Efficient quotation calculation despite staff shortages

The shortage of skilled labour is becoming an increasingly serious challenge for industrial companies. There is a lack of qualified employees, particularly in technical and commercial areas, which has a considerable impact on operations. In the area of quotation costing, the lack of personnel leads to specific problems. Costing processes are often carried out by a small number of specialists whose expertise is difficult to replace. Dangerous gaps in knowledge arise when staff are absent or change. In addition, the increasing complexity of modern products and services requires in-depth expertise that cannot be built up ad hoc. The lead times for quotations are becoming longer, while at the same time customers expect ever faster response times.

The impact on competitiveness is considerable. Delayed quotations lead to missed business opportunities. Incorrect calculations result either in prices that are too high, causing orders to be cancelled, or in prices that are too low, jeopardising profitability. In an increasingly globalised market with high price pressure, such miscalculations can threaten a company’s existence. Industrial companies that do not efficiently structure their quotation processes gradually lose market share to better positioned competitors. The optimisation of costing processes is therefore not just an operational issue for management, but a strategic one.

In this article, you will learn how the use of professional costing software can counteract the growing shortage of personnel in quotation costing. We shed light on the serious consequences of insufficient calculation capacities - from typical bottlenecks and delayed quotation processes to quality risks and economic losses. Subsequently, we explain how automated calculation processes, integrated databases and standardised calculation procedures not only save time and personnel, but also significantly increase the quality of quotations.

The effects of staff shortages in quotation costing permeate almost all of an industrial company's business processes and jeopardise its competitiveness on several levels. From operational bottlenecks and delayed processes to qualitative deficiencies and economic losses - the consequences of insufficient costing capacity are complex and far-reaching. It is particularly problematic that these effects often do not occur in isolation, but can reinforce each other and thus set a negative spiral in motion.

Industrial companies experience several characteristic bottlenecks due to a shortage of personnel in quotation costing, which have a negative impact on business success. The concentration of costing expertise on individual employees represents a considerable risk. Often, only a few specialists have the necessary in-depth understanding of product costs, manufacturing processes and market prices. As a result, these knowledge carriers become irreplaceable key personnel whose absence due to illness, holiday or dismissal has a direct impact on the ability to offer.

Another typical bottleneck arises from the parallel processing of numerous enquiries. While the lack of personnel limits the available capacity, the number of enquiries to be processed increases at the same time. This discrepancy inevitably leads to prioritisation decisions in which smaller or less obviously profitable enquiries are put on hold. As a result, potential business opportunities remain unutilised.

The increasing complexity of modern products further exacerbates this problem. Quotation costing today requires a comprehensive understanding of technical specifications, alternative manufacturing processes and global supply chains. Building up this expertise takes time and experience. New employees cannot be immediately deployed as fully-fledged estimators, which further increases the capacity gap.

The necessary coordination with other departments also becomes a bottleneck. Without sufficient staff, there is no time for the important communication with technology, production and sales. This leads to information deficits in the calculation and thus to inaccuracies in pricing. The lack of qualified estimators thus creates a vicious circle of time pressure, quality losses and further work intensification for the remaining specialists.

Delays in the quotation process due to staff shortages have far-reaching negative consequences. In many industries today, customers expect quotation responses within a few days or even hours. Companies that are unable to fulfil this expectation fall behind the competition. Particularly in the case of time-critical projects or tenders with fixed deadlines, late bids lead to direct exclusion from the tender procedure.

The relationship with the customer also suffers from slow quotation processes. Delays are often interpreted as a lack of appreciation or lack of interest. This damages the relationship of trust and the company's reputation. Customers who have to wait repeatedly for quotations turn to more responsive competitors at some point of time. The loss of established customer relationships is particularly painful, as acquiring new customers is significantly more time-consuming and cost-intensive than maintaining existing customers.

Delays also have problematic consequences internally. It becomes more difficult to plan capacity utilisation in production and logistics if orders are received irregularly due to delayed quotation processes. This leads to inefficient utilisation of resources with idle times on the one hand and capacity bottlenecks on the other. There is also an increased communication effort, as customers and sales employees frequently enquire about the status of outstanding quotations.

Delayed quotations also affect the company's strategic market position. The reduced frequency of quotations leads to a lower market presence and a gradual loss of market share. Competitors who can act faster occupy attractive market segments and develop strong customer relationships. Particularly in innovative areas or with new technologies, the ability to provide quotations promptly can be decisive for long-term market leadership.

