2005-09-02 -
North America Services’ list of process improvements continues with the release of an integrated proposal process, which will be shared by ATPA North America Services and Systems.
During the past year the North America Services proposal group has aligned staff, and developed common tools and templates supporting MOD 300, Master and Symphony/Harmony process control system evolution proposals, which can be used as a common base for developing proposals by both ATPA groups.
Tim Boldt, ATPA North America Proposal Operations Manager, took the lead last September to kick-off the service proposal process improvement project. He notes, “A proposal from one group did not necessarily match the other, and customers had to wait much too long for a completed proposal. Our goal was to streamline the proposal process with well-defined proposal templates consisting of write-up and cost/price models for each specific offering type. These templates can now be used as a common base. The result is consistent, accurate proposals and increased volume. Continuous feedback and KPIs have been established to continuously drive the improvement process.”
The proposal teams consisting of Systems and Services proposal engineers specialized, aligned by system, industry, and technology type and by request load. The specialized engineers, familiar with each technology, can reduce the time from RFP to proposal delivery.
Commonality provided by off-the-shelf inter-departmental templates for standard offerings, provides a modular base for the development of larger Systems proposals.
“It is a logical partnering beginning with our commitment to our customers,” noted John Murray, VP Open Control Systems Marketing and System Evolution,” we can be more responsive by backing up evolution support and planning with a streamlined process for delivering a faster, standardized proposal product."