Benefits of Automated Quoting Systems for 3D Printing

The recent global pandemic changed the way businesses operate. One such change was in how customers interacted with manufacturing companies and how they got goods manufactured. While 3D printing played a significant role in all of this, one aspect of the 3D printing revolution is often left out of the larger conversation - the Instant Quoting System.

Big 3D printing service providers make it easy for customers to get instant quotes by simply uploading their 3D models. These corporations have integrated complex quoting algorithms which quickly study the uploaded models and share instant quotations for customers. However, just as 3D printing has democratized manufacturing, instant quoting systems should do so as well. At least, that's what we at 3D Quoter think. As a result, we created Quoter.ai, a 3D printing-specific Automated Quoting System.

We'll go over how the 3D Quoter system benefits all types of businesses, especially smaller 3D printing shops, but first, let us also appreciate the need for digitalization and the importance of an instant quoting system.

Digitalization of Manufacturing

Digitalization of manufacturing, for the uninitiated, refers to the incorporation of digital technologies and tools into the manufacturing process. This creates a more streamlined and efficient production system. It can include automating and optimizing various aspects of manufacturing using technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, and cloud computing.

While digitalization was always on many large manufacturers' agendas, the pandemic accelerated its adoption. Six months into the Covid-19 pandemic, a 2020 McKinsey survey revealed the following observations of digitalization: a win for companies that had already scaled digital technologies, a reality check for those that were still scaling, and a wake-up call for those that hadn't begun their Industry 4.0 journeys.

The trend and the survey both point in the same direction: digitalization is the future, and it is the one feature that manufacturers of all sizes, large and small, must have in their arsenal if they want to compete, serve more orders, and generate more revenue.

Need for an Automated Instant Quoting System

Customers in today's fast-paced and globalized business world expect to place orders from any time zone, at any time and receive quick and accurate quotes for the products and services they require.

Working manually to create these quotes carries the risk of mis-quoting the customer for his order due to a multitude of reasons like unexpected or sudden raw material price changes, mis-committing to an order due to the unavailability of a critical component, and mis-communicating the actual production and delivery time. And, even if the sales engineer is able to carefully consider all of the variables and provide a quote, it may be too late and the customer has already moved on to another manufacturer to meet his needs who might have delivered the quote instantly.

An automated instant quoting system is a tool that allows businesses to quickly and efficiently generate accurate quotes, meeting customer expectations and providing a competitive advantage. By digitally connecting all systems, manufacturers can keep track of inventory, production WIP, old, current, and new orders, delivery status, and order fulfillment rates, among other things. You receive a complete solution, including a new dashboard, to monitor every aspect of your business and make better, faster decisions that will help your company grow. Moreover, you can also use analytics to identify trends and gain valuable insights

While it was difficult to integrate the quoting systems earlier, the good news is that you now have tools at your disposal to assist you with this transition easily and quickly.

3D Printing Instant Quote Benefits

24 x 7 Availability

One of the key 3D printing instant quote benefits is its 24 x 7 availability. Customers can generate quotes at any time of day or night using an instant quoting system. Customers can obtain pricing information whenever it is convenient for them, including after regular business hours. This is especially useful for customers who live in different time zones or have hectic schedules that make it difficult to communicate during regular business hours.

Furthermore, the availability of an automated instant quoting system 24 hours a day, seven days a week can assist businesses in remaining competitive in their market. With customers having instant pricing information at their fingertips at all times, businesses can respond to inquiries more quickly and provide a better overall customer experience. This can assist businesses in increasing sales and customer loyalty.

Another advantage of a quoting system's 24-hour availability is that it can help to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Businesses can use an automated instant quoting system to automate their pricing process, reducing the need for manual input and eliminating the possibility of errors. This can help sales representatives focus on other tasks, such as following up on leads and closing deals.

Great First Impression and Customer Experience

Though underrated, one of the notable 3D printing instant quote benefits is that it creates a good first impression and customer experience. Other advantages include:

• Ease of use: Customers can use an instant quoting system from any device that has an internet connection. It doesn't require any technical knowledge or skills to use, and customers can get a quote in seconds. Because they are web-based, they can be accessed from anywhere and at any time, even with decent-enough internet connections.
• Saves time: Customers save time by receiving a quick and accurate quote for a product or service. Customers are no longer required to wait for a sales representative to respond with a quote, which can take hours or even days.
• Increases transparency: It improves transparency by giving customers a clear breakdown of the costs associated with a product or service. Customers can see what they are paying for and make an educated decision based on the information provided.
• Enhances customer experience: It improves the customer experience by providing a quick and easy way to get a quote. It alleviates the frustration of waiting for a quote and provides customers with the information they require to make an informed decision.

