The Case For Custom Quoting Over SaaS Tools In B2B Growth

"The function of good software is to make the complex appear to be simple."

• Grady Booch

A software engineer of legendary proportions who is currently the Chief Scientist of the same department at IBM Research, Grady Booch has the right idea. It all boils down to how well the software you choose simplifies your complex daily operations. 

Especially if you are a mid-size B2B manufacturer because growth is inevitable, and quoting is indispensable. In fact, it’s highly likely that for your business, quoting is more than just a pricing task. It’s a strategic function that helps you close the sales gap by improving the quality of leads and facilitating sealing the deal. 

As your sales team juggles between complex product lineups, multi-layered approvals, varying prices and integration requests from all fronts, off-the-shelf SaaS quoting tools can only help you so much. Sure they are great for early-stage teams, but those with expanding requirements need a little extra, something that can turn complexity into elegant simplicity. 

That’s why it's crucial to weigh your options between SaaS quoting software vs custom-built solutions. Though SaaS CPQ (Configure-Price-Quote) tools deliver on their promise of speed and stability, they are riddled with issues such as rigidity, limitations and their inherent generic nature. 

Vestra Inet’s custom quotation software can eliminate these issues, serving as a key driver of growth. Engineered specifically for growing B2B manufacturers, our software allows you to streamline and scale your quoting process. With its flexible UI, deep integrations and optimal workflow control, you can transform your quoting process into an efficient money-maker. Let’s explore. 

The Limitations of SaaS Quoting Tools

SaaS quoting tools might seem like an attractive plug-and-play proposition, but they just can’t mold around the nuances of your operations. Glaring as that might be, it’s not the only shortcoming of such tools. 

1. Constraints of a one-size-fits-all tool

Any software that’s made for everyone is not particularly made for anyone. SaaS quoting platforms are just the same. Designed for the masses, these are technically not capable of adapting to your unique quoting environment. 

B2B manufacturers that offer complex configurations, region-specific pricing and have long approval chains simply cannot settle for the compromises standard CPQ tools impose. These include: 

• Limitations in reflecting complex product configurations
• Rigid workflows that don’t sync with your structure
• Prefixed features and UI that don’t match your requirements

2. Inability to integrate deeply

The process of B2B quoting isn’t independent. It relies on data extracted from an ERP regarding products, services, etc. Moreover, it adds information into CRM systems, scans the inventory and draws references from evolving price logic. Choosing an off-the-shelf system can hinder deep integration, leading to:

• Extra and unnecessary manual data entry
• Clunky workarounds to implement dynamic pricing 
• Lack of support for custom backend logic due to minimal control 

3. Hidden ongoing expenses

With their varying pricing tiers, SaaS tools might seem like an attractive and affordable option upfront. But they generally come with fine print - and you’ll only discover that as your business scales. Hidden costs include - 

• Pay-per-user pricing models that increase costs overtime
• Expensive add-on features that you need for growth
• Costs related to IP ownership, roadmaps and data flow due to leasing terms

It’s important to beware of what you are getting into with the SaaS quoting software vs custom one, which we will get into. 

SaaS Quoting Software Vs. Custom-Built Systems - Who Has The Best Features? 

At a glance, the difference between the feature set of both these might seem like a thin line to cross. But when you get granular, you will see that SaaS quoting software tends to have weaker features that won’t only burn a hole in your pocket but also might not be as seamless to use. 

On the other hand, custom quotation software’s features streamline the entire quoting process by offering deeper integrations and automatic approvals. Let us show you!

Vestra Inet’s Custom Quotation Software: Built Exclusively For B2B Complexity

The feature comparison above must have made it amply clear who wins this round. Custom quotation software trumps its SaaS counterparts, offering you greater control over the features you need with tailored solutions that fully adapt to your business - no compromises.

That is exactly what you can expect from Vestra Inet’s custom quotation software too. Built from scratch, our personalized solution is carefully designed after taking your requirements into account - from the smallest to the major ones. 

Here’s how it tackles the complexity of your B2B manufacturing business like a pro. 

1. Built for your unique workflow 

We never try to retrofit or force your processes into an existing software. Instead, we build our entire system around your company’s unique B2B manufacturing workflows, which may vary wildly from any other in the same industry or selling the same products. 

Choosing us can help you:

• Collaborate in a shared environment with all the managers, sales reps and pricing teams
• Set dynamic rule-based configurations that adapt to the growing needs of your business
• Seamlessly automate the entire process from quote creation to final approval

2. Extensive backend integration

To us, creating a quotation system that is capable of integrating into your existing tech stack is just as important as it is for you. 

Expect our custom solution to:

• Create the perfect synchronicity between your existing CRM, inventory and other systems
• Automate updates to customer profiles, pricing databases and stock levels
• Eliminate the need for fragile APIs or third-party connectors that are prone to crashes

3. In-built scalability

As a B2B manufacturing company in its rapid growth stage, you need software that keeps pace with you. After all, being locked into a static tool is hardly ideal. It can slow down the growth you have worked so hard to achieve. 

However, Vestra Inet’s software evolves. Provided you:

• Set the base with a minimum viable product to create the foundation for evolution
• Ditch SaaS-related roadblocks and add more features and logic as your business advances
• Future-proof your IP by gaining complete ownership of your system

Curious to know how our custom quotation software plays out in the real world? Well, one of our clients - WEG Pamensky - was struggling to streamline their complex pricing matrix. Multi-location approvals and manual quote PDFs made it harder for them to deliver final quotes to their customers in a speedy manner. 

