Westcon Group has launched a free email-based quoting tool for registered resellers to provide real-time pricing information and ordering.
Eight months in the making, Quick-e-Quote is an extension of the distributor’s online-based quoting system, and allows resellers to access stock pricing and availability in real-time through their email client. Westcon national customer service manager, Bernadette Jenkinson, said the new offering was available to any reseller with a login for its online portal, and would factor in their with individual buy price.
The system went live on March 24 and is available across Westcon’s entire solutions portfolio. There is no limit on how many product SKUs resellers can request a quote on. Any quote generated can be used for a purchase order online.
“This new tool is about providing our resellers with a different method of sourcing pricing information available,” Jenkinson said. “We have an e-commerce portal, and a downloadable price list function – this email quotation tool is for those that know the products they want and want a quote instantly.”
In its first 24 hours, nearly 70 resellers took advantage of the tool to request quote information, with one ordering over 140 SKUs, she said. The system sends quotes back to resellers at an average time of 19 seconds and was developed in-house as a result of Westcon’s internal innovations council.
“We have people from various internal departments who get together once a month and table ideas, which could be big projects or tweaks,” Jenkinson said. She insisted Quick-e-Quote was not about replacing a reseller’s time with its pre-sales team, but instead, gave them the ability to access information any time of day.
There were no set expectations on how many would choose to use the tool, Jenkinson added.
“We know how busy resellers are – this is about giving them pricing quickly and helps them get back to their clients quicker. Hopefully we all win.”
