2009 Electrical Equipment Industry Survey Report - Cincom

2009 Electrical EquipmentIndustry Survey ReportDrive a Competitive Advantage from Your IT Infrastructure

http://www.cincom.com

Contents

Introduction...........................................................................................................3

Executive Summary ..............................................................................................5

3 Key Developments ............................................................................................7

Survey Analysis ..................................................................................................10

1. Integrating Project Management and Financial SystemsPerformance and Reporting ...............................................................................11Mixed-Mode Manufacturing................................................................................13ERP ...................................................................................................................15

2. Managing Quality, Cost and RiskQuality.........................................................................................................................17

3. Improving Sales EffectivenessSales Channels ...................................................................................................19Sales Process......................................................................................................21Sales Plan ..........................................................................................................23RFQ Cycle..........................................................................................................25Information ........................................................................................................27

Research Methodology ......................................................................................29

Suggested Actions..............................................................................................30

About the Authors..............................................................................................31

Electricity—The Ubiquitous MiracleTake a look around the room right now. How many electronic devices can you locate?Don’t be surprised if you count 30, 40 or 50 different devices. In a little more than150 years, electricity has moved from being an esoteric force that scientists “playedaround with” to becoming the figurative “lifeblood” of our techno-centric world.

We use electricity to heat and cool our environment; to communicate with each other;to store, retrieve and process data, to power our vehicles; to plant, harvest, processand cook our food; to manufacture and deliver our goods and services; to heal oursick and to educate ourselves.

If you remove electricity from our world, then everything stops. We would instantlybe returned to a primitive state. We would not even have the benefit of theadvancements that our predecessors of the 18th and 19th centuries enjoyed,because most of us have forgotten how to live in a non-electronic world.

How did this happen? How did our understanding, harnessing and ultimate relianceon electrical energy come about? It’s a very long timeline that began in ancient Greece.

Introduction 3

1733

Charles Francoisdu Fay discoversthe positive andnegative polarityof electricity.

600 B.C.

Thales of Miletusdescribes what is nowknown as static electricityafter rubbing a piece ofamber and charging it.

1600

William Watsonof Englandcoins the termelectricity.

1729

Stephen Graydemonstrates thatelectricity can beconducted throughsome materials suchas hemp.

1660

Otto von Guerickedevelops a devicethat producesstatic electricity.

1745

Pieter van Musschenbroekdevelops the Leyden jar,which functions as acapacitor storing staticelectricity.

1747

Benjamin Franklinbegins experimentswith atmosphericelectricity.

1747

William Watsontransmits electricitythrough a circuit.

Introduction 4

All the technology that we enjoy now began to appear following Tesla, thecommercialization of electrical energy and the development of related appliancesand tools.

However, this timeline only touches on the high points. Many significant, if notessential, discoveries and inventions are not included here. Names like Galvani, Ohm,Watt and Westinghouse are just a few of the members of the pantheon of geniusesthat helped harness vital force. Today, we literally owe our industry and modern worldto these great people.

Just as our physical infrastructure is bound together with electrical devices, powersources, storage and transmission facilities, the modern electronics enterprise has avital infrastructure binding together front- and back-office operations. We hope thisreport provides a better understanding of your firm’s infrastructure, as well as therelated strengths and areas of opportunity.

1879

Arc Lights first appear.They light city streetsand other outdoor areas.

1800

Alessandro Voltadevelops the firststorage battery anddemonstrates thetransmission ofelectricity over wires.

1821

Michael Faradaydevelops the firstelectrical-poweredmotor.

1879

Thomas Edisondemonstrates hisincandescent light .

1837

Electrical motorsfor industrial usestart to appear.

1882

Electrical powerstations beginsupplying cities withpower for general use.

1888

Nikola Tesla firstdemonstratesAlternating Current. ACpower goes on to be thestandard commercialpower systemin use to this day.

