please answers - case study questions 1,2,3,4

512 Part Three Key System Applications for the Digital Age INTERACTIVE SESSION MANAGEMENT Fujitsu Selects a Saas Solution to Simplify the Sales Process If you surf the web, stream video on your phone, reduce quoting errors and rework. The most criti- or watch cable TV in North America, equipment cal requirements were the ability to centralize and from Fujitsu Network Communications most control all of the quoting that was going on, ensure likely keeps you connected. Fujitsu Network accurate pricing, and ensure that the parts being Communications Inc., based in Richardson, Texas, configured were all available. provides optical and wireless networking equip- A rigorous selection process identified FPX's soft- ment, including servers, storage products, cli- ware as a service (SaaS) CPQ quote solution as the ent computing devices, scanners, printers, and best choice. FPX is a leading vendor of cloud-based displays. It is a leading patent-holder in optical networking, configure-price-quote (CPO) software and a certified SAP Independent Software Vendor (ISV) partner. Fujitsu network equipment provides optical Only the FPX solution had the ability to integrate transport solutions to major telecommunications with Fujitsu's front-end Salesforce lead manage- carriers across North America. There are more than ment and forecasting software and also with data 450,000 Fujitsu network elements, including shelves from the company's back-end ERP system and it and cards that house connectivity hardware, signal- ran on a cloud computing platform. ing and routing setup, and management provision- FPX CPQ automatically configures all sales or- ing. The company's numerous products contain ders, even when they are based on extremely com- thousands of parts and innumerable configuration plex business rules. The software validates all selec- scenarios. A single product, for example, might be tions of products and services to eliminate costly priced differently for 600 separate customers be- rework and helps preserve profit margins by requir- cause pricing is determined by a customer's unique ing approval for discounts that exceed preapproved configurations concerning network sites, geographic levels. locations, and distances between sites. Additionally, For Fujitsu, FPX CPQ automates all of the compa- each of the various sites in a network involves a ny's complex pricing rules and requirements and in- multitude of setup configurations concerning power tegrates them almost in real time with the quoting supply, labeling, and rules for communication. system so that lotes and orders are able to imme. Just think how difficult the process of configuring, diately capture any change to product and materials pricing, and quoting orders for products and ser master data. Pricing that used to take Fujitsu's sales vices might be for a 40-site network, which is not teams days to calculate now just takes seconds. And by centralizing this information, one does not have For many years, Fujitsu sales teams had trouble to pore through individual spreadsheets to see how handling all this complexity in the sales and order pricing is being done. When a change is made, it no ing processes. They had to use individual spread- longer is buried in one or a handful of spreadsheets sheets to configure, price, and quote (CPO) solu maintained by individual sales staff. tions for their customers. The company had no FPX CPQ can also automatically recognize ad- centralized repository for price quotes, records of ditional opportunities based on changing the place offerings, or capability for integrating quotes with ment of a product in a specific location. This fea- the ordering process. Even though Fujitsu had an the cumbersome manual process of ERP system to maintain its enterprise-wide master crosschecking a configuration against a promotion pricing and materials master data, the CPQ process still took days and resulted in quoting errors and the need to make post-sale con- cessions customers who did not initially receive countless hours of corrections and rework. the option. Within six months of imple- A system solution was in order. Dave Hawkins, menting FPX CPQ, Fujitsu was already achieving Fujitsu's Vice President of Sales Engineering, Sales business benefits. A single cloud-based platform Operations, and Commercial Management, and his team issued a request for proposal (RFP) for a for CPQ replaced multiple quoting systems for con- solution that would produce quotes quickly and figuring multishelf and multislot networking plat- uncommon ture eliminates list and eliminates lowest-cost forms. Pricing errors were reduced by 80 percent, The new CPQ system enables Fujitsu to str line the sales process by placing a significant tion of the product data and configuration rules directly within the quoting application. The sale team is able to operate more independently and focus on selling which in turn significantly reduced rework and write-downs (reductions in the value of an asset). The overall cycle time (total time from beginning to end of a process) decreased as well. Moreover, au- tomating the CPQ enterprise-wide made it possible to see more important information about sales, ser- vices, and what customers were requesting. Every time a change is made, such as a new price, new product availability, or a change in a product description, all users can see that change as soon as they access the system and look at their quotes. If a quote is in the process of being gener- ated, Fujitsu can also update that quote with such changes. End users can be out in the field with cus- tomers and show them real-time visual representa- tions of solutions, make changes to configurations, and instantly obtain accurate prices. Sources: "FPX IS Enterprise Solutions for Buyers and FPX.com Press Release, FPX.com, January 2018; "CPQ and Experience Management Revolution," https://cdn2. net, July 15, 2017; "FPX's Smart CPQ-Receiving Top Independent Research Firm-Helps Companies Seize $1 " B2B eCommerce Opportunity," Buinesswire.com, February 07, Ken Murphy, "Fujitsu Untangles Sales Complexities," SAP Profiles, July 6, 2015; "FPX: Single Applicat Channel Management," cioreview.com, acu www.fpx.com, accessed February 20, 2019; ana cessed February 20, 2019 CASE STUDY QUESTIONS 1. What were Fujitsu's problems with its existing sys- tems for the CPQ process? What was the business impact of these problems? 2. List and describe the most important information requirements you would expect to see in Fujitsu's 3. Why was the FPX CPO solution selected? Was it a good choice? Why or why not? 4. Why would software as a service be an appropriate solution for Fujitsu? Should Fujitsu have built its own CPQ system in-house? RED