Streamlining Operations with Automation in Engineering Product Sales

An engineering product sales company struggled with inefficiencies in order processing and inventory management. By implementing automation tools integrated with their existing ERP system, we streamlined repetitive tasks, reduced manual errors, and improved real-time data visibility. This transformation led to a 40% faster order fulfillment rate, improved customer satisfaction, and freed up staff to focus on high-value activities, driving scalable and efficient growth.

Problem/Challenge

The business's manual process for creating invoices based on approved quotations and calculating commissions based on payment status was cumbersome and time-consuming, taking 120-150 hours monthly.

Verifying payment statuses, calculating partial commissions for partially paid invoices, and managing varying commission rates and intermediaries required extensive manual effort.

This manual process detracted from the finance department's capacity to engage in high-value activities such as cash flow budgeting, growth planning, and debt restructuring.

Thanks to their strategic guidance, we achieved sustainable growth by balancing selective hiring with cost-saving outsourcing, ensuring financial stability while maintaining our competitive edge in the global market.

Brad Taylor

Founder

Solutions

Integration of Technology: Utilized a combination of Google Sheets, Zapier, Finale Inventory, and QuickBooks to automate the entire process from quotation approval to commission calculation.

Process Automation:

Sales quotations created in QuickBooks were exported to a Google Sheet in real-time.
A manual approval checkbox in Google Sheets triggered the conversion of quotations in QuickBooks to invoices, which were then automatically sent to clients.
Salesperson tags added to invoices via Zapier facilitated automatic commission calculations.
Integration with Finale Inventory checked SKU stock levels and automatically generated purchase orders in QuickBooks for items understock, with notifications sent to the warehouse manager for manual PO approval.
Bank reconciliations updated the master Google Sheet with paid invoice amounts, which, alongside predefined algorithms, facilitated automatic commission calculations.

Download the comprehensive case study to delve deeper into the data-driven decisions and gain valuable insights into the strategies and solutions that drove success.

Results

The restructuring and outsourcing strategy bore immediate and tangible benefits

Efficiency Gains

Reduced the time required for invoice creation and commission calculations from 120-150 hours to just 30 hours per month, marking an 80% decrease in manual labor.

Resource Optimization

The finance department was able to reallocate significant time towards strategic financial planning and analysis tasks.

Process Streamlining

Automated workflows ensured accuracy in commission calculations, timely invoice creation, and improved stock management through automated purchase orders.

Employee Satisfaction

Sales and warehouse management staff appreciated the reduction in manual tasks, leading to improved morale and productivity.

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