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"The customers loved it! We had 100 users last year and we're looking to get500 this year." - General Manager, Chicago Distribution Center

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This company, based in Norcross, Georgia, is a manufacturer of high-end doors and windows. The company's Chicago Distribution Center found that its customers were having difficulty finding all the required parts for their orders understandable when the database contains over 30,000 available parts with complex dependencies.
Executive Summary

Business Strategy

The company was determined to match their high-end products with high-end customer service. To keep the valued relationships they enjoyed with their customers, they had to simplify the quote and order entry processes. They called on Waterstone Consulting to make it happen.

Understanding that simplified quoting and order-entry can expedite the order cycle, Waterstone Consulting went to work. The firm set an additional goal to improve order accuracy. Timeline and budget, however, were tight. So, to support the business strategy, the technology plan had to work within the real-world budget constraints.

Technology Strategy

Waterstone Consulting developed a Technology Strategy to address both short and long-term goals:

• Ease catalogue search
• Improve order accuracy
• Position system for remote customer/sales access
• Eliminate manual price updates
• Adhere to aggressive timeline and budget

Project Approach

Waterstone Consulting met the tight timelines and still laid the foundation for future customer service opportunities in developing the company's Product Catalogue System. By running parts and price data from the corporate AS/400 through complex part-dependency algorithms, the system produces a polished, easy-to-use catalogue which ensures that customer orders are complete and accurate. Additionally, the company is positioned to support remote dial-up quoting and order entry, and a CD-ROM based on-line catalogue.

Project Success

Waterstone Consulting met its deadline, completing version 1.0 of the system on time and under budget. During the 1994 pilot, 100 catalogues were distributed; for the next run: approximately 500.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Industry: Distribution	Benefit: Improved order accuracy Improved customer service Facilitation of price updates for a 30,000 part database Minimal system & training cost
Solution: Order Configurator, Pricing, and On-line Parts Catalogue	Technology: IBM AS/400 Microsoft Windows Microsoft Visual Basic