Cincom conducted a national survey that reflects on growth trends in manufacturingwith Sales and IT Executives from the Electrical Equipment industry. It enabled themto shed light on how these organizations are managing their businesses for increasedefficiency and effectiveness. The major findings fell into three categories:

1. Integrating Project Management and Financial Systems

2. Managing Quality, Cost and Risk

3. Improving Sales Effectiveness

Managing projects to time and cost constraints while delivering exceptional quality ishow Electrical Equipment manufacturers seek to differentiate from their competitorsand earn repeat business. The profitability of individual companies depends ongetting expert knowledge to the point of key decision-making, technical expertiseand the ability to accurately price and produce long-term contracts.

Large companies enjoy the benefits of scale in design, purchasing and management.Small companies can compete by concentrating on selected components and partsmanufacturing for particular prime contractors. Increasingly, small companies aredeveloping system integration capabilities as large companies outsource moreaspects of contracts.

Executive Summary 5

Channel Maturity: Key to Sales Effectiveness

Many manufacturers are focused on increasing sales effectiveness by automating allinternal processes that impact the ability to estimate, bid, quote, contract and deliverproducts. These internal processes are frequently a hindrance for winning businessand growing profitable revenue.

More and more business leaders recognize the need for higher levels of collaboration,as AMR’s Channel Maturity Model suggests. This survey explores how improvementsin IT infrastructure can contribute to higher levels of Channel Maturity through anintegrated and automated environment.

AMR Research. DDSN Maturity Model

Multi-SupplierFederation

Multi-Tier Multi-Partner

Visibility,Collaboration

Top-Tier PartnerPartnering

Automated Sharing of Data Across

the Top Tier of Partners

Every Channel Relationshipor Transaction for Itself

Internal OptimizationWithin a Single Department

Every Channel Partner for ItselfReacting

Anticipating

Collaborating

Orchestrating

Slow and Sequential Planning

Information MaturityProcess Maturity

Executive Summary 6

Increasing Collaboration Through Channel Maturity


• Electrical Equipment manufacturers are moving toward integration andautomation. This is evidenced by 32% of respondents that have projectsintegrated with sales.

• Electrical Equipment firms are increasing automation and integration fordemand-driven manufacturing but there is still opportunity for a competitiveedge in this market. This is evidenced by 14% of respondents that have demand-driven tactics.

Recommendations:

• Companies that intend on winning in this market need to consider integratingproject management functions.

• Rapidly growing Electrical Equipment manufacturers that create P&L statementsper project outperform those that are not gaining insight into project costs.

• Demand-driven manufacturing initiatives are also being embraced to gain a clearcompetitive advantage.

73 Key Developments


The risks associated with sacrificing quality over cost reductions can jeopardizeconformance to standards.

• The adoption of enterprise-wide compliance and quality management solutionsby 24% of respondents signals a new emphasis on enterprise-wide complianceand quality management. Survey findings also reflect the importance that ElectricalEquipment manufacturers place on finding the balance of quality and cost formaximized profit.

Recommendations

• Join the movement to manage quality more effectively, with enterprise-widecompliance and quality management solutions.

83 Key Developments


Manufacturers in the Electrical Equipment industry rely extensively on a high-touchsales model, whether they sell through direct or indirect channels.

• Those attaining sales-channel maturity move into a different league when theysupplement these high-touch sales models with guided selling systems.

• Capturing tribal knowledge for use in sales channels can produce a true, competitiveadvantage.

• Automating processes to increase the number of sales interactions generatessignificant returns both in new sales and also reduced services costs.

Recommendations:

• Improve efficiency of top salespersons so they spend the majority of time with thetop 10% to 20% of customers. This will lead to more “share-of-customer” over thelong term.

• Consider moving 80% of customers to more automated means to support themfrom a sales and service standpoint. Strategize on how to capture tribal knowledgeand incorporate it into decision- and constraint-based systems that accelerate salesproductivity.

