Understanding PeopleSoft Proposal Management Integration
PeopleSoft Proposal Management is part of a suite of Enterprise Service Automation (ESA) applications, within PeopleSoft Financial Management Solutions' product line. PeopleSoft CRM has the ability to send PeopleSoft Proposal Management information when an engagement service product is included in a quote. This occurs if the quote originates from a PeopleSoft Sales lead or opportunity, or if the quote is entered directly on the Order Capture Entry Form. Integration points between Order Capture and PeopleSoft Proposal Management are synchronous in order to receive the proposal and version IDs assigned when a proposal is created.
You can also receive pricing information when an engagement is fulfilled in PeopleSoft Proposal Management. Updates are made to prices on the quote and on the lead or opportunity. PeopleSoft CRM workflow informs the sales representative that the lead or opportunity has been updated. Status updates are transmitted between PeopleSoft Sales and the Proposal Management system when a lead or opportunity or quote is sold or lost. This again occurs through the Order Capture application.
Organizations must make informed decisions about which opportunities to pursue based on estimated cost and potential revenue. In addition, each opportunity may have several different scenarios for its completion, each with its own estimated costs. At any point in your business cycle, your organization may be faced with service-related opportunities. Customers using Order Capture can initiate service-based proposals from within Order Capture through an interface with PeopleSoft Proposal Management. For opportunities requiring manual entry, you can create and price multiple service-based proposals.
Engagement services are tracked as service-type products in the PeopleSoft CRM Product Data Model. Sales users can add these product types to a lead or opportunity. The price is pulled from the list price and sales users can override it with an initial price. When the lead or opportunity is converted to a quote and the quote is submitted, a message is sent from Order Capture to PeopleSoft Proposal Management with the necessary information for the engagement to be priced. A proposal is created for each product line sent to PeopleSoft Proposal Management.
Order Capture's integration to PeopleSoft Proposal Management allows your organization to perform all of the following activities:
Generate multiple proposal versions to find the situation that best fits your business needs. Once a proposal is finalized, you can use the data you have already entered for that proposal to create contracts and projects in PeopleSoft Contracts and PeopleSoft Project Costing, assuming you have purchased those Enterprise Service Automation application modules.
Pursue an initiative or engagement service contract that has not yet been accepted.
Create and edit proposals, copy proposals, customize rates, view all current proposals, configure a list to view only selected proposals, view overall proposal cost and billing information, and store and view relevant files such as requests for proposals and terms and conditions.
Create versions of a project that could possibly be done in different ways. This highlights cost differences between completing an assignment in a very short time frame using many resources, and completing the same assignment in a longer time frame with fewer resources. You can then look at the problem from different angles and choose the most practical solution.
Develop and administer project proposals to better expedite closure of business opportunities, and reuse proposal versions for future engagements.