Improve Usability for Account Executives

Simplifying the Price Book for Enhanced Usability

Question

Universal Containers is growing its international business. Domestic account executives believe that the standard price book has become difficult to use because there are too many records reflecting different currencies and country-specific product variations.

What should the consultant recommend to improve usability for account executives?

Answers

Explanations

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A. B. C. D.

A

To improve usability for account executives at Universal Containers, who are finding it difficult to use the standard price book due to numerous records reflecting different currencies and country-specific product variations, the consultant should recommend the following:

Option A: Use custom price books for domestic and international customers.

Explanation: Custom price books allow for greater flexibility and organization of products and prices based on specific customer requirements. By creating separate price books for domestic and international customers, Universal Containers can tailor the pricing information to their respective needs.

The advantages of using custom price books include:

  1. Simplified product selection: Custom price books enable account executives to focus on relevant products and pricing information specific to their customers. By separating domestic and international price books, executives can easily access the relevant information without having to navigate through irrelevant data.

  2. Streamlined pricing management: With custom price books, Universal Containers can maintain different prices and currencies based on customer location. This ensures accurate and up-to-date pricing information is available for each market, simplifying the pricing management process.

  3. Enhanced reporting and analysis: Custom price books facilitate better reporting and analysis by allowing the company to track and analyze sales performance, revenue, and profitability based on specific regions or markets. This data can be used to make informed business decisions and identify trends in different customer segments.

Option B: Create product families to enable users to filter by continent and country.

Explanation: Product families provide a way to categorize and group related products together. By creating product families based on continents and countries, Universal Containers can offer a streamlined view of products and enable account executives to filter and search for products specific to their customers' locations.

The benefits of using product families include:

  1. Efficient product categorization: By categorizing products into families based on continents and countries, account executives can easily locate and recommend products that are relevant to their customers. This reduces the time and effort required to search for specific products among a large catalog.

  2. Targeted product recommendations: With product families, account executives can quickly identify product variations or options specific to certain regions or countries. This allows them to make targeted recommendations to customers based on their unique needs and preferences.

  3. Improved customer experience: By offering a more tailored and focused view of products, Universal Containers can enhance the customer experience. Account executives can provide accurate and relevant information to customers, resulting in improved customer satisfaction and increased sales opportunities.

Option C: Update the product naming conventions to include the currency in the product name.

Explanation: Updating the product naming conventions to include the currency in the product name can help account executives easily identify the currency associated with each product. This approach provides a visual cue and reduces the need for executives to search for the currency information separately.

The benefits of updating the product naming conventions include:

  1. Clear identification of currency: By incorporating the currency in the product name, account executives can quickly identify the currency associated with each product. This eliminates the need for additional research or reference, saving time and improving efficiency.

  2. Reduced confusion: In a scenario where there are multiple currencies and country-specific product variations, explicitly mentioning the currency in the product name helps avoid confusion and potential errors in pricing and quoting. Account executives can confidently select the appropriate product for their customers' currency requirements.

  3. Enhanced accuracy in pricing: Including the currency in the product name ensures that account executives can accurately quote prices to customers, reducing the chances of errors or miscommunication. This contributes to a more streamlined and error-free sales process.

Option D: Use separate product catalogs for domestic and international customers.

Explanation: Using separate product catalogs for domestic and international customers involves maintaining distinct catalogs containing products specific to each customer segment. This approach allows account executives to access the relevant product information without being overwhelmed by irrelevant options.

The benefits of using separate product catalogs include:

  1. Improved focus and efficiency: Separate product catalogs enable