Simple and Clear Communication

The use of an automated instant quoting system also aids in simple yet clear communication by allowing users to interact with the system. Other advantages include:

• Accurate Pricing: An instant quoting system provides accurate pricing information to customers, allowing them to better understand the cost of a product or service. This information allows customers to make informed decisions and avoid any possible confusion or misinterpretation of quotes caused by ambiguous pricing information.
• Builds trust: It fosters trust by providing customers with an accurate and transparent quote. It demonstrates that the company values transparency and honesty, which can go a long way toward establishing customer trust. Because these are based on mathematical algorithms, the same inputs will yield the same quotes, instilling trust in the minds of users.
• Consistency: It ensures that a product's or service's pricing and terms are consistent across all customers. This consistency eliminates the possibility of misinterpretation or confusion that can arise when pricing is negotiated on a case-by-case basis.
• Enables Comparison: It allows customers to easily compare the prices of various products or services. This comparison enables customers to make better decisions based on their budget and needs, potentially leading to increased customer satisfaction.

Data Security

Another key benefit of 3D printing instant quotes is that it can improve data security.

• Secure data storage: A 3D printing instant quoting system can securely store customer data, protecting it from unauthorized access or loss. Businesses can reduce the risk of data breaches and protect sensitive customer information by utilizing secure data storage. The data remains safe and incidences, like disgruntled employees taking away or leaking customer data, are just not possible.
• Encryption: It can use encryption to protect data during transmission, making it resistant to interception or tampering. This encryption can assist businesses in safeguarding customer data against unauthorized access or interception by third parties.
• Access control: It can implement access controls to restrict employees' or other users' access to sensitive customer data. Businesses can prevent data breaches caused by unauthorized access or misuse of customer data by restricting access to sensitive information.
• Compliance with data protection regulations: It can assist businesses in complying with data protection laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Businesses can ensure that customer data is collected and processed lawfully, transparently, and securely by adhering to these regulations.
• Disaster recovery: It can put in place disaster recovery measures to protect customer data in the event of a natural disaster or other catastrophic events. Businesses can avoid losing customer data due to unforeseen circumstances by implementing a disaster recovery plan.

Integration of Our Automated Quoting System

3D Quoter is an instant quote module designed for smaller 3D printing shops to provide clients with quick quotes. During and after the pandemic, larger corporations easily and quickly set up instant quoting systems on their websites, while smaller shops were left out of the digital revolution. Until 3D quoter, which allows all shops to integrate its automated quoting system.

3D Quoter’s automated system is easy to integrate; simply embed it using an iframe. It can be embedded on any website through an iframe, whether it's a Shopify store, WordPress site, or custom HTML page. If you're not sure how to set it up on your own, you can check out our tutorial or get in touch with us directly. One of our experts will assist you in configuring it correctly.

Users can customize each process, secondary processes, materials, and so on once it is embedded, and customers can easily upload a 3D file to get an instant quote.

3D Quoter offers a free Demo and setup opportunity right now and you can cash in on this advantage. Moreover, it promises Unlimited support at no extra cost while having a Flexible subscription system to ensure you are not charged heavily for an annual plan or any other long-term commitment. You can cancel your subscription at any time if you are no longer satisfied with our product. On the other hand, if you enjoy using our product and want to save on costs, we also offer an annual plan option.

Benefits of 3D Quoter

• 3D Quoter employs cutting-edge computing technology to ensure that your customers can access the quote module 24 x 7. It guarantees a minimum of 99.95% uptime.
• Received unlimited support at no additional charge.
• Users can cancel their subscriptions at any time if they are dissatisfied.
• Simple to integrate on any website, including a Shopify store, a WordPress site, or a custom HTML page.
• It provides a feature-rich dashboard for managing quotes, and unlimited user access, and is supported by a powerful infrastructure with low latency for quick response to customer requests.

How to get a 3D Instant Quote System

With 3D Quoter’s instant and automated quoting system all organizations, especially the smaller 3D printing shops can now easily integrate quoting systems on their websites. This integration, which was earlier thought to be difficult and complex, has now been simplified with 3D Quoter. 

If you are a small 3D printing shop, you should ensure that you are not left out and have a solution like 3D Quoter on your website that works for you even while you sleep or step out for a meeting. You can reach out to the 3D Quoter experts and Request a Demo if you have any doubts and the experts will clear out any and all of your queries.