Quick Tip: How to Estimate Quotes Consistently
Problem
Estimating quotes consistently among multiple estimators is a difficulty many manufacturers face. An experienced estimator can price a part quicker than one that who is newer to the process. The longer you have someone estimating for your company, the better they can quote something from memory. The problem with this is that you are creating an environment where consistency cannot be accurately measured.
Questions
Are your quotes consistent among multiple estimators?
How many estimators do you have and how many quotes do they do daily?
What is your capture rate?
What can we do?
One solution is creating a formulaic estimating system that is measurable and consistent. We have found that estimators with more experience tend to have higher capture and win rates. Having a better understanding of their process and standardizing it will help eliminate time wasted on an estimate.
Create a standards-based approach.
Understand differences between estimators and each of their approaches. Do they have their own spreadsheets and methodologies of how a part should be quoted?
Automate quoting by importing DXF or CAD files.
You now have the ability to analyze the attributes of the file to better estimate results for faster quoting. In MIE Trak Pro, quoting is done digitally through the RFQ module. You can quote a job in 3 minutes (including sending the Quote Letter to the customer and creating the Sales Order right from the RFQ module.) MIE Trak Pro’s latest release grants the ability to show sub-pricing on a quote, which increases visibility even further.