FAST Chemtech Enhances Customer Experience & Quoting Speed with FAST Configurator
Overview
In a rapidly evolving industry where speed, accuracy, and customer engagement are critical, FCT recognised the need to transform its approach to meeting customer demands, and make its offering more accessible, adaptable, and globally visible. The company sought to improve its quotation process, enhance market presence, and provide an intuitive platform for customers to visualise and configure their systems. FAST’s innovative configurator addressed these challenges, providing tailored solutions that set the company apart from competitors. This digital solution modernised the customer journey, improved quoting speed, and enhanced internal efficiencies.
Aims and Objectives
The development and implementation of FCT’s configurator was driven by four main objectives:
- Tailoring Equipment & Systems to Market Demands: FCT aimed to understand customer requirements better and adapt their offerings to meet the market’s evolving needs. The configurator allows for easy modification and upgrades, ensuring that the equipment remains efficient and up to date.
- Enhancing Brand and Product Exposure & Visibility: Establishing FCT as a leading division within FAST was crucial. The configurator plays a significant role in differentiating FCT from competitors by offering a unique, user-friendly platform for customers to explore and customise products.
- Enable 24/7 Global Access: In today’s global market, accessibility is key. The configurator allows potential clients worldwide to access FCT’s offerings at any time, breaking down geographical barriers and expanding the company’s reach.
4. Enabling Customer Visualisation: Customers can now visually represent their potential systems, allowing them to engage more deeply with the product selection process. This feature encourages customers to consider all aspects of their blending, delivery, and collection processes. The system allows users to interact with and visualise equipment configurations, helping both technical and non-technical stakeholders understand system design and functionality.
FCT faced several challenges that hindered efficiency and customer engagement:
Manual & Slow Quotation Process: Quotation requests were processed manually, leading to long email chains and extended turnaround times. This slow process often resulted in delays and potential loss of sales opportunities.
Lack of Digital Presence: While brochures remained a part of the sales process, FCT needed a stronger online presence to reach a wider audience and reduce its environmental impact
Technical Communication Gaps: The technical nature of FCT’s systems meant that only certain team members fully understood the equipment. This created a communication gap between technical teams and other departments, such as purchasing and finance.
Time Spent on Lead Generation: Generating leads and responding to enquiries consumed valuable time, detracting from FCT’s ability to focus on product development and customer relationships.
Challenge
- Manual & slow quotation process
- Lack of digital presence
- Technical communication gaps
- Time spent on lead generation
The FAST Configurator Solution
The solution came in the form of the FAST Configurator, a web-based interactive platform that delivers four major benefits:
1. Accelerated Quotation Turnaround: The configurator automates the selection of equipment and options, generating a bill of materials and inventory that can be quickly quoted and invoiced. This has significantly reduced the time spent on the quotation process, enabling faster responses to customer enquiries.
2. Access to a Broader Global Customer Base: By offering a digital platform, FCT has opened its doors to a larger pool of potential clients. New customers can customise systems tailored to their needs, while existing customers can easily integrate additional equipment into their current setups.
3. Enhanced Customer Engagement through an Interactive & Intuitive System Design: The configurator’s intuitive interface allows customers to visualise and think critically about their equipment requirements. This engagement helps customers make informed decisions, adding or removing components as needed for current and future expansion.
4. Differentiation from Competitors: The configurator sets FCT apart by offering a unique tool that allows clients to see and understand their potential system before purchase. This capability strengthens FCT’s market position, demonstrating their commitment to innovation and customer-centric solutions.
Results & Benefits
Since the implementation of the configurator, FCT has seen significant improvements in several key areas:
- Increased Efficiency: The configurator has streamlined the quotation process, reducing the time from enquiry to delivery. This has not only enhanced internal efficiency but also improved customer satisfaction by providing quicker, more accurate quotes.
- Broadened Market Reach: With 24/7 access to the configurator, FCT has expanded its reach to a global audience. The ability for potential clients to interact with the platform at any time has led to an increase in lead generation and customer engagement, from new markets and customer segments.
- Improved Communication: The visual representation of systems through the configurator has bridged the communication gap between technical and non-technical teams. This has facilitated better decision-making across departments, with a reduction in administration burden. With the added benefit of enhanced cross-functional communication through visual clarity.
- Sustainable Growth: By focusing on digital solutions, FCT has positioned itself at the forefront of the industry, ready to meet future market demands. The configurator has not only enhanced customer relationships but also supported sustainable business growth by reducing the environmental impact of traditional sales methods.
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Conclusion
FCT’s configurator has proven to be a game-changer in the way the company engages with customers and processes sales enquiries. By addressing the challenges of a slow quotation process, limited digital presence, and communication gaps, FCT has successfully transformed its operations. The configurator has not only set FCT apart from its competitors but also paved the way for continued growth and innovation in the industry. This digital solution modernised the customer journey, improved quoting speed, and enhanced internal efficiencies. By using the FAST Configurator, FAST Chemtech has modernised how customers interact with their offering, reduced friction in the sales process, and created a platform that supports long-term growth and agility.
Next Steps
Looking forward, FCT plans to continue refining the configurator, incorporating customer feedback and advancing its capabilities. As digital transformation becomes increasingly vital in the manufacturing sector, FCT is committed to staying ahead of the curve, providing cutting-edge solutions that meet the evolving needs of its customers.
