A case on creating an internal business system for a ventilation system manufacturer. Or on how to save working hours of specialists for commercial proposal preparation.
In 2021, at 2410 agency, we developed a B2B system / online calculator for our customer - a manufacturing company. It can perform geometric calculations and create bids in seconds.
Let’s discuss your project
Let’s discuss your project to find out how we can help you. Schedule a free 15-min meeting
specializes in the design and construction of ventilation systems for large construction projects (shopping centers, industrial buildings, warehouses and multifunctional complexes).
Example of facilities for the ventilation system design
The company prepares an individual bid for each new customer. It includes the main elements the entire ventilation system will be assembled from.
Ready-made ventilation system option
Data for the correct final calculation is prepared in a special program. Employees manually enter each element, its dimensions, material and additional parameters into it. The area of each element is multiplied by the price rate, and the result is the total cost.
It takes about 2-3 days of specialists' work. It is unreasonably long and expensive for simply stating the price for the project in the end. The company's request was whether the process could be automated and accelerated.
Together with the customer, we developed the concept of a personal account, which will perform the maximum number of calculations with minimum user participation.
The principle of using a business system consists of the following stages:
The manager downloads an Excel file containing the necessary list of the ventilation system elements.
The calculator performs all geometric calculations (area calculation, contact surface calculation, etc.) for each product type.
It displays all the results in a ready-made table where the specialist can make adjustments, change the number of elements and set the amount of discount.
As a result, the calculator generates an estimate with the final amount. The specialist downloads it, extends it and sends it to the customer.
The online system for the customer's business, including design, backend, data processing logic and calculation formulas, was developed from scratch, exclusively for the company's requests and requirements.
Our solution.
The main solution development priority was given to mathematical calculations, which are performed when processing user data.
Therefore, the interface is created from ready-made blocks in the Material Design style - reflecting only the main functions.
Here, the manager can download an example of the imported file and receive additional instructions on formatting from it.
The result.
File upload page mockup:
File upload page mockup for the online calculator
Final result:
File upload page for the online calculator
Then, based on the loaded data, the system forms a ready-to-use interactive table.
In this table, the user can search by product, apply panels and flanges, edit a discount, and mark products for export to a commercial offer.
Offer generation page mockup:
Offer generation page mockup
Final result:
Offer generation page final result / B2B online calculator
Main features of the online calculator
Processing imported data
Technically, the user can upload any Excel file. The system task is to calculate the correct stitches and the required parameters.
Upload Excel file with a list of the ventilation system elements
The system processes each product and calculates its type, as well as its size, cost and quantity.
Mathematical calculations for each element
Let's note that elements of ventilation systems do not always have the structure of a regular geometric figure. For each element, its own geometric formulas for calculating the perimeters and surface areas are used.
Options of modifications and sizes of ventilation system elements
Summary.
As a result, the customer received a ready-made business system, which greatly simplified the bid preparation process. The calculator instantly calculates project cost, and the manager spends less time preparing the final document.
Now the company's customers can receive bids within a few hours, rather than a few days, as it was before.
We plan to further develop this business system together with the customer by adding functions to it and by expanding the calculator's capabilities.
A similar business system with online calculators can also be integrated into other industries. To optimize design calculations, prepare bids and automatically create accompanying documents.