• There is significant opportunity to be more responsive than your competitors byautomating the RFQ process, because only one in three respondents rely on anautomated approach to handling their RFQ cycles.

• Sales reps and partners gain flexibility in responding to customer requests withguided selling support.

• Enabling more efficient collaboration between sales and engineering teams willenable better response to RFQs.

93 Key Developments

The following survey questions and related statistics provide insight andrecommendations for improving your IT infrastructure in the Electrical Equipmentindustry.

Survey results have revealed these three categories to be significant:




A word about composite benchmarks

The composite benchmarks in this survey serve to compare the statistics from theElectrical Equipment industry with statistics from a broader industry sector thatincludes: industrial and plant equipment; electrical equipment; commercial heating, airconditioning and cooling equipment as well as transportation and specialty vehicles.

10Survey Analysis

11

� QUESTION

Key Findings:

• Overall, the responses were close to the compositebenchmark. However, only 14% of those surveyedwere using real-time reporting. This marks a significantopportunity for the other 86% of Electrical Equipmentmanufacturers to gain a competitive advantage byadopting these technologies.

• A significant amount (32%) of respondents initiallyintegrate accounting, finance and sales systems first.Integrating to accounting and financial systems iscritical for projects to accurately measure profitability.

Next priorities:• Basic systems in place for tracking opportunities

(59%) – See Sales Process Key Findings, page 21.

• Creating stand-alone quality managementsystems (33%) – See Quality Key Findings,page 17.

• A full 50% of Electrical Equipment manufacturershave no project management integration withaccounting, finance or customer managementsystems. This creates a large gap between rapidlyadvancing manufacturers that are creating P&Lstatements per project and those that lack insightinto the profitability by project on an ongoing basis.

How is profit performance, cost and/or projectreporting tracked, managed andcommunicated?

Respondents chose from the following:

• PM=Competitive AdvantageAn integrated Project Management system witha Lean Enterprise Manufacturing applicationprovides a competitive advantage.

• Reporting is real timeSystem provides for easy application ofadministration/indirect cost and extension ofcosts.

• Projects integrated with salesProjects integrated with sales, enterprise andtime and attendance application to update cost.

• Manual systems/gut feelProjects are managed externally, and the cost ismanually fed. The status is difficult to determineand is mostly a gut feel.

CompositeBenchmark

Elec. Equipment

0% 20% 40% 60%

Manual systems/gut feel

Projects integratedwith apps

Reportingis real time

PM=Competitive Advantage


Performance and Reporting

Survey Analysis

� Electrical Equipment: PERFORMANCE AND REPORTING

• These findings also reveal that Electrical Equipmentmanufacturers are taking the path of leastresistance when it comes to bringing enterprise-levelchange into their organizations. Just 14% of thesecompanies have a system that provides for assignmentof indirect costs and real-time reporting. This statisticsuggests significant room for improvement.

• The speed with which Electrical Equipmentmanufacturers are automating project-managed-basedaccounting and finance workflows is in contrast to themanually intensive process workflows on key sales andcustomer management systems. These manualtendencies are:

• 41% of Electrical Equipment manufacturersmanually track RFQs or track them in separatesystems.

• 27% rely on manual catalogs for product, pricingand sales data, with all records being manuallyupdated.

• 59% have basic systems in place for trackingopportunities and responding to them.

Performance and Reporting Recommendations:

• Integrate project management and financial systemsfor exceptionally high-quality products at lower prices.The greater the level of economic uncertainty, thegreater reliance on managing projects to financial andquality constraints. At the time of this survey, 32% ofElectrical Equipment manufacturers have projectsintegrated with sales.

•Measure profitability accurately by integrating toaccounting, finance and sales systems first. Asignificant amount of respondents (31%) have takenthis critical initiative. Front-office trackingopportunities (59%) (see Sales Process Key Findings,page 21) are also earmarked, as well as creatingstand-alone quality management systems (33%) (seeQuality Key Findings, page 17).

