Regional HVAC Distributor Cuts Order Processing Time by 60%
A 3-location HVAC distributor was losing hours every day to manual order entry validation and pricing errors. Custom P21 business rules and automated workflows cut processing time by 60% and virtually eliminated pricing mistakes.
The Challenge
A regional HVAC distributor with three branches and 85 employees was running Prophet 21 with minimal customization. Their order entry process was entirely manual — customer service reps had to cross-reference pricing tiers, check inventory across all three warehouses, validate credit limits, and manually apply contract pricing for their 200+ contract customers.
The result: 45 minutes per order on average, a 12% error rate on pricing, and constant friction between sales and operations. They were leaving money on the table every day — either undercharging on contracts or losing customers to slow turnaround.
They had previously engaged a large consulting firm for a “P21 optimization” project. After six weeks and $35,000, they got a 40-page report full of generic recommendations. Nothing was implemented.
The Solution
I started with a 2-day P21 Health Check to understand their specific configuration, data patterns, and workflow bottlenecks. The audit revealed three high-impact opportunities:
1. Automated Pricing Validation (Business Rule) Built a DynaChange business rule that automatically applies the correct contract pricing tier at order entry. The rule cross-references the customer’s pricing agreement, validates against the current price book, and flags any discrepancies for review — all before the order saves.
2. Multi-Warehouse Inventory Check (Business Rule) Created a compiled C# business rule that checks real-time inventory across all three warehouses during order entry. If the primary warehouse is short, it automatically suggests the nearest branch with stock and calculates transfer lead times. Reps see this information inline — no more calling other branches to check stock.
3. Credit Limit Automation (Workflow) Replaced their manual credit check process with an automated approval workflow. Orders under the customer’s credit limit process immediately. Orders over the limit route to the credit manager with a pre-built summary showing the customer’s payment history, current AR balance, and the specific order details. The credit manager approves or rejects with one click.
4. Custom Dashboard (SSRS) Built a real-time order processing dashboard showing daily order volume, average processing time, error rates, and rep productivity — metrics they had never been able to see before.
The Results
All four deliverables were implemented over a 3-week period with zero disruption to daily operations.
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg order processing time | 45 minutes | 18 minutes | -60% |
| Pricing error rate | 12% | 2% | -83% |
| Revenue recovered from pricing errors | — | $180K/year (est.) | New |
| Credit check turnaround | 4-6 hours | 15 minutes | -95% |
| Orders processed per rep per day | 8-10 | 18-22 | +120% |
Timeline
- Week 1: Health Check and business rules development
- Week 2: Testing in staging environment, user acceptance testing
- Week 3: Production deployment, monitoring, and user training
- Week 4: Post-deployment optimization and dashboard delivery
Total Investment
$12,500 (Health Check + 4 custom deliverables + training)
Estimated annual ROI: $180K+ in recovered revenue from pricing accuracy alone, plus the productivity gains from faster order processing.
Client Testimonial
“Nick understood our P21 setup from day one. No ramp-up time, no hand-holding — just results. The pricing validation rule alone paid for the entire engagement in the first month. I wish we’d found him before spending $35K on that other firm’s report.”
— Operations Manager, Regional HVAC Distributor
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