How Quote Carts Can Help Manufacturing eCommerce

Human Review and Action

Most quotes take the initial automated process and then start the human chain of responses. Once the quote request is filled out, a process—customized to your business—ensures that everyone who needs to be involved can give their input. In other words, it triggers a series of steps from Sales through Manufacturing through Shipping. Thanks to the automated portion already completed by the customer, all your employees are seeing the same information.

Here’s an example of what the employee steps might look like:

1. Sales reviews the quote to see if any information is missing.
2. Sales will use the customers preferred method of contact—phone, email, or built-in chat—to address any questions.
3. The quote information is sent to Manufacturing for estimated cost. Manufacturing can also let Sales know how long the project will take.
4. If regulations of the product are an issue (pharmaceuticals, dangerous materials, etc.), the person tasked with verifying authorization is automatically informed.
5. APIs in your back-office software can calculate multiple shipping options to offer and add estimated times of delivery.
6. APIs can also add customs, duties, and taxes.
7. Once everything is approved, the quote cart will tell the customer to review their quote and order.

Back to the Customer

Throughout the process, it’s good to keep the customer apprised of the status. They should be told how long a typical quote takes, and if the product is particularly complex then they should be told the quote management may take longer. You can also let them know what the next step is and what they should expect from your staff.

A primary advantage of a quote cart is that it gives your customer a centralized place to return to. They don’t have to remember which email to check, and all of the information can be found in one place. We often put the quote cart and the regular shopping cart on a single page so that both are easy to find. This also lets the customer check out with a shopping regular cart while waiting for a quote. You never want to put any barriers between the customer and an immediate sale.

When the final quote is given, discounts alert the customer how much they’re saving (such as first-time customer, bulk order, cash payment discounts).

Working With Clarity

Quote carts are amazingly flexible, and we’ve found that we can make them do anything our clients need. They can even be used in “Make an Offer” scenarios, where someone can make an offer on a used item and then also make terms a part of the agreement A potential customer might offer a price for a piece of heavy machinery but could also include terms such as, “but only if you can wait two weeks for payment.”

Clarity has been building quote carts for years, and we’d love to hear about your quote cart needs. No matter the scenario, we bet we can find a way to make it happen. Most importantly, we can make it work with your business’s current workflow. Get in touch with us for a complimentary discovery process and strategy session.