• Experience the benefits of systems that provide forassignment of indirect costs and real-time reporting.Just 14% of the Electrical Equipment companiessurveyed have a system that provides for this functionality,which signals yet another opportunity for improvement.

• Take advantage of the automated and integratedprocesses available. Only 14% of respondents areusing integrated project management with real-timereporting while an additional 4.5% use an integratedproject management system as a competitiveadvantage. This marks an opportunity to be ahead ofyour competitors.

12Survey Analysis 1. Integrating Project Management and Financial Systems

Mixed-Mode Manufacturing


� QUESTION

Survey Analysis

Key Findings:

• Electrical Equipment providers were most aligned withthe composite benchmark for the redundant data inputcategory. In fact, the number of respondents whoexperienced redundant data input was only 4% lowerthan the composite benchmark. In addition to wastingtime (by entering the data multiple times), this issue alsocreates an opportunity for errors and a higher percentageof rework.

• Electrical Equipment manufacturers have prioritizedmixed-mode manufacturing processes and just 14% areusing demand-driven manufacturing tactics such aselectronic Kanban, lean manufacturing techniques andshared business processes.

• 48% of Electrical Equipment manufacturers haveimplemented an automated and integrated system thatprovides reduced cycles times and costs.

• 19% rely on redundant data input, which includes alimited amount of shared information betweenmanufacturing modes.

• 19% rely on a combination of manual processes andseparate systems, which often causes overtime andexpediting as process workarounds.

How do you manage your mixed-modemanufacturing processes?

Respondents chose one of the following answers:

• Electronic Kanban/Lean ManufacturingDemand-driven manufacturing tactics such asElectronic Kanban, lean manufacturing strategiesand shared business processes.

• Automated/Integrated System providesreduced cycle times and costs. Centralizedpurchasing and shared services.

• Redundant data inputLimited amount of shared information betweenmanufacturing modes.

• Manual processesCombination of manual processes and separatesystems cause overtime and expediting to becommon issues.


0% 20% 40% 60%

CompositeBenchmark

Elec. Equip.

Manualprocesses

Redundantdata input

Automated/Integrated system

Electronic Kanban/Lean Mfg

� Electrical Equipment: MIXED-MODE MANUFACTURING

Mixed-Mode Recommendations:

• Embrace demand-driven manufacturing initiativesand stay competitive. Join the growing number (14%)of Electrical Equipment manufacturers using demand-driven manufacturing tactics such as electronicKanban, lean manufacturing techniques and sharedbusiness processes.

• Automate engineer-to-order processes to spendmore effort collaborating and less time reacting.See Channel Maturity Model, page 6. Paradoxicallythe majority of companies rely on manual processesfor managing “specials or engineer-to-order” whenthey could automate this process with significantresults.

141. Integrating Project Management and Financial SystemsSurvey Analysis


� QUESTION

Survey Analysis

Key Findings:

• Overall, 5% of Electrical Equipment respondents said thattheir ERP system impaired their ability to react.

• On the other hand, 86% of manufacturers report thattheir ERP systems provide valuable information but alsorequire frequent workarounds and customized dataextracts.

• Many Electrical Equipment manufacturers find that ERPsystems are slow to react to the strategies they have inplace.

ERP

What is the state of your current EnterpriseResource Planning (ERP) system?

Respondents chose from one of the following:

• Exceeds your needs and facilitates attainmentof growth targets and business goals.

• Sometimes inhibits your ability to adapt tochanges in strategy and market or businessclimate.

• Requires frequent workarounds.Supplies you with valuable information but alsorequires frequent workarounds and customizeddata extracts.

• Impairs your ability to react to the marketchanges or to implement new businessinitiatives.


0% 50% 100%

CompositeBenchmark

Elec. Equip.

