We regularly hear the same thing from Engineer-to-Order (ETO) manufacturers across industries like aerospace, construction, industrial machinery and custom equipment:
- We make and sell complex products based on unique customer specifications, so a digital commerce or B2B eCommerce approach won’t work for us.
- We can’t capitalize on sales features like Configure, Price and Quoting (CPQ) because ETO sales aren’t one-size fits all – we have too many variables to consider.
Because these manufacturers quite literally sit down with their customers at the proverbial drawing board – identifying requirements, specifications and constraints, determining how to source materials and parts, outlining specialized design, fabrication, assembly and testing considerations, calculating cost and sale price – this part of the process can take weeks or (more typically) months.
And that time and process slows down sales.
If you’ve ever been responsible for sales and revenue targets, then you already know timing is everything when it comes to closing.
So where does that leave ETO manufacturers when it comes to growing revenue streams and staying agile in an increasingly demanding, competitive and crowded manufacturing market?
Will they be left behind their manufacturing peers when it comes to fully embracing all the digital commerce age has to offer?
The answer is no – if they take clear action.
The Sales Pipeline Needs of ETO Manufacturers
ETO manufacturing is a growing segment of the manufacturing industry. In 2005, 25% of manufacturers in the US were ETO. In 2020, that number had grown to 51%. By 2025, a staggering 74% of manufacturers are expected to consider themselves ETO.
While today’s B2B buyers value the kind of customized services bespoke ETO providers can offer, they also want the self-service, streamlined workflows and shorter lead times they’re getting in many of their other digital commerce transactions.
In fact, 83% of B2B buyers prefer ordering or paying through digital commerce, according to Gartner. As a result, Sales and Marketing leaders must rethink how they approach digital commerce and sales interactions to improve deal quality, reduce buyer’s remorse and drive buyer satisfaction.
The 3 Steps to Ending Digital Commerce FOMO
Because of the length and complexity of their processes, some ETO manufacturers may fear they are missing out on many of the benefits digital commerce offers their off-the-shelf product and built-to-order manufacturing counterparts – increased sales, reduced operating costs and improved time-to-revenue.
However, there are in fact a number of critical ways ETO manufacturers can use digital commerce and AI-driven automation to increase their agility, manage their data more effectively, and streamline sales workflows to cut lead times and grow revenues.
The Aleran digital commerce platform can help ETO manufacturers achieve many of the same sales results enjoyed by their MTO peers, even while modified for their highly customized and service-focused workflows and processes.
1. Streamlined Ordering & Reordering
ETO manufacturers often work with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in order to develop custom solutions based on factors like functionality, design, performance, and integration with existing systems. Once these parts have been engineered and manufactured by the ETO manufacturer, both parties stand to save time, resources and money if they can find an easy way to make future purchases of the same engineered products, as well as obtain status updates on these orders.
Even if ETO manufacturers don’t sell directly to OEMs (OEMs are oftentimes represented by channel partners e.g. distributors, value-add resellers, and so on), these partners still need a streamlined way to place a reorder.
For both of these circumstances, the Aleran digital commerce platform not only serves as a B2B eCommerce channel but also as a digital portal for OEM customers and channel partners to view past orders, receive status updates, and quickly submit reorders. Aleran also allows for customized buying experiences and flexible pricing structures that can accommodate B2B’s complex and convoluted buying journey, so ETO manufacturers can benefit from secure self-service eCommerce sites and customer portals with online and mobile ordering, flexible pricing frameworks, plus the ability to manage all their sales, and sales channels, in one place. Capabilities like these allow ETO manufacturers to automate many aspects of their sales order and sales order management processes, avoiding manual data entry and ultimately reducing time to sale.
2. Self-Service & Guided Buying for Parts & Accessories
Because customers of ETO manufacturers are already paying a premium for engineered products, they can’t treat them strictly as a commodity. To extend the life of an ETO product and reduce their own costs, they will often look to make repairs – an action which requires a reference to the correct replacement parts for a purchased product. In addition, customers may look to extend a product to increase capacity, or modify its applicable uses, necessitating the purchase of compatible accessories.
Aleran’s digital commerce platform gives these customers the option of online ordering via self-service customer portals, rather than opting for the laborious process of calling or sending an email to obtain quotes for various parts and accessories. With the Aleran platform in place, customers can login securely, obtain the reference product information from their past orders, and quickly and easily access a list of spare parts, repair kits, accessories, add-ons, and more without running the risk of ordering the wrong item due to incompatibility.
In addition, Aleran’s platform can display product availability for parts and accessories. To achieve this, Aleran integrates seamlessly alongside the ETO manfacturer’s ERP to give sales teams and their customers visibility into the relevant information they need to make a purchase (e.g. the engineered product bill of material, inventory levels, and more).
Finally, Aleran’s AI-driven platform has helped the online parts and accessory ordering process take a giant leap forward – quickly and easily converting engineered product schematics, diagrams and other static PDF resources into interactive online buying experiences for customers. This AI-powered technology facilitates Aleran’s catalog-embedded buying capability and allows customers to break down an engineered product into its saleable parts and accessories – with all the details needed to guarantee accurate purchasing (e.g. location of part, dimensions, etc.)
3. Simplifying the Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) Process
Many ETO Manufacturers use their websites to allow interested customers to request a quote for a product. The Aleran platform reduces the time it takes to configure, price and quote a soon-to-be engineered product.
With Aleran, ETO manufacturers can give their buyers access to the CPQ sales tool to get accurate pricing for their complex and configurable products. This tool automates the process of configuring products, pricing them, and generating quotes – streamlining sales, reducing errors, and generally improving customer satisfaction.
Manufacturers simply set up templates that allow online buyers to configure a product against their standard options before placing an order. In the event that a buyer needs something custom which will require engineering expertise, the AI-powered Aleran platform incorporates business rules and constraints to ensure that configurations are both valid and feasible, preventing incompatible or impractical combinations of features and options. AI can also be leveraged to determine popular customer order configurations in order to provide a starting point for a quote. Using a pre-configuration as a baseline, as opposed to starting from scratch, greatly reduces the time it takes to get from quote to salable product.
Conclusion
Embracing digital commerce allows manufacturers to adapt to changing market demands, boost revenues, and improve their business performance. Aleran gives ETO manufacturers the unified digital commerce platform they need to simplify product configurations, shorten the time it takes to get from quote-to-cash and improve customer satisfaction. It’s both a sales tool and an end-to-end technology solution for accelerating revenues and maximizing operational efficiency.
Ready to learn more about how Aleran’s digital commerce platform can support your ETO manufacturing business? Contact us today.
