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Design Process Optimization to Reduce Quotation Lead Time

ALTEN partnered with a global customer in the food processing industry to drastically reduce the lead time for generating quotation (approval) drawings—from several days to 24 hours or less. The initiative improved responsiveness, accelerated decision-making, and strengthened competitiveness in tooling and machine sales.

Challenge:

  • Communication gaps between sales, customers, and engineering teams
  • Long turnaround time for approval drawings, delaying customer decisions
  • Heavy reliance on manual processes, leading to errors and rework
  • Lack of dedicated resources for quotation and tooling drawings
  • Difficulty in prioritizing multiple quotation requests across customers
  • Maintaining high accuracy under tight timelines

Solutions:

  • Centralized Communication
    • Created a dedicated tooling email ID for real-time collaboration across sales, customers, and engineering
  • Process Ownership & Governance
    • Assigned a dedicated resource to manage tooling requests, planning, and prioritization
    • Introduced SOPs for quotation and approval workflows
  • Design Acceleration
    • Implemented advanced CAD tools, templates, and DriveWorks Configurator
    • Developed standardized layout guidelines based on product types and shapes
  • Operational Excellence
    • Enabled internal checks and approvals with minimal customer dependency
    • Introduced real-time tracking of quotation requests from initiation to manufacturing release
    • Parallelized tasks to reduce idle time and improve throughput

Benefits

  • Reduced quotation drawing lead time to ≤24 hours
  • Improved customer responsiveness and satisfaction
  • Higher accuracy with reduced rework
  • Better resource utilization and workflow predictability
  • Increased success rate in securing tooling and machine orders

Knowledge Where It Counts

  • Fast quotation turnaround is a strategic differentiator in tooling and machine sales
  • Standardization and configurators significantly reduce design variability
  • Dedicated ownership and real-time tracking are critical for sustained efficiency

Tools & Technologies

  • Advanced CAD tools
  • DriveWorks Configurator
  • Centralized collaboration platform
  • Real-time tracking dashboards