Impairs yourability to react

Requires frequentworkarounds

Sometimes inhibitsyour ability

Exceedsyour needs

� Electrical Equipment: ERP

ERP Recommendations:

• Stay competitive, with a thorough ERP needsassessment. There are measurable opportunities forERP improvements among Electrical Equipmentmanufacturers. This is evidenced by a mere 5% ofrespondents reporting that their ERP system exceedsexpectations.

• Take a project-based approach to definingprocesses with ERP systems. A contingency-basedapproach to projects is critical for Electrical Equipmentbusiness models. The combined constraints ofsupporting a hybrid sales channel and the need forquick response in project-management-based businessmodels expose a lack of flexibility in traditional ERPsystems.

161. Integrating Project Management and Financial SystemsSurvey Analysis

172. Managing Quality, Cost and RiskSurvey Analysis

Key Findings:

Among the Electrical Equipment manufacturers surveyed:

• 10% are using NC/CA and CAPA data to managesupplier quality in addition to setting qualityobjectives on a yearly basis.

• 33% have implemented stand-alone qualitymanagement systems that include NC/CAworkflows.

• 33% of manufacturers have isolated qualitymanagement directed to the productiondepartment, to ensure quality standards are met inassembly and manufacturing.

Quality

Is quality management only in themanufacturing operations of your company, ordoes it scale across the enterprise toprocurement, supply chain management, newproduct development and service?

Respondents chose from one of the following:

• Enterprise-wide quality management andcompliance strategy (ECQM) that integratesquality levels.

• Use of NC/CA and CAPA data to managesupplier quality in addition to setting qualityobjectives on a yearly basis.

• NC/CA workflowsQuality management systems encompass non-compliance/corrective-action (NC/CA)workflows.

• Isolated only to the production departments toensure quality standards are met in assemblyand manufacturing.

� QUESTION

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

CompositeBenchmark

Elec. Equip.

Isolated onlyto production

(NC/CA)workflows

Use of NC/CA andCAPA data

Enterprise-widequality

� Electrical Equipment: QUALITY

Quality Recommendations:

• Achieve the right balance of quality and cost toattain profitability. The rising adoption of enterprise-wide compliance and quality management systems(24%) signals the new emphasis manufacturers areplacing on their ability to manage quality effectivelyacross their organizations.

• Broaden your quality management initiatives formore opportunities. For 33% of Electrical Equipmentproviders, quality management is still limited to non-compliance/corrective-action (NC/CA) workflows.Maintain a competitive advantage with enterprise-wide initiatives.

• Take an integrated approach to qualitymanagement while prioritizing processes, and beconsistent with Electrical Equipment manufacturers toattain cost and quality budgets and benchmarks.

182. Managing Quality, Cost and RiskSurvey Analysis

Key Findings:

• The greater the level of product customization tocustomers’ unique requirements, the higher the exclusivereliance on a direct sales force. At the time of this survey,5% of respondents from the Electrical Equipment industryrely solely on a direct sales force.

• Overall, Electrical Equipment had a 78% lower occurrenceof direct sales channels than the composite benchmark.

• This is in contrast to a 43% higher occurrence of indirectchannels than the composite benchmark.

• As the majority of Electrical Equipment manufacturersare relying on a combination of direct and indirect saleschannels (86%), sales collaboration is more essentialthan ever.

Sales Channels


What is your sales organization’s primary sourceof revenue?

Respondents were asked what their salesorganization’s primary source of revenue was, andthey were given the following three choices:

• Direct salesDependent on a solely direct sales force.

• Indirect (distributors and dealers)Primary sales channel is indirect.

• Direct and indirectHave a combination of both direct as well asindirect sales channels.

19Survey Analysis

� QUESTION

0% 50% 100%

CompositeBenchmark

Elec. Equip.

