RFQs in one inbox
Customer quote requests reached one salesperson, and the rest of the sales team could not see them.
Versago for SAP B1 Case Study
How Vuzix, a maker of smart glasses and waveguides, gave customers, buyers and production staff role-based web portals synced with SAP Business One.
About Vuzix
Vuzix designs, makes and sells waveguides and smart glasses for defense, security and other enterprise customers, as well as consumers. The company started in R&D for next-generation military display solutions and grew into a leading supplier of smart glasses and augmented reality technology.
The Challenge
A large enterprise customer had no single place to submit RFQs. Quote requests went by email to one member of the sales team, and the rest of the team could not see them. Vuzix could not fulfill orders on time, which disrupted the customer and put revenue at risk.
Purchase requests were submitted manually outside of SAP. Buyers chased approvals, then re-entered the data into SAP to cut a vendor PO. On the production floor, licensing costs meant only one person at a time could use the system, and mistakes left the data inaccurate.
Vuzix needed customers, buyers and production staff to enter information once, in simple screens that stay in sync with SAP Business One.
Customer quote requests reached one salesperson, and the rest of the sales team could not see them.
Buyers chased approvals by hand, then retyped each request in SAP to cut a vendor PO.
Licensing costs limited the production system to one user at a time, and mistakes led to inaccurate data.
Sales analysis for executives, inventory levels and PO receipts were hard to see.
The Solution
Vuzix uses Third Wave's Versago portal platform, which includes Bizweaver integration and process automation. Each person logs in under a role and sees only the information they need, on simple web pages from a computer, tablet or smartphone. Versago ships with pre-built screens and integrations to SAP Business One.
Customers log in under a Customer role, fill out an RFQ form and review a list of every RFQ they have submitted. Bizweaver emails a confirmation to the requestor and the sales team. Each submitted RFQ creates a sales quotation in SAP.
Requestors log in under a Purchasing role and submit requests with built-in lookups that pull vendors, items and user information from SAP in real time. A Purchasing Buyer role lets the purchasing team review all requisitions. Buyers add the G/L coding before a request goes for approval.
Bizweaver emails each request to the right approvers based on approval thresholds and departments, and adds it to SAP at the same time. It then scans the replies for Approved or Declined and updates the status in Versago. An approved request is copied to a PO in SAP automatically, and a declined one is canceled.
Staff in QA and Shipping log in under a Production role to enter time, issue materials and receive finished goods into stock. QC inspectors log their inspection results, and operators and supervisors can check error logs and open production order times. Bizweaver posts the data to SAP production orders and transfers inspected stock to the designated warehouses.
An Executive role gives management charts for comparative sales analysis. Another role shows purchase order receipts, inventory levels and BOM explosions. Both views stay in sync with SAP and open on any device.
Vuzix’s assistant controller on what changed once purchase requests and RFQs moved into Versago.
The Result
Vuzix stopped unnecessary manual data entry into SAP and reduced the risk of lost revenue from missed quote requests. Customer satisfaction and employee morale improved, and staff at Vuzix and its customers have time back for more valuable work.
Customer RFQs reach the whole sales team and become SAP quotations.
Approved requests become SAP purchase orders without retyping.
Time and material entries from the floor post to SAP production orders.
Executives get quick insight into sales and production performance.