Costing & Sales Funnel¶

CostEngine (MfgIQ) is designed to optimize the Costing-to-Cash Funnel. By accelerating the middle of the funnel (Technical Costing), we increase the throughput of the entire sales operation.

The Costing Funnel¶

graph TD
    A([1. RFQ INGESTION]) -- "Lead Capture" --> B([2. TECHNICAL COSTING])
    B -- "Efficiency & Accuracy" --> C([3. MARGIN STRATEGY])
    C -- "Risk Assessment" --> D([4. QUOTE GENERATION])
    D -- "Professionalism" --> E([5. WIN / LOSS])

    subgraph "Top of Funnel"
    A
    end

    subgraph "The Engine (MfgIQ)"
    B
    C
    D
    end

    subgraph "Business Outcome"
    E
    end

    style B fill:#fff3e0,stroke:#ff9800,stroke-width:2px
    style C fill:#fff3e0,stroke:#ff9800,stroke-width:2px
    style D fill:#fff3e0,stroke:#ff9800,stroke-width:2px

Funnel Stage Definitions & Metrics¶

1. RFQ Ingestion (Lead Capture)¶

The raw volume of requests for quotation coming from customers. - Metric: Monthly RFQ Volume. - MfgIQ Value: Centralizes all requests in a single database instead of scattered emails.

2. Technical Costing (Workhorse)¶

Translating parts specifications into actual manufacturing costs. - Metric: Lead Time to Cost (LTC). - MfgIQ Value: Reduces manual entry time by 60-70% via Excel mapping and defaults.

3. Margin Strategy (Decision Quality)¶

Applying the right overheads and profit margins to remain competitive. - Metric: Estimator Variance. - MfgIQ Value: Ensures consistency; different estimators arrive at the same cost for the same part.

4. Quote Generation (Professionalism)¶

Producing the final customer-facing PDF/Excel packages. - Metric: Time to Quote (TTQ). - MfgIQ Value: "Quote-ready in minutes" ensures you are the first to respond to an RFQ.

5. Win / Loss (The Bottom Line)¶

The final result of the quotation process. - Metric: Quote Win Rate. - MfgIQ Value: Detailed data on why segments are being lost (e.g., "Too high on machining overheads") enables strategic adjustments.

Funnel to Use Case Mapping¶

To ensure the funnel is operational, the following technical Use Cases must be implemented:

Business Impact Summary¶