Direct and Indirect

Indirect (distributors and dealers)

Direct Sales

� Electrical Equipment: SALES CHANNELS

Survey Analysis

Key Findings:

• Of those Electrical Equipment manufacturers who relyon direct and indirect sales channels, the majority relyon either homegrown applications or partiallyautomated systems to manage their build-to-order,configure-to-order and engineer-to-order processesaccording to AMR Research. Their studies ofhomegrown, best-of-breed and enterprise-wide ERPsystems indicate the majority of companies rely onmanually based processes supplanted by homegrownsystems.

Sales Channel Recommendations:

• Resistance to change in single-channelmanufacturers is gradually killing them. Don’t be afatality. This is a key finding from the survey as itspeaks to the rigidity of companies that continue tohold on to a single channel strategy. They will face theconsequences of not being able to change over time.Ironically, Electrical Equipment manufacturers begin byrelying on inefficient, manual processes, but then endup not being able to change their sales and channelstrategies fast enough to keep up with competitors.See Channel Maturity Model, page 6.

• Consider using face-time as a selling and servicestrategy on only the top 10% of customers,migrating the remainder to mid-tier support. Redirectyour least-profitable customers to online ordering andrelated support.


Key Findings:

• 0% of survey participants rely on advanced analytics andlead escalation to “learn” which channel partners candeliver the best sales performance by each type of lead.This represents a significant opportunity to use analyticsand guided selling to leapfrog competitors.

• The survey also reveals that 59% of respondents havebasic systems in place for tracking opportunities andresponding to them, including following definedprocesses.

• At the other end of the spectrum, 32% use e-mail to trackand respond to opportunities and have no formal processin place.

• Consistent with the use of informal approaches tomanaging opportunities, “specials or engineer-to-order”projects are overwhelmingly handled manually and atsignificant cost, regardless of the channel strategy inplace.

Sales Process

Survey Analysis 3. Improving Sales Effectiveness 21

How do you plan, manage and collaborate withthe sales teams to properly direct and fulfillopportunities?

Respondents chose one of the following fourresponses:

• Opportunities are escalated based on learnedperformance of channel partners. Extensive useof analytics.

• Central automated opportunity managementsystem. Predictable pipeline.

• Basic systems and established processes are inplace for tracking opportunities and respondingto them.

• Use of e-mail to track and respond toopportunities. No formal process for prioritizingand managing opportunities.

� QUESTION

0% 20% 40% 60%

E-mail to track and respond

Basic systems andestablished processes

Central automatedopportunity mgmt

Opportunities areescalated/learned

CompositeBenchmark

Elec. Equip.

� Electrical Equipment: SALES PROCESS

Survey Analysis

Sales Process Recommendations:

•Gradually automate all other processes and force acustomer segmentation model into place, based onthe value of customers. Automate these manyinteractions, then let this objective be the catalyst of amulti-channel support strategy to generate significantreturns in new sales. This strategy also saves onservice costs.

• Join the Electrical Equipment manufacturers thathave adopted a multi-channel managementstrategy. One of the most useful insights gained fromthis research is that multi-channel managementstrategies force manufacturers to a much higher levelof process agility, creativity and in general, maturityand intelligence in overcoming obstacles. See ChannelMaturity Model, page 6.


Key Findings:

• Also, 59% of Electrical Equipment respondents reportthat the status of opportunities is tracked by e-mail themajority of the time, followed by process mapping (32%)and Business Process Management (9%). The moreElectrical Equipment manufacturers rely on the directsales force, the greater the reliance on informalapproaches to managing opportunities. This includese-mail and individualized approaches to collaboration.


Sales Plan

Survey Analysis

How do you execute, measure, manage andcommunicate the sales plan?

Respondents chose one of the following fourresponses:

• Knowledge Management System“Composite Applications”

• Extensive use of analytics/dashboardsUse of business process managementtechniques to optimize processes.

• Process mapping and best practices formainstream transactions are defined andadhered to.

