to market.”
The software can quickly analyze any part or product from a CAD model and break it down to the lowest possi- ble level of cost detail. It also provides complete CAD independence, since it works with 3D-CAD models generated
by any major modeling system on the market, including: Pro/Engineer, Catia v5, Siemens NX, Solidworks, SolidEdge and Inventor.
Alsaffar also appreciates that the software can be used for prototyping and rough quotes.
“Often, customers request a rough quote to see if we’re qualified to bid on a specific project, and aPriori performs that function quickly and easily. Later, we then can use the software to update the rough quote with additional infor- mation and details, such as materials, tolerances, etc. The estimators need not start over when a job changes, which keeps programming time to a minimum.”
3D Quoting the Way to Go
According to Alsaffar, some compa- nies still hesitate to provide 3D models, for fear of giving away too much infor- mation. However, when they under- stand how much more quickly they can receive a quote back, they typical- ly change their minds and issue the 3D models.
Another factor: It’s easy for SFI’s estimators to tell if a 2D drawing pro- vided by purchasing has come from a 3D drawing. When they do, they just request it. Says Alsaffar:
“Engineering students coming out of school these days are all trained in 3D. They are comfortable using 3D tools. Purchasing will get there as well, once they understand the real benefits to their businesses. With aPriori in full use, things are much less hectic in our estimating department, and we are able to stay ahead of customers and their needs.”
Instead of two or three people work- ing to deliver a single estimate, one per- son at SFI now handles an estimate, in a fraction of the time it used to take. This leads to greater consistency and accu- racy in the estimating process, especial- ly when incorporating changes to design and other specs that impact cost. M F
Article provided by aPriori Technolo- gies Inc., Concord, MA: 978/371-2006; www.apriori.com.
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