Inquiries and quotations record the stage before an order is confirmed. SD calls them pre-sales documents.
Why record anything before an order
Recording only orders leaves no trace of business that was pursued and lost. Pre-sales documents make several analyses possible.
- How many quotations converted into orders โ the win rate
- Why business was lost, through rejection reason codes
- Which products are attracting enquiries, as a leading demand indicator
- Average lead time from quotation to order
Inquiry compared with quotation
| Aspect | Inquiry | Quotation |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | A question from the customer | A formal offer from you |
| Document type | IN | QT |
| Transactions | VA11 / VA12 / VA13 | VA21 / VA22 / VA23 |
| Pricing | Indicative | The offered price |
| Validity | Optional | Normally set |
| Binding | No | Bound to the offered terms while valid |
In practice inquiries are often skipped, and in repeat B2B business the quotation is skipped too because standing price conditions already exist.
Validity periods
Quotations carry validity start and end dates, and converting an expired quotation raises a warning.
The point of a validity period is to bound price risk. Where raw material prices move, short validity limits the exposure.
Converting to an order
When the customer orders, create the sales order with reference to the quotation, choosing create with reference in VA01 and naming the quotation.
Referencing copies the content across and establishes the document flow, so the order can be traced back to the quotation it came from โ which is what makes win-rate analysis possible.
| Method | What it does |
|---|---|
| Copy all items | The whole quotation becomes the order |
| Select items | Only chosen items are converted |
| Change quantity | Order less than was quoted |
Partially converted quotations leave the remainder open, to be closed manually or converted later.
Recording why business was lost
A quotation that does not convert should be given a reason for rejection, which removes the item from the pipeline and records why.
Codes such as price too high, lead time unacceptable and lost to competitor turn lost business into analysable data, useful when deciding discount policy or where to improve lead times.