The lack of personnel in quotation calculation not only leads to delays, but also significantly impairs the quality of the quotations produced. Estimators working under time pressure often resort to simplified calculation methods. They use lump sums or empirical rates instead of detailed individual calculations. These simplifications may save time, but they harbour the risk of significant misjudgements in the actual costs.

The thorough examination of customer requirements also suffers from capacity bottlenecks. Technical specifications may not be fully recorded or their impact on the cost structure may be underestimated. Particularly in the case of complex products or customised products, this leads to incomplete service descriptions in the quotation. This later results in supplements or renegotiations, which have a negative impact on both the customer relationship and profitability.

Another quality risk arises from the fact that the calculation bases used are not up to date. The continuous maintenance of material databases, machine hourly rates and supplier prices requires time, which is often not sufficiently available due to staff shortages. Calculations based on outdated data lead to unrealistic pricing. In times of volatile raw material and energy prices, this problem is particularly serious and can have a considerable financial impact.

The lack of dual control poses an additional risk. In well-staffed calculation departments, quotations are usually checked by a second expert in order to minimise errors. This important quality assurance step is often omitted when there is a shortage of staff. Even experienced estimators can make mistakes under time pressure that go undetected without cross-checking. This can lead to costly errors of judgement that only become apparent after the order has been placed and can then hardly be corrected.

Last but not least, there is a lack of time for strategic price considerations when personnel resources are scarce. Instead of developing differentiated pricing strategies for different customers or market segments, the calculation is limited to pure cost considerations with standardised mark-ups. As a result, potential for optimised market prices and higher margins remains untapped.

Incorrect calculations have direct and often serious economic consequences for industrial companies. If costs are underestimated, this leads to orders with insufficient margins or even losses. This under-calculation usually goes unnoticed until production has already started and the actual costs become apparent. At this point, contractual obligations have been entered into that hardly allow for subsequent price adjustments. Particularly in the case of long-term projects or framework agreements, such errors can have a negative impact on the operating result for years to come.

Conversely, excessive costing leads to the loss of orders to more attractively priced competitors. These lost sales are not immediately visible in the company's accounts, but nevertheless have a negative impact on overall profitability due to the lack of coverage of fixed costs. In addition, a creeping loss of market share occurs when customers systematically migrate to lower-priced providers. Winning back these customers later requires considerable sales efforts and often also price concessions.

Correcting calculation errors causes additional costs due to rework, customer complaints and internal clarification processes. These indirect follow-up costs often exceed the original calculation error many times over. They tie up valuable resources in analysing and rectifying errors instead of using them for future-oriented tasks. In serious cases, calculation errors can even lead to legal disputes with customers, resulting in considerable reputational damage as well as financial losses.

The implementation of professional costing software offers industrial companies a promising solution to the challenges of staff shortages in quotation costing. Modern costing systems have developed considerably in recent years and are now powerful tools that are specially tailored to the needs of manufacturing companies. They combine industry-specific expertise with flexible customisation options, thereby creating significant added value compared to generic solutions.

The core functions of professional costing software include much more than just calculation options. They include structured database functions for material, machine and process data, intelligent pre-calculation modules for different manufacturing processes as well as comprehensive reporting and analysis functions. Modern solutions also have interfaces that enable seamless integration into existing IT landscapes.

Compared to Excel-based solutions or self-developed applications, professional costing systems offer decisive advantages. While Excel is perfectly suitable for simple calculations, it quickly reaches its limits with complex calculation models, multiple users and large amounts of data. Self-developed solutions often suffer from a lack of maintainability and high dependency on individual IT employees. Professional costing software, on the other hand, offers tested functionality, regular updates and technical support. It also minimises the risk of calculation errors thanks to validated algorithms and integrated plausibility checks.

The implementation of professional costing software offers industrial companies comprehensive relief potential that can effectively compensate for staff shortages in quotation costing. Through targeted process optimisation and intelligent functions, the software helps to achieve more with fewer staff - while at the same time increasing quality. The relief effects work on several levels: From the automation of recurring calculation processes and time savings through integrated databases and templates to error reduction through standardised calculation procedures and support with complex pricing strategies. Together, these complementary benefits create a powerful set of tools that companies can use to future-proof their calculation processes, even under difficult personnel conditions.

One of the main strengths of professional costing software lies in the automation of recurring calculation processes. This automation significantly reduces the workload of existing staff and thus directly compensates for the shortage of skilled labour.

For example, the software automatically calculates material costs based on current purchase prices and parts lists. Production times are calculated precisely using stored work schedules and machine data. Surcharges for overheads, risks or profit margins are consistently applied to all costing elements according to defined rules. This automation not only ensures considerable time savings, but also a consistent calculation logic across all quotations.

