Quotes

A customer might want to get a cost quotation before deciding whether to place an order. You can use the IBM Sales Center to create a quote for a new or existing customer by beginning with an empty quote, or you can use it to create a new quote based on the information in an existing quote or order. You can also modify many of the details in an existing quote (such as item quantities, shipping addresses, and so on).

In addition, you can view and work with merchandising associations related to the items in a quote as well as view marketing promotions that might be of interest to the customer.

Blocks can be placed on a quote automatically, and you can work with these blocks to resolve any issues. Blocks on quotes do not prevent anything from happening within the quote; but when an order gets generated from a quote, any blocks that are applicable are transferred to the order and prevent it from being released to fulfillment until the blocks are removed by an authorized person.

The status of any quote on which you are working is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the IBM Sales Center. A quote can be in any one of the following states:

New

The quote has been started, but it has not yet been completed. This state is denoted as "NEW".

Ready

The quote has been completed, and it has not yet expired. This state is denoted as "RDY".

Canceled

The quote has been canceled or has expired. This state is denoted as "CAN"