• Informally via e-mailStatus of opportunities is handled informally viae-mail. Processes are not clearly defined.

23

� QUESTION

0% 40%20% 60%

CompositeBenchmark

Elec. Equip.

Informallyvia e-mail

Process mapping/best practices

Extensive use ofanalytics/dashboards

Knowledgemanagement

� Electrical Equipment: SALES PLAN

Sales Plan Recommendations:

•Gradually automate all other processes and force acustomer segmentation model into place, based onthe value of customers. Automate these manyinteractions, then let this objective be the catalyst of amulti-channel support strategy, to generate significantreturns in new sales. This strategy also saves onservice costs. One of the most useful insights gainedfrom this research is that multi-channel managementstrategies force manufacturers to a much higher levelof process agility, creativity and in general, maturityand intelligence in overcoming obstacle. See SalesChannel Maturity Model, page 6.

243. Improving Sales EffectivenessSurvey Analysis

Key Findings:

• The number of RFQs that were manually tracked was just7% below the composite benchmark. This showsadditional opportunity for central storage and automatedworkflow of RFQs.

• Electrical Equipment providers that use technology tocreate central storage and automated workflows shouldbe able to operate at a lower cost structure than theircompetitors. They should also respond to bids quickly.

• With 41% of Electrical Equipment manufacturers relyingon manually based systems for tracking RFQs, there existsa significant competitive advantage for automating bidsand bid response.

• Despite the relatively high level of project managementautomation that Electrical Equipment manufacturers havein place, NONE have automated the critically importantRFQ process. Just 23% of manufacturers captureopportunities in a system that classifies, organizes andescalates them through an automated workflow system.

• 0% store RFQs in a series of online portals and coordinatefollow-up and management through e-mail. Clearly thosemanufacturers who have the ability to track to the projectlevel also integrate Bills of Materials from RFQs and pricethem out quickly to see if a given opportunity is worthfollowing up on.


RFQ Cycle

Survey Analysis 25

Electrical Equipment respondents wereasked how they handle the RFQ cycle.

Possible responses were:

• RFQs are centrally managed. Customer andPartner portal.

• Automated workflow system. Opportunities arecaptured in a system to classify, organize andescalate them.

• RFQs are centrally stored on a series ofportals. Communication and coordination ofactivities take place via e-mail.

• RFQs manually tracked or tracked in separatesystems.

� QUESTION

0% 40%

CompositeBenchmark

Elec. Equip.

RFQsmanually tracked

RFQscentrally stored

Automatedworkflow

Partner RFQscentrally managed

20% 60%

� Electrical Equipment: RFQ CYCLE

RFQ Cycle Recommendations:

• Expand beyond project management integration toinclude key customer-facing strategic areas,including more efficient management of RFQs. Alsoenable more efficient collaboration between sales andengineering teams for responding to product specials,including ETO-based RFQs.

• There is significant opportunity for being moreresponsive than competitors by automating the RFQprocess. A significant number (41%) still rely on RFQsbeing manually tracked or tracked in separate systems.


Key Findings:

• 0% of the respondents had true predictive guided sellingsystems. Again, this represents an opportunity to usepredictive guided selling to leapfrog competitors.

• 18% of Electrical Equipment manufacturers have real-timeavailability of catalog content, pricing and sales data,including integration to engineering specifications anddrawing.

• 55% have basic integration between product catalog andpricing systems.

• 27% have separate catalogs for product, pricing,and sales data, and update records manually.


Information

Survey Analysis

� QUESTIONHow do you define, maintain, access andcommunicate information?

Respondents could choose one of the followingfour responses:

• Predictive guided sellingCatalog navigation transforms into predictiveguided selling as customers’ preferences arelearned.

• Real-time availability of catalog content,pricing and sales data. Drawings are integratedwith catalog.

• Basic integration between product catalog andpricing systems.

• Separate catalogs for product, pricing and salesdata. Records are manually updated.

