Estimating and quoting are often the decisive factors in whether a shop loses money or makes money on a job or a series of related jobs. To help incline the balance more towards making a profit, industrial businesses nowadays rely on modern automated software.
Just like with the quoting function, estimating is a crucial phase of manufacturing. Since it sets the grounds for profitability, customer services, product/ service quality and market competitiveness, it should become a top priority for any ambitious manufacturer.
Manual estimating entails applying the knowledge of estimators, which, no matter how plenary, still leaves plenty of room for error. If the quote on a product or an estimate on a material, a machine, or a process is wrong, then the company will face an entire suite of financial problems. High estimates can lose clients, while low estimates will lose money, and both scenarios are unacceptable. To minimize error and to help increase profitability without the risk of losing valuable customers, organizations need viable automated solutions.
Well-designed estimating/ quoting software solutions provide accurate and repeatable results. Moreover, they are flexible, help improve reaction times, bring consistency to the process, and offer users a concrete competitive advantage.
How Quoting/ Estimating Software Rose to Fame
Most of the specialized software packages available today came to market due to the need for precise, well-informed and consistent estimates & quotes, and in the attempt to completely eliminate guesswork from the process. The only way to achieve all that was through automation.
Since the market for such products was scarce at first, a large majority of companies decided it was best to develop their own custom modules. Some of those designs were monetized, being sold to other shops that sought to leverage the benefits of automation.
At present, quoting and estimating systems vary widely, as they often reflect the specific needs and requirements of the companies that originally designed them. However, what’s really important to note is that such solutions have become widely available and competitively priced, so even small and micro businesses can now use them.
Quoting/ estimating software packages can be of two different types:
- Software that addresses highly specific machinery
- Generic software that caters to a wide range of processes
For most industries, both the machine-specific and the generic types of software are equally suitable, as they provide about the same machine database. If manufacturers use additional or different types of equipment, they can obtain the necessary data from the developer or from plantfloor observations, and then integrate it in the existing database.
Each job shop is different, but standard data – index time, rapid travel rate, spindle speeds or gear charts – is available in machine manuals, so it’s not that hard to collect it and modify the inputs of your estimating software the way you see fit. Irrespective of whether you choose to use specific or generic modules, it is highly recommended to input your own data wherever necessary (i.e. information regarding handling and idle times, machine hour rates). While it may take up to several days for you to collect and enter your own specifications into the system, once you do so, they will be stored indefinitely, or until you decide to bring changes to the initial inputs.
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