Secure sales with quotation tool

A subsidiary of Finnish Carcoteg, Hiab, is the leading supplier of intelligent and sustainable load handling solutions. Hiab aims to be the strongest equipment supplier in its market and builds a significant competitive advantage with comprehensive services.

HiQ is Hiab's long-term technology partner. HiQ has been helping since 2018 to ensure that Hiab's internal processes and offered solutions are seamless and maximize the customer's equipment investment and ongoing services.

Digital value for equipment investments

Hiab strives to improve its customers' safety, efficiency, work and maintenance with advanced digital solutions. For example, the sensors installed in the cranes tell Hiab's customers how their equipment stocks are doing: whether certain cranes are causing problems, and whether the forklifts are being operated safely. Sensors automatically generate warnings to the portal, which helps the operator get feedback on his work, anticipate risks, optimize the equipment's maintenance needs and improve general safety.

With the help of maintenance contracts and remote diagnostic tools, Hiab is able to optimize the usability and life cycle of its customers' devices. If the equipment needs maintenance, Hiab can already remotely locate the model of the equipment and the possible cause of the problem. Thanks to this, the right spare part is already ready for the maintenance procedure at its best.

Sales quotation tool

In 2021, Hiab recognized that in the sale of maintenance contracts market-specific differences and upgrade needs slowed down the segment's growth. The different bidding templates were challenging to use and maintain, which is why the decision was made to develop a new centralized bidding tool. After the survey, HiQ was selected as a partner for the project.

"We had cooperated with Hiq people for several years, so they knew our people and operating environment well. The choice of HiQ was also supported by pricing, technical ability and a realistic estimate of the schedule", describes Samppa Hyrkäs, Project Manager Technology & Solutions, Hiab Services.

The development of the tool was agile, as HiQ was able to utilize the design system it had developed for previously implemented applications.

We saved Hiab's time and money by using ready-made react components, from which we had created a library based on the design system.

Pre-Sales Architect, HiQ

Sebastian Hemmilä

"We saved Hiab time and money by using ready-made React components, from which we had created a library based on the design system. Using the same library, backend and frontend in all applications, further development can be carried out as efficiently as possible. The user experience remains consistent between different devices," says Sebastian Hemmilä, HiQ Finland's Pre-Sales Architect.

With the help of the tool, every offer becomes consistent and reflects the Hiab brand. It speeds up the work of sellers, automatically reports missing information and is easily downloadable as a PDF. The bidding tool was first introduced in Europe, Australia and the UK, after which the United States has also been included.

"Service models, prices and contract options differ between countries. Statutory matters also affect the use of the tool. It is now easy for us to maintain and develop the tool internally and modify it for the needs of different regions," says Hyrkäs.

Independent offer making

According to Hyrkäs, the user-friendly and visually pleasing bidding tool has helped to improve and increase sales, which is directly reflected in the number of new contracts. The ProCare business is growing at a good pace and sales are streamlined. While offer creation created friction for sales previously, today it is so uncomplicated that not only sellers but also service personnel have been able to make offers independently.

The standardized tool has also enabled the development of internal reporting.

"We have been able to create significantly better reporting around the standardized bidding tool. This is a great way to gather analytics, develop operations and pricing, and perform customer-specific analyzes in different countries," Hyrkäs says.

Hyrkäs praises the smooth cooperation and interaction with HiQ.

"We appreciate the proactive approach of HiQ's developers: working is conversational, and we always think together about how it makes the most sense to work. The implementation of the tool exceeded our expectations and HiQ has played a significant role in the fact that we have been able to develop our business and help our customers succeed even better."