CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
10 October 2007
Implementation Investments
Tacton Configurator Enables Same-Day Quote Turnarounds at Hoffman
Tacton Systems announced that Hoffman is combining Tacton Configurator with IBM WebSphere Commerce to enhance customer response times and speed the process of providing detailed quotes for complex build-to-order products.
Anoka, Minnesota-based Hoffman is a leading global designer and producer of enclosure protection systems for electronic controls and electrical systems used in industry, data communications and government applications. To compress turnaround times for customer quotes, the company is replacing its former quoting process that involved multiple handoffs made through emails, telephone calls, handwritten notes and individual conversations - all of which could delay projects and risk errors.
With the Tacton Configurator software embedded in IBM WebSphere Commerce, the new order process is now tightly controlled with an automated workflow that routes documents electronically to the right people and tracks approval status along the way. Sales representatives and other non-programmers use the constraint-based configurator system to enter attributes specifying particular application requirements including dimensions, ventilation and finish. From this information, the system automatically generates a quote document, often finalized in the same day - complete with pricing and product details as well as dimensional and material specifications for manufacturing the enclosure.
"The system is interactive and easy to use across the organization. Feedback from our product managers and sales reps about the Tacton Configurator has been overwhelmingly favorable," says Chuck Davis, Hoffman IT Project Lead. "One major feature is that the entire system is web-native. No matter where they are located or what computer they're using, people only need an Internet connection for immediate access to the Tacton Configurator. This enables us to initiate a quote from across the organization and anywhere in the field, often at customer sites and distributed facilities around in the world."
"The product configuration capabilities provided by Tacton technology are the basis for Hoffman's far-reaching business strategy in continuing to work more efficiently and shorten customer response turnaround times," says Francey Tinsley, Hoffman Marketing Business Analyst. The new processes are at the heart of Hoffman's continuing efforts in better serving our expanding base of global customers faster than was ever previously possible."
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