The sales quotation function is a pre-step to a customer order. It allows to enter and handle requests from existing and prospective customers.
Like the customer order, the sales quotation is built in two levels, an order header and one or several quotation lines. The first step in a new entry is to enter the sales quotation header. When the header has been entered with valid data and saved, it assumes Planned status. The second step in a new entry is to enter the line(s). When a quotation line is entered, it also assumes Planned status. The status of the order header does not change; it is still Planned.
On the quotation lines you specify the parts and quantities that the customer wants to order. You can also specify the desired date of delivery, planned date of delivery, prices or price breaks, discounts, and some other information for each quotation line. You can choose not to enter any quantity and instead use price breaks, i.e. different prices for different quantities. By right-clicking the quotation line, you can open the Price Breaks dialog box and enter the price breaks (price breaks are not possible for package parts).
You can activate a planned sales quotation by releasing it. The status on the header is updated from Planned to Released. In contrast to activating a regular customer order, this function freezes the quotation instead of activating it. Once the sales quotation is released, you can print it and send it to the customer. However, a printout of the sales quotation can be ordered from any status. The printout will be marked as Preliminary if the quotation header or any of its lines have not been released. If the quotation header has Released status when the printout is performed, the printed flag on the quotation will be checked and the quotation date will be stored.
Note that changing a quotation with Released status changes the revision number and sets the status to Revised when the quotation already has been printed, and the printed flag on the quotation will be cleared. A revised quotation must be released again. It is also possible to release single lines. When single lines are released, the status of the header is unchanged. Every time the quotation is changed and a new revision is created, the changed data will be stored in the database and shown in the history tab and in the quotation line history.
New entries and changes to the following data will generate a new revision number and new history information:
Coordinator
Expiration Date
Delivery Terms
Ship Via
Payment Terms
Wanted Delivery Date
Salesman
Delivery Address
Charges
Quotation Line
Quantities
Prices
Supply Code
Wanted Delivery Date
Delivery Terms
Ship Via
Promised Delivery Date
Discounts
Price-breaks
Delivery Address
When your customer has given you a positive response on your quotation, you must convert the quotation into a regular customer order. Some additional order information needs to be entered, such as order type, reason for winning the quotation, wanted delivery date, whether the customer order should be created in Planned or Released status, and quantities for lines with price breaks. The status of the quotation is set to Closed, and the reason for winning will be stored on the quotation. The resulting order is then ready to continue in the normal customer order workflow prescribed for the order type.
When the customer answers to your quotation and gives you a negative response, you will note the sales quotation as lost. You must enter the reason why the quotation was rejected and, optionally, to which competitor it was lost. The status of the sales quotation header is set to Closed, and all quotation lines without a won/lost reason will receive the same reason for loss and set to Lost. It is also possible to set separate quotation lines to Lost. In this case, the status of the quotation header is unchanged. Note that only released, or possibly revised, lines can be set to Lost.