Reynaers Aluminium supports fabricators with Hive CPQ

Reynaers Aluminium, Belgian market leader with headquarters in Duffel, Antwerp, develops aluminium profile systems for the construction industry. In order to support their wide network of customers, they rely on Hive's CPQ software. Product Manager Digital Services Stephanie Kellens and Manager Industry 4.0 Dimitri Van Nuland tell us how.

Extensive product range for the building envelope

From windows and doors to solar shading and façades: Reynaers Aluminium products find their way into homes, hotels, office buildings and more. Product Manager Digital Services Stephanie Kellens explains, "Reynaers Aluminium is an innovative and driven systems company that develops, tests and certifies high-quality and sustainable solutions based on aluminium profiles. We sell these to fabricators who in turn make finished products from them. In this way, we want to improve the living and working environment of people all over the world.”

To do so, Reynaers Aluminium offers an extensive range of products. Dimitri Van Nuland is, together with his team, responsible for developing automation solutions for their customers. "We have about 70 product lines, which are adapted to our customer’s needs and existing trends in the various markets. Our profiles are used in numerous applications, with additional properties such as insulation level, fire resistance, burglary resistance or acoustic insulation."

The extra mile for the fabricators

Reynaers Aluminium supplies these profiles to fabricators, who convert them into end products such as windows and doors. Stephanie explains, "Some of these fabricators sell directly to end customers, while others work with dealers or installers."

Reynaers Aluminium focuses on providing the best possible service for the fabricators. Stephanie continues, "We don't just sell aluminium profiles, we also facilitate everything around it to support fabricators as best we can. For example, we certify our solutions and provide the necessary documentation and marketing materials. We also make sure that they have the right software for making quotations, and we make sure they have access to the best possible automated solution by providing machines and tools. Finally, we also help the customer in terms of logistics."

This is how Reynaers Aluminium goes the extra mile for its customers. "It’s how we distinguish ourselves from other system suppliers. With Reynaers Aluminium we not only focus on inspiration and innovation – as with our website, social media, brochures, exhibition stands and more – but also on service and partnership. We realize that without the fabricators and installers, we would not exist."

Dimitri agrees, "We have about 4,000 partners worldwide. We share our family values: quality, reliability, passion and unity. It’s with these values in mind that we want to support our fabricators in their sales process."

Growing workload due to quotation requests

Drawing up quotations is an important part of that sales process. Dimitri explains, "Increased digitalisation has changed the scope of the end customer. They increasingly request several quotations from different suppliers and want to receive them as quickly as possible. Fabricators have to deliver more quotations faster, without compromising on quality. That is why the fabricators asked for a solution whereby their dealers or installers could draw up their own quotations and deliver them to the end customer”.

Stephanie comments, "On top of that, fabricators want to be able to decide which systems and options can be ordered. Additionally, these quotations made a lot of stops in between, from the fabricator via the installer to the end customer, and back again when changes were required. This cumbersome back-and-forth hassle increased the risk of errors and slowed down the sales process. We wanted to do something about that.”

Calculation and production package as temporary solution: ReynaPro

Stephanie explains, "We worked in different phases. We started by offering ReynaPro to our fabricators, a software package that we purchased and adapted to our needs. With this calculation and production package, fabricators immediately had a clear overview of the extensive Reynaers Aluminium range of products and could easily draw up a project and generate a quotation to send to the dealer. The dealer in turn presents this quotation to the end customer. If the end customer requested changes, the dealer had to consult the fabricator again to update the quotation in ReynaPro. This could go on for quite a while. We noticed that this process created very long waiting times at the dealers."

Dimitri adds, "An additional challenge for the fabricators was to keep the offer, the available systems and the options, up to date for the various installers. That was done manually, as was keeping track of the different commercial conditions for each installer. This also increased the chance of errors."

Stephanie continues, "And after getting the quotation, the installers still reworked that quotation so that it was suitable for the end customer. A very time-consuming process, with a high risk of errors."

New module with more options for fabricators: ReynaPro Installer

Improvement came in the second phase. Stephanie: "We then decided to open up ReynaPro to dealers and installers as well. Via an extra module, ReynaPro Installer, fabricators could make their range of products accessible to their dealers and/or installers so that they in turn could generate a quotation themselves. They could also add additional costs to the quotation. The fabricator can then consult this model in ReynaPro and adjust it where necessary.”

