The Winning Bid
- Thread starter Cory Smith
- Start date
chevalier
Well-known member
When I was an estimator/job-planner my company had a policy of sticking to the estimate/quote price every time unless it was extremely obvious that we were going to take it on the chin during the preflight stage.
I lobbied extremely hard and got this changed to the first production only. When accounting processed the order a "correct" price based on the actual job report data was printed on the invoice then discounted to the quoted price. Subsequent productions were adjusted to a "correct" price. This worked well for 80% of the customers. The 20% that it didn't had a complete disconnect between accounts payable and the purchaser. I was really shocked about the disconnect between purchasing and accounts payable.
extra thoughts:
I also (unsuccessfully) lobbied to blanket ban all line item charges on estimates and invoices and only provide a quantity and final price. I've always believed that your cost structure is really irrelevant to the person buying or paying. They don't have a stake in what it takes you to produce product X only what it will cost to produce 500 units of product x.
In the sales meetings I had to attend the constant complaint from sales was the sticker shock from line items for "preflight time", "proofing materials", "cutting and stamping tooling", etc. Yet somehow they wouldn't even test my idea of hiding all of that into a total cost.
I lobbied extremely hard and got this changed to the first production only. When accounting processed the order a "correct" price based on the actual job report data was printed on the invoice then discounted to the quoted price. Subsequent productions were adjusted to a "correct" price. This worked well for 80% of the customers. The 20% that it didn't had a complete disconnect between accounts payable and the purchaser. I was really shocked about the disconnect between purchasing and accounts payable.
extra thoughts:
I also (unsuccessfully) lobbied to blanket ban all line item charges on estimates and invoices and only provide a quantity and final price. I've always believed that your cost structure is really irrelevant to the person buying or paying. They don't have a stake in what it takes you to produce product X only what it will cost to produce 500 units of product x.
In the sales meetings I had to attend the constant complaint from sales was the sticker shock from line items for "preflight time", "proofing materials", "cutting and stamping tooling", etc. Yet somehow they wouldn't even test my idea of hiding all of that into a total cost.
Last edited:
Stephen Marsh
Well-known member
An good MIS should have the flexibility and ability to add changes to an order, over and above the original estimate. These extra costs can be signed off by the customer or at least brought to their attention before they are actioned by the printer.
Stephen Marsh
Stephen Marsh
chevalier
Well-known member
Our change order form was referred to internally as the "sales rep. write-off form". IIRC only 1 of 6 would even pick up the phone and try to deal with the customer.
Similar threads
PressWise
|
A 30-day Fix for Managed Chaos
As any print professional knows, printing can be managed chaos. Software that solves multiple problems and provides measurable and monetizable value has a direct impact on the bottom-line. “We reduced order entry costs by about 40%.” Significant savings in a shop that turns about 500 jobs a month. Learn how……. |
