PAUL SHAW, OPERATIONS DIRECTOR AT CATERQUOTES,
REVEALS WHY DISTRIBUTORS, MANUFACTURERS AND SUPPLIERS
WOULD BENEFIT FROM SIGNING UP FOR CONFIGURE PRICE QUOTE
SOFTWARE TO STAY IN FRONT OF THE COMPETITION.Keeping up with technology to
keep ahead of the game
VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY
T
he catering equipment
industry is continually
changing, and it’s vital for
all contenders to utilise the
best sales tools to keep up.
A 2017 CaterQuotes-sponsored
independent research study showed
that, worth approximately £1bn a year
in the UK, the foodservice equipment
industry certainly isn’t diminishing. The
study also showed that with 3% growth
since 2015, the industry is expected to
show a further development of 2-3%
per year until 2021. Around 70% of
this £1bn industry is made up from
equipment sales. Dealers are stepping
up their attempt to retain the bigger
share of the market’s sales, with 65% of
end customer sales coming from the
industry’s kitchen houses.
An increase in competitiveness,
though, means those sales and their
route to market are much different to
what they once were. As with numerous
industries across the UK, the World
Wide Web is generating change. With
the masses of information available
on the internet and its ease of creating
sales, it’s becoming more common for
dealers to set up e-commerce sites for
“The use of CPQ
software gives
foodservice
professionals the
power to create the
best possible quote
for the end user,
thus increasing the
chance of sale.”equipment sales. Manufacturers are
following this trend too, developing
their own e-commerce sites. Amazon
Business is seeking to take its own share
of the UK catering equipment market,
adding further competition to the mix.
For those looking to stay ahead of
their rivals, cut through the clutter
of multiple e-commerce sites, and
provide their customers with the best
and most up to date equipment prices,
configure price quote (CPQ) software
is a wise choice. CPQ software is a
sales tool designed to help companies
create fast and accurate quotes, giving
sales personnel all the information and
pricing they need at their fingertips. The
use of CPQ software gives foodservice
professionals the power to create the
best possible quote for the end user,
thus increasing the chance of sale.
CaterQuotes has been serving the
UK catering industry as its leading
CPQ software since 2007, bridging
the gap between manufacturers and
dealers, and allowing the quotation,
specification and purchasing of catering
equipment quickly and efficiently. Over
200 manufacturers are published in
CaterQuotes, giving them the chance tobe seen by dealers who use our detailed
information to filter, compare and
choose efficiently, without the need for
researching multiple e-commerce sites,
websites, and paper catalogues.
Being a technology-based
business, CaterQuotes is here as a
solutions leader to ensure that both
manufacturers and dealers remain
on track as the industry progresses.
We actively work with the catering
equipment industry and with
associations such as CESA CEDA,
Cedabond and ENSE.
We continually evolve our software
to meet industry needs, allowing
our customers to consistently be on
top of the changing environment.
For example, we recently released a
new user interface design that gives
users another option for how they
search, filter, compare and choose
items. Features of new design include
a clean, modern and more visual
interface; streamlined categories and
subcategories; interactive searching
and filtering by key attributes; and
enhanced options for manufacturers to
present more images and media related
to their products and accessories.1
Routes to market
for the catering
equipment
industry.1http://www.cateringinsight.com / FEBRUARY 2018 / C AT E R I N G INSIGHT 13FRONT / NEWS REVIEW