Adelaide-based laser cutting and CNC router specialists, Lasercut Solutions, have discovered a solution that allows them to provide quotes to customers simply, accurately, and quickly.
Previously, Lasercut Solutions was pricing laser cutting jobs using an in-house developed excel based quoting system, which the business had outgrown. Due to the volume of quotes, the process was slow and tedious. “Quoting times would vary depending on the amount of work required, but we knew it was taking up too much of our time,” said Lasercut Solutions Owner, Gary Cabot.
Lasercut Solutions provides laser cutting, laser engraving, and CNC profiled parts to a wide variety of fabricators and manufacturers.
“We have a broad range of customers across a variety of industries, and they require fast quotes to compete in their respective markets,” he said.
A fuss-free laser quoting system
After trialling different types of software, Lasercut Solutions discovered ToolBox, by Tempus Tools. ToolBox was developed by laser industry professionals who, combined, have more than 100 years of experience in the laser industry, extending from hands-on work on the jobshop floor through to international commercialisation of their technology.
“ToolBox gave us a fuss-free and simple to navigate quoting system. Right from the beginning, we found the interface very user-friendly and setting up the system with our business requirements was straightforward,” said Gary.
“With ToolBox in place, we have noticed most quotes take a few minutes to return to the customer, regardless of the amount of detail in the job. The speed at which we can produce quotes with ToolBox is excellent. We can deliver fast and accurate pricing, which allows us to maintain a competitive edge in the market,” he said.
We found the system to have enough flexibility to tailor to our needs, in contrast to other software we trialed, which became cumbersome with the amount of data entry required.”
ToolBox is rules-based, which enables lesser skilled customer-focused service staff to prepare and issue quotes. This means it’s not taking highly qualified CAM specialists and brake press operators away from their productive tasks to assist with quote preparation.
The first quote has a higher chance of winning
Tempus Tools’ data, based on more than one million laser cutting quotes, shows that the first quote the customer receives has a higher chance of winning.
Tempus Tools CEO Ivan Cooper says that this is crucial to business growth, because laser jobshops, on average, win between 30-40% of all jobs quoted.
“If you’re winning less than 40% of all jobs quoted for, an effective way to grow the business is to reduce the time it takes to produce each quote. Our data shows that the average number of line items is 5.5, and average time per line is five minutes. That’s 30 minutes per quote. Using ToolBox, the same quote would take just two minutes,” he said.
“ToolBox is a sales tool that helps you generate quotes quickly and accurately, setting it apart from other MRP/ERP quoting solutions. It gives users a unique set of tools to get more quotes out, win more jobs, and grow their business.”
Responsive service and support
Tempus Tools designed ToolBox to help laser jobshops with the real issues they face day-to-day with quoting, and the Tempus Tools team is consistently updating the cloud-based platform to include new features.
“We worked closely with the Tempus Tools team throughout our trial period and into our subscription. They were extremely responsive and receptive to new ideas. We have been happy to see some of our suggestions already implemented into the ToolBox system, and other ideas on the development list,” said Gary.
Recent updates to ToolBox include integrations with Xero, QuickBooks, and availability on the AutoDesk app store. A new feature that’s planned for release later this year is tube quoting, where users can create quotes from a STEP file without using a solid modelling program.
The new tube quoting feature follows on from Tempus Tools’ successful 3D module, which is already part of the ToolBox system. The 3D module takes a sheet metal STEP file and flattens it, ready for quoting.
Ivan Cooper says that they value the feedback of Australian laser jobshops like Lasercut Solutions, as they seek to add new features that benefit all ToolBox users.
“Sometimes it can be a really minor update that can make a big difference to the user. We like to remain flexible, so that we can update our software with new features that continue to deliver value to our ToolBox customers,” he said.
