Propelling Success in Marine Innovation
Veth Propulsion, a ship propulsion manufacturer, selected Merkato as their Sales Configurator to enhance quotation processes. The decision stemmed from a thorough market analysis, with Merkato chosen for its versatility, user-friendliness and expertise. Led by Henk de Jong, the rapid implementation of Merkato demonstrated its efficiency, setting a precedent for future product groups.
The interview with Henk de Jong is found below. The conversation was originally held in Dutch.
Goals for Implementing a Sales Configurator
Veth Propulsion is an internationally operating manufacturer of (auxiliary) propulsion installations on ships. A family business and global player at the same time, which guarantees quality, service, innovation and sustainability. The originally Dutch company is located in Papendrecht and has 130 employees.
The quality of their products is guaranteed with the assembly and development in-house. Veth Propulsion works according to the theory of Lean Manufacturing. Based on this ‘lean’ philosophy, the strategic choice to purchase a Sales Configurator is a logical step. The goals that Veth wants to achieve with a Sales Configurator are the reduction of quotation lead time, uniformity of quotations, and a transparent and unambiguous calculation method.
The decision to use Merkato as a solution is the result of extensive market research into suitable configuration software. In this selection process, Veth Propulsion, in addition to looking at renowned software suppliers, also considered ‘customer-specific’ software development. The choice quickly fell on Merkato.
The following points were decisive for Veth Propulsion:
Versatility of the software; many functionalities and solution options.
The independence for the user; the customer can set up and change the system himself.
User-friendliness and flexibility of the software; the options to easily import data, cut&paste, drag&drop.
At the start of the project, Veth Propulsion set a deadline of eight weeks, after which the first configurator must be operational. In this way, the organization can quickly be convinced of the added value of a Sales Configurator. In addition, it is also a confirmation of the right software choice.
Rapid Deployment and Leadership by Henk de Jong
Henk de Jong has been appointed manager of Merkato. In addition to his daily work as a Sales & Commissioning Engineer, he has reserved an average of two days a week to set up Merkato. Because Henk, as a Sales Engineer, has a lot of knowledge of the sales process and also has a lot of product knowledge, little time was ‘lost’ on internal consultation. This has proven to be essential for the success of a rapid implementation.
“Merkato is learned this way”
“Merkato is learned in no time.”, says Henk. “Follow the basic training for two days and you can get started. Consultation with colleagues, thinking about and discussing the quotation generator to be set up and determining the layout still takes the most time.” Over the last two weeks, Henk has started working full time with Merkato and the goal of having the Configurator operational after eight weeks has been achieved, including the quotation according to the latest layout.
This first configurator is an example for the other product groups. It is therefore expected that these can be built in half the time.
