Automating sales workflow

KNG, which manufactures menu covers, chef uniforms and restaurant supplies, wanted a more efficient system to handle sales quote requests—one that was easy to use and easy to manage.

With more than 100,000 customers and 30 percent to 40 percent growth per year, KNG also needed a more highly automated system. Its quote-request-through-sample generation process was being completed via e-mail. With no collection point or workflow discipline behind the system, specifications weren't communicated and documented effectively, sometimes even resulting in dropped sales.

To rectify the situation, KNG decided to implement Integrify hosted solution, OnDemand 4.0, which management felt was an ideal fit economically.

"KNG is a small company, and we needed to feel like the system is paying for itself," explains Mark McDonagh, director of operations for KNG.

Integrify says the solution provides the functionality of its enterprise request management system via the Internet, without the need to install and maintain software. With a total of five shared seats, about 20 KNG employees in sales and purchasing use the system to process about 100 requests each month.

"The main attraction was embedding the process in the workflow," says McDonagh. "You didn't have to sit down and teach each person what their role and responsibility was; they didn't have to run out and find a form because it's all embedded in the workflow itself."

Another benefit, according to Integrify, has been the remote access capability. KNG supply chain managers travel a lot, so being able to access the system overseas has simplified and speeded up the quote process significantly.

"That's actually been one of the really cool features of the system," says McDonagh. "If I'm traveling and visiting a vendor in China and there's a quote request that needs my support, I can get an e-mail on the road, and the workspace in the hosted version lets me do my work. Then it flows back to the person here in Nampa [Idaho]."

The ability to re-route requests and collect all documentation in one location was also helpful to employees and management, according to Integrify.

"We do custom orders and many of these quotes are custom. It's important to have revisions and all the documentation of the specs in one spot, so that there's no debate over what was submitted and what the customer approved," says McDonagh.

Originally implemented to automate the sales quote process, KNG plans to activate its second automated process for a capital equipment request, with a third process for staffing requisition approvals soon to follow.