The Hidden Cost of Disconnected Quote Management
Traditional quoting processes create dangerous gaps between what sales teams promise and what the business can profitably deliver.
Many businesses, from SMEs to large enterprises, struggle to protect profit margins in an era of volatile commodity prices and constantly changing product costs. Traditional quoting processes create dangerous gaps between what sales teams promise and what the business can profitably deliver.
The consequences of disconnected quote management are severe:
- Quotes sent with inadequate margins due to outdated pricing information
- Lost profitability when promotions or price changes occur between quote creation and deal closure
- Friction between sales, production, and quotations departments over conflicting information
- Time wasted manually gathering data from multiple systems to create accurate quotes
- Missed sales opportunities due to slow quote turnaround times
- Difficulty tracking quote status and conversion rates across the sales pipeline
- Lack of visibility into which products and pricing strategies drive profitability
Most quotation departments operate out of sync with real product costs, current promotions, and actual production capacity. This disconnect means quotes are often created without adequate margins, turning potentially profitable deals into money-losing commitments. A deal may have adequate margin when the quote is created, but inadequate consideration of upcoming price promotions or cost changes can erode profitability by the time the customer accepts.
