Software development
Manufacturing is a complex industry that caters to an array of needs. Within the lighting sector, products and services come with billions of unique configurations, each with its own implications for cost and gross margin.
It is critical that companies are precise with financial forecasting and operational planning.
We were approached by a manufacturing firm struggling with these challenges. Their primary goal was to enhance the ability to calculate gross margins more accurately and effectively, to increase their overall profitability.
Our client was missing an effective approach to calculating costs associated with a proposed job’s bill of material and gross margins.
We developed a web-based application and rules calculation engine to help optimize gross margin calculations.
The solution significantly enhanced our client’s gross margin calculation process, driving an increase of two to four points of margin.
Several groups faced problems with gross margin calculation. The sales and management teams were unable to quickly and accurately calculate the cost of a proposed job’s bill of materials (BOM). This capability was crucial for determining gross margins and the appropriate discount levels to secure business deals.
The engineering team required advanced tools to create product availability maps and calculate value grids. These tools were essential for day-to-day operations and for strategic decision-making in product management and sales strategies.
To tackle these challenges, we developed a comprehensive web-based application paired with a powerful rules calculation engine designed to enhance gross margin calculations.This solution enabled our client to produce detailed product availability maps and calculate gross margin for products at specified discount levels. It also provided functionalities to display product margins by size and actual sales data. This tool supported dynamic modeling of price and cost changes, which is critical for adjusting to changes in the market.
We transformed the client’s existing pricing and engineering rules from Excel and Access into executable code through a custom-built rules engine. The integration not only streamlined the generation of on-demand reports but also seamlessly connected with the client’s data warehouse to enable robust, full-scale reporting and forecasting. It also streamlined the rules release process, allowing for rules to be released on a more frequent basis.
The web application and rules calculation engine allowed sales and management teams to efficiently select and evaluate proposed customer jobs directly from the client’s quoting system. For engineers, it offered tools to configure “what-if” product scenarios, greatly enhancing their ability to test and refine products before market release.
The solutions enhanced our client’s business operations, significantly impacting their competitive edge and operational efficiency. The tools and systems delivered several key benefits:
Discover how Green Leaf Consulting Group’s strategic IT solutions can bring you growth through technology. Contact Neil McCole at neilm@greenleafgrp.com or (484) 535-4405.