At FukaFuka Building Materials Co. Ltd., the sales department’s core daily operation is responding to quotation requests for building materials. The 10-person sales team is tasked with providing prompt responses to diverse clients, ranging from major construction companies to local contractors.
*This process improvement story is fictional. It is not related to any real individuals or organizations.
1. Issue: Reduced Business Speed Due to Uniform Approval Process
In the sales department, junior employees are responsible for quotation requests that include a product model number, while senior employees handle requests where no product model number is provided.
During the approval process, the Sales Manager can easily approve quotation requests with model numbers, as these require no technical judgment. Conversely, requests without model numbers demand proposals for optimal products, necessitating technical skill and careful consideration.
However, while responsibilities are divided by the presence of a model number during quotation pricing, this distinction disappears during approval. All requests are processed through the same approval flow. As a result, the Sales Manager has to review every quotation request in detail. This leads to delays even for requests that could be easily approved, ultimately reducing the overall response speed.
2. Solution: Splitting Approval Processes Based on Presence of a Model Number
To address this issue, the process owner split the approval processes for simple quotations and advanced quotations.
Specifically, quotation requests with product model numbers (simple quotations), which were previously handled by a single approval process, were separated from those without model numbers (advanced quotations). This change allows the Sales Manager to identify the quotation type before approval. As a result, they can instantly determine the nature of the quotation and proceed with approval after thoroughly verifying its technical validity.
Before
View details of the workflow diagram
0. Quotation Request Received (In-person / Web)
Quotation requests are received either in-person or via the web.
1a. Enter Quotation Price (with Product Model Number)
A sales team member (junior employee) enters the quotation price.
1b. Enter Quotation Price (without Product Model Number)
A sales team member (senior employee) enters the quotation price.
2. Quotation Approval
The Sales Manager reviews the quotation price and either approves or sends it back for revision.
2X. Revision Handling
If the quotation is sent back in step 2, the employee who initially entered the quotation price in step 1 makes the necessary revisions.
3. Quotation Submission Completion Report
Once the quotation is approved and submitted, a completion report is filed.
After
View details of the workflow diagram
0. Quotation Request Received (In-person / Web)
Quotation requests are received either in-person or via the web.
1a. Enter Quotation Price (with Product Model Number)
A sales team member (junior employee) enters the quotation price.
2a. Quotation Approval (with Product Model Number)
The Sales Manager reviews the quotation price for requests with product model numbers and either approves it or sends it back for revision.
2Xa. Revision Handling (with Product Model Number)
If the quotation is sent back in step 2a, the employee who initially entered the quotation price in step 1a makes the necessary revisions.
3a. Quotation Submission Completion Report (with Product Model Number)
Once the quotation is approved and submitted, a completion report is filed.
1b. Enter Quotation Price (without Product Model Number)
A senior sales team member enters the quotation price.
2b. Quotation Approval (without Product Model Number)
The Sales Manager reviews and either approves or sends back the quotation.
2Xb. Revision Handling (without Product Model Number)
If sent back, the person who entered the price in 1b makes revisions.
3b. Quotation Submission Completion Report (without Product Model Number)
After approval and submission, a completion report is filed.
3. Benefits
Accelerated Quotation Approval
By dividing the approval process, simple quotation requests are now processed quickly, which has boosted the overall speed of the sales department.
Improved Decision-Making Quality
The Sales Manager no longer needs to spend time on simple quotation requests, allowing them to concentrate on those requiring advanced technical skills. This has led to more appropriate judgments and proposals, ultimately improving the accuracy of quotation requests.
4. Other Business Applications
- Streamlining Customer Inquiry Handling
- By categorizing inquiries into those requiring standard responses and those needing specialized judgment, and then assigning different personnel to each, you can achieve both rapid answers and appropriate resolutions.
- Automating and Dividing Order Processing
- Separating the process for routine orders from those requiring special consideration allows for increased order processing speed while simultaneously preventing errors.