The ability of modern costing systems to process complex calculation scenarios is particularly valuable. Variant calculations, which would take a lot of time to perform manually, can be created and compared in a matter of seconds. The system takes into account different manufacturing processes, material options or batch sizes and helps to determine the optimum constellation in each case.

By automating recurring calculation processes, companies can create a higher number of quotations in less time and with consistently high quality despite a shortage of staff. The freed-up capacities of the specialists can be used for more demanding tasks such as strategic pricing or the optimisation of calculation models. Automation therefore makes a significant contribution to increasing the efficiency of quotation calculation and ensuring the company's competitiveness.

Professional costing software offers considerable time savings through integrated databases and ready-made templates, which directly counteract the lack of personnel in quotation calculation. Centralised data storage eliminates time-consuming searches for current prices, technical specifications or previous calculations. All relevant information is available in a structured form in one place and can be transferred directly to new quotations.

Material databases in modern costing software provide comprehensive information that is available to all cost estimators without the need for research or coordination. In the event of price changes, a single update in the database is sufficient to automatically supply all subsequent calculations with the correct values. This centralised data maintenance not only saves time, but also reduces sources of error due to outdated or inconsistent price information.

Particularly valuable are the template functions integrated into costing software. Calculation templates can be stored for recurring products or product groups, which serve as the basis for new quotations. These templates already contain the basic structure, typical production steps and standard components. The calculator only has to make the customer-specific adjustments instead of creating each quotation from scratch. For series parts with minor variations, the time saved with such templates can be up to 80 per cent.

The use of professional costing software leads to a significant reduction in calculation errors thanks to standardised calculation procedures. This reduction in errors is particularly valuable in times of staff shortages, when there is less time available for manual checking processes. The software implements standardised calculation methods based on mathematically valid formulas and industry best practices.

Standardised calculation procedures eliminate the inconsistencies that inevitably arise with individual calculation approaches by different employees. While each estimator brings their own personal approach and experience to manual calculations, the software ensures a consistent methodology. This consistency ensures that comparable products or services are calculated according to the same scheme, regardless of which employee prepares the quotation.

Modern costing systems also have integrated plausibility checks that automatically identify typical sources of error. The software recognises unusual deviations, missing calculation components or logical contradictions in the calculation. These checking mechanisms act as a digital four-eyes principle and thus partially compensate for the lack of personnel for mutual checks. The estimator is alerted to potential problems and can make targeted improvements before the quotation is sent to the customer.

The reduction of calculation errors through standardised procedures has direct economic benefits. Costly under-calculations are avoided, as are inflated prices that would lead to lost orders. The greater reliability of the calculation results strengthens management's confidence in the quotation calculation and enables more precise sales and earnings forecasts. At the same time, customer confidence increases thanks to consistent and comprehensible price structures. The standardised costing procedures therefore not only counteract the acute shortage of personnel, but also strengthen the company's competitive position in the long term.

The implementation of professional costing software leads to a comprehensive increase in efficiency throughout the entire quotation process and thus creates a decisive competitive advantage for industrial companies. The quotation process, which extends from the initial customer enquiry to the final submission of the quotation, is not only accelerated by digital support, but also improved in terms of quality. At the same time, limited human resources are optimally utilised.

The acceleration of quotation preparation represents an immediately noticeable advantage. While manual calculations can take several days or even weeks, depending on their complexity, specialised software significantly reduces this time. This increase in speed results from the interplay of automated calculations, pre-configured templates and intelligent data transfer from existing systems. The time savings are particularly noticeable for similar enquiries or variants of existing products. As a result, companies can respond more quickly to customer enquiries and fulfil the increasing expectations of short response times.

At the same time, the quality of the quotations created is improved. The software ensures the completeness and consistency of all calculation components and prevents typical errors such as overlooked cost factors or incorrect calculations. The quotations become more precise and reliable, which minimises the risk of subsequent recalculations or loss of profit. This improvement in quality strengthens customers' confidence in the company's expertise and can be the deciding factor when awarding contracts.

The increased efficiency in the quotation process has a direct impact on business success. Companies can process more enquiries with the same number of staff, respond more quickly to market opportunities and produce higher quality quotations. These improvements lead to higher quotation success rates and ultimately to increased sales and improved profitability. The initial investment in professional costing software therefore usually pays for itself within a short period of time and represents a strategically smart response to the challenges posed by the shortage of skilled labour.