27

CompositeBenchmark

Elec. Equip.

0% 20% 40% 60%

Separatecatalogs

Basicintegration

Real-timeavailability

Predictiveguided selling

� Electrical Equipment: INFORMATION

Information Recommendations:

• Stay ahead competitively with guided selling tools.High-touch sales models are still predominantly usedfor defining the products, capabilities, options andservices to solve a unique customer problem. Thismethod is also used to fulfill a specific configuration.0% of Electrical Equipment manufacturers arecapturing this knowledge in the form of guided sellingand recommendation tools.


Cincom Systems solicited the perspective of senior Sales and IT leaders regardinghow well their IT infrastructure affected their sales effectiveness for build-to-orderproducts.

Sample Demographics

Industries – The survey targeted thousands of manufacturers of complex industrial,electrical and transportation equipment and systems (SIC Code 34xx – 39xx).The results in this specific report are from SIC codes 3826, 3578, 3679, 3823, 3663and 3669.

Respondents – Senior sales executives and senior IT executives, mostly at the vicepresident level. Respondents completed the survey through a mix of mail and onlineresponses. All respondents received a copy of the final report in appreciation fortheir participation.

Geography – All respondents were within North America.

Company size – All companies were pre-screened so that the sample only includedthose with greater than $25M annual revenue.

29Research Methodology

Suggested Actions

Cincom is pleased to have the opportunity to present these findings. Regardlessof how your company compares to others in the Electrical Equipment industry thereare areas where your company can improve.

Share this report with anyone in your organization touched by the specific areasdiscussed in the survey. They will likely have additional feedback.

We can help you via our consultation services: a superb team of professionals, highlyexperienced in all aspects of CRM, ERP, MRP, process improvement, collaboration andsales automation.

We offer two consultative tracks for our customers. Please click on the appropriatelink below.

Or, just visit our websites to sign up or to take a closer look at Cincom.

Cincom Front-Office Solutions: www.cincomacquire.comCincom Back-Office Solutions: www.cincomerp.com

30Suggested Actions

Front-Office Demonstration Back-Office Consultation

http://www.cincomerp.com/erp-consultation.html

http://www.cincomacquire.com/sales-product-configurator-demo.html

http://www.cincomerp.com/erp-consultation.html

http://www.cincomacquire.com/sales-product-configurator-demo.html

http://www.cincomerp.com

http://www.cincomacquire.com

Louis Columbus is a member of the Cincom Complex Manufacturing Business SolutionsTeam and a former Senior Analyst at AMR Research.

Louis Columbus’ career has included senior management positions with Gateway, IngramMicro and a software start-up, where he served as Vice President, Marketing and BusinessDevelopment.

Mr. Columbus has published 15 books on a variety of technology and currently serves as aweekly columnist with CRMBuyer.com and Informit.com. Mr. Columbus is also currently alecturer for graduate-level International Business and Marketing courses at Webster Loyola-Marymount University.

Lou Washington started his career in information management with the University ofMissouri System’s Office of Records Management; he joined Tab Products Co. in 1980.

After being transferred to Tab’s then corporate HQ in Palo Alto, CA, he was the first ProductManager for Tab’s Tracker systems software products. He was also peripherally involved inTab’s Laser Optics division. In 1990, Lou returned to Cincinnati and joined Cincom Systems.

Lou Washington’s present role at Cincom is as senior marketing manager in Cincom’sManufacturing Business Solutions area.

31

Louis Columbus

Lou Washington

About the Authors

Cincom and the Quadrant Logo are registered trademarks of Cincom Systems, Inc.All other trademarks belong to their respective companies.

© 2009, 2010 Cincom Systems, Inc.FORM CMUS0901023 9/10Printed in U.S.A.

All Rights Reserved

http://www.cincom.com

http://www.informit.com

http://crmbuyer.com

Documents

2009 Electrical Equipment Industry Survey Report - Cincom