This was quite a big improvement, Dimitri explains, "ReynaPro Installer already offered many solutions, such as eliminating waiting times for dealers, lost time for the fabricator and miscommunication between fabricator and dealer. Plus, the fabricator was always in control of the offer to his or her dealers, and the installer could draw up his or her own quotations without cutting and pasting."

Stephanie adds, "But for salespeople or people with less technical product knowledge, ReynaPro Installer proved too complex. Both the program and the insight into the Reynaers Aluminium product range were too technical. Moreover, the software was only accessible from a correctly linked computer. Many people had to visit the office, just to be able to set up a quotation.”

Upgrade of existing software: Hive CPQ

"With this feedback, we started looking for a way to further improve the product," Stephanie concludes. This is where Hive CPQ comes in. Dimitri explains, "One of our colleagues got to know Hive at a trade fair. We immediately saw the possibilities."

Stephanie adds, "We knew that we were looking for something along the lines of a product configurator. There are many of them nowadays. But most of them work with inaccurate grid prices, and we know that our customers want to work with correct prices." For Dimitri, the match with Hive became clear quickly. "In Hive, we found a partner who wants to raise the bar, who can empathize with us and who wants to look for the best suitable solution together."

That suitable solution turned out to be a commercial layer on top of the existing ReynaPro. This ‘upgrade’ combines the strengths of ReynaPro by showing the correct prices, with a more user-friendly interface that is easily accessible for sellers and less technical profiles.

Stephanie: "We named it ReynaQuote. ReynaQuote enables dealers and installers to generate quotations quickly and easily via a user-friendly and customized configure-price-quote solution, available on tablet and smartphone as well. Fabricators remain in control, as they can determine which systems or fittings options are offered. It also allows them to check each configuration before it goes into production. Finally, ReynaQuote ensures that communication between the fabricator and installer is centralized through order tracking."

Stephanie explains, “The main added value for fabricators is the accessibility and user-friendliness. Users need less or no training. Drawing up a quotation is now wonderfully simple and intuitive for both fabricators and installers, so much faster than before. Furthermore, orders can be followed up more easily in one and the same tool. That makes ReynaQuote a tool that helps our customers grow. It is a solution that is attuned to both the commercial needs of customers and their technical manufacturing needs."

Enlightening collaboration with Hive CPQ

Dimitri agrees that the collaboration has been interesting and enlightening for both parties. "There was no outlined roadmap. We really had to innovate, constantly adapt and remain creative. By means of workshops and follow-up meetings, we arrived at a product with which both parties are very satisfied."

Stephanie adds, "ReynaPro's software supplier was also involved in the development. Thanks to the drive and commitment of all teams, we achieved today's result. We also asked for regular feedback from our customers and made adjustments where necessary."

Dimitri: "We have nothing but praise for the Hive team. They have always assisted and supported us. Their in-depth knowledge was necessary to build ReynaQuote, because it was not always easy."

The development was a challenge for Hive as well. Hive CTO Stijn De Mulder explains: "You wouldn't expect it, but a window is incredibly complex. Reynaers Aluminium and their fabricators offer the widest possible range, with an enormous variety of glass types, profile types and colors. An ordinary product configurator, for example, has a number of standard colors, but Reynaers Aluminium works with its own color codes and combinations. Capturing this complexity in a user-friendly configurator was not easy.”

“But it’s not just about the configuration: installers can, for example, determine and add installation costs, finishing costs, break-out costs and more. In this way, the customer receives a true final quotation, including all costs. All this proved to be quite a challenge, but we succeeded. A complex sliding window can now be configured in just 20 seconds."

Promising outlook

ReynaQuote is as good as finished. Dimitri says, "We will go live soon. We expect that our clients (the fabricators) and their customers (the installers) will be able to use their existing commercial capacity more efficiently thanks to ReynaQuote. That way, they will have more time for human interaction." Stephanie is also optimistic. "We predict that the adoption will go smoothly. The first reactions have already been very positive. Especially the user-friendly interface appeals."

What does the future hold? Dimitri says, "We have to take into account implementation times with our customers, during a very busy commercial period. It will be challenging to scale up our solution quickly. We will have to support our customers as much as possible in doing so."

Stephanie adds, "Moreover, ReynaQuote is a quotation tool today. I see added value in linking ReynaQuote to other platforms so that fabricators or installers can easily look up the necessary information from there and customers can be served more efficiently."

Dimitri concludes, "In general, we continue to fully commit to digitalisation and automation. We are aware that it is becoming increasingly difficult for fabricators to find experienced staff and that efficiency and quality make the difference here. Therefore, we want to make their end-to-end process as simple and strong as possible."