That’s where we stepped in and saved the day! Explore how they streamlined their complex quote approvals and automated the entire process with our custom-built system.

While convenience and quick set-up might be the selling points of SaaS quoting tools, they often can’t match the flexibility and depth your business requires. Here’s why B2B teams are switching to custom-built systems like Vestra Inet’s. 

1. Complete Control Over Pricing Logic

Want to embed complex pricing structures? You can with custom systems. From tiered discounts to dynamic markups, geography-based rules and automatic currency conversions - you can do it all with zero compromises. Unlike SaaS tools that force you to stick to generic templates which don’t quite match the complexity of real-world pricing. 

2. Ownership of Workflow

We know that your quote approval workflows can look quite different from those of a rival’s. That’s why our software is built around how your business really operates. You can set site-specific rules, opt for conditional routing, enable multi-department sign-offs and more with our custom solutions. 

3. Seamless Backend Integration

The odds of you having an ERP, CRM or inventory system in place before opting for a custom quotation software is very high. That’s why we ensure our system can easily connect to all of your established softwares, thus preventing double entries and data sync errors. You don’t have to rely on third-party connectors with our system as it's already accurate and seamless.

4. Greater Cost-Efficiency in the Long Run 

The more users your company has, the more expensive your SaaS quoting software becomes. The same holds true for features you add on top of it. If you think about it, you end up paying more for less control. This ‘far from ideal situation’ doesn’t arise with us. Our one-time-build approach ensures you end up owning your asset by investing upfront. 

5. Customized User Experience

You have to take your team’s user preferences into account when getting a quoting system for your business as they will be the end users. With our custom software, you get a custom UI that’s intuitive, offers role-specific access and does not require extensive training to use.  

6. Competitive Advantage

As if the above custom quoting software benefits weren’t enough, you also end up gaining a strategic edge over your competitors due to faster quote turnaround, fewer errors, and tailored customer experiences. 

Quick 5-Step Evaluation To Determine Your Quoting Tool Needs

Though features matter, they shouldn’t form the basis of the quoting system you choose. Your ultimate choice should depend on how well the system aligns with your business’s model, team structure and growth trajectory. This proven 5-step evaluation plan can help you:

1. Identify existing quoting pain points

Start by mapping your current quoting process to see where it breaks down. Perhaps slow approvals are an issue? Maybe pricing errors abound. It’s also possible you might be losing valuable sales time to manual tasks. It bodes well to clarify individual bottlenecks before bringing about a sweeping change with a new quoting system. 

2. Pin down features you need but can’t find in SaaS 

If you’re already using a SaaS quoting tool, you know it isn’t perfect. Spot its shortcomings - such as its inability to address the complexities of your quoting process or integrate with your tech stack - and the workarounds your team is using to fix them. 

3. Highlight priority integrations

Quoting systems don’t work in a vacuum. They work in tandem with your CRM, ERP, inventory and/or accounting tools, among others, to address real-time data requirements. Pick and choose high-priority integrations wisely.

4. Analyze the complexity of your quote approvals

Certain businesses quote inputs from multiple departments, while others put conditions on deal size, product type and region. It’s crucial for you to outline the approval logic you follow so you can accurately determine system requirements. 

5. Schedule your Vestra Inet discovery call

At Vestra Inet, we don’t offer you a generic product demo when you come to us. Instead, we take a consultative approach, deep-diving into your quoting challenges to offer you clarity on key factors such as system fit, implementation scope and ROI potential. 

Is Vestra Inet’s Custom Quoting Tool Right For You? A Definitive Checklist

A strategic investment in every sense of the term, you have to exercise caution before you indulge in the development of your custom quoting tool. After all, it should directly support your sales team and long-term goals. Use this checklist to know if Vestra Inet’s custom software is the right fit for you. 

Choose Vestra Inet’s custom quotation software if:

• You supply complex or configurable products: Layered pricing options and custom configurations are better tackled by tailored software rather than SaaS systems. 
• Regional pricing and prior approvals are part of your workflow: Our granular approach to workflow design with localized pricing control syncs well with your requirements.
• Deep integration is a necessity for you: From CRM to ERP - we build solutions that revolve around your core tech stack.
• You’re tired of SaaS tool’s shortcomings: With us, compromising on ownership, features and performance comes to an end. 
• You want long-term ROI and IP control: With zero vendor lock-in, you get a solution that scales and evolves while keeping ownership with you.

Final Thoughts: Future-Proof Your Quoting Process With Vestra Inet

Though the battle between SaaS quoting software vs. custom built quote systems will likely be won by the latter, SaaS tools still have their place on the market. They are apt for small teams with straightforward needs. However, growing manufacturers require greater flexibility, deeper integration and more control. And for them, Vestra Inet’s custom quotation software is the best bet. Contact us to turn your quoting process into a growth-oriented machine. 

FAQs

1. How fast can you develop a custom quoting software?

Timelines depend on complexity but it’ll take us weeks rather than months to deliver. 

2. Will your system integrate with my existing tech stack?

Yes, it will seamlessly connect with all of them. 

3. Can I migrate from a SaaS tool to your custom-built solution?

Absolutely. We will guide the transition process, ensuring smooth data migration and training.

4. What kind of continuous support can I expect?

Updates, system enhancements and dedicated post-launch support are some examples. 

5. Can I start with a basic quoting system and scale it up later?

Of course. Our flexible, modifiable tools support growth and scalability.