# Quote Process

Very often customers want to negotiate the price regarding the products they want to buy. For such a process, it is important that an eCommerce platform supports a more sophisticated process. Requesting a quote is a common use case especially for B2B business model, but within the Emporix platform, the quotes for B2C customers are also supported.

Below you can see the general, simplified flow:

<figure><img src="/files/OffX8ccves2ioeDamvIw" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Not only the customer is able to request quotes, but also the merchant's employee or a sales manager can generate a quote on behalf of the customer. This is described step by step in the 2nd demo scenario - Employee creates quote on behalf of a customer.

Roles included:

* B2B or B2C customer
* Merchant employee who needs to accept or decline a quote request

### Demo scenario - a customer (B2B or B2C) requests a quote

This is a step-by-step description of the quoting process within the Emporix Showcase and what to look for in detail.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

#### Browse for products

Browse for a product by categories or use the search bar to find the product you want to add to the cart.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Open the product details

Choose the product you want to add to the cart and open the product details page.

<figure><img src="/files/d8PA7c6OiO3k1OiQyoNB" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Add the product to the cart

Change the quantity, for example to 5, and add the product to the cart.

**Result**: The following screen is displayed:

<figure><img src="/files/TzzXFzi6A2sX30Nnqb3M" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Adjust the cart

Within the cart, you can change the quantity and a recalculation of the cart takes place.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Request a quote

Choose the **Request quote** button.

<figure><img src="/files/7f6wISsEio41hU31sKYI" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

**Result**: The quote page appears.

<figure><img src="/files/AaAsDDAjlDNW2MWNSncD" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### View the quote overview

Choose the **Quote overview** button. The quote gets the **Awaiting** status.

<figure><img src="/files/Onwexskmi7pX485tfZ43" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Review the quote in Management Dashboard

Open the Management Dashboard and go to **Quotes**. The quotes overview page is displayed.

* The created quote is displayed with the **Awaiting** status.
* The merchant employee is informed by email that a customer created a quote request. The corresponding sales representative or a customer service employee can then work on the quote request quickly.

<figure><img src="/files/l08q1rU2g7bqPr355bRV" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Approve the quote

Open the quote and check its details, prices, and discounts. Go to the **Approval** tab and choose **Approve quote**. You can add a comment from a merchant perspective if needed.

<figure><img src="/files/wpU2S1PLi4FgUwzALFCA" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Click **Update status** and confirm you want to change the quote status.

**Result**: The quote request from the customer is accepted by the merchant and the quote status changes from **Awaiting** to **Open**.

{% hint style="success" %}
It is possible to work on quotes in Management Dashboard and to update them anytime needed. For details on how to work with quotes in MD, see [Quotes](/ce/management-dashboard/quotes.md) documentation.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### View the open quote in the showcase

In the Emporix showcase, the customer goes to the **My Quotes** view under **My Account**. The quote has the **Open** status.

<figure><img src="/files/TmDJslQeU8Wz5NiDlyGu" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="warning" %}
After the merchant employee accepts the quote, the customer gets an email with the corresponding PDF. Within the demo, the red bubble indicates that a new quote is available for the customer. In this case, there is one new quote available.

<img src="/files/37TIOnS9sFf2WXrZ698M" alt="" data-size="original">
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Accept or decline the quote

The customer opens the quote details and decides whether to accept or decline the quote.

<figure><img src="/files/jLum4TioRJSHvxsBUQ95" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %}
If they request a change or decline the quote, they have to select a change or decline reason with additional text.

<img src="/files/NNpvIL92cumLJPfPcGBH" alt="" data-size="original">
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Complete the acceptance

If the customer accepts the quote, the status is updated in the showcase and in the Management Dashboard.

* Showcase status — quote detail page:

<figure><img src="/files/AzHGDshlop6plNtmEAOw" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="danger" %}
To get the storefront status updated, you need to refresh the page.
{% endhint %}

* Backend status — Management Dashboard:

<figure><img src="/files/twijEmD78BOP4pFM5lOO" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

**Result**: The accepted quote creates an order within CE. The order link is available in the quote details.

<figure><img src="/files/cusqMwKuoEK14OJK6MHF" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

### Employee creates quote on behalf of a customer

It is possible for you as an employee to create a quote on behalf of the customer in the Management Dashboard. For example, a customer calls a customer service department and asks for a specific quote.\
To create the quote on their behalf, you need to be logged in to the Management Dashboard as an employee.

Then, follow the steps described in the [Quotes - Creating a quote](/ce/management-dashboard/quotes/quotes-view.md#creating-a-quote) guide.

**Result**: After you follow the steps and click the **create quote** button at the end, the quote is created with **Open** status and the quote notification is sent to the customer by email, including the PDF.\
The customer can accept or decline the quote as described under Customer requests.

{% hint style="info" %}
To learn more about API used in this use case see the [Quote Service](/api-references/api-guides/quotes.md) and for user guides check the [Quotes](/ce/management-dashboard/quotes.md) and the [Quote Management](/ce/core-commerce/quote-management.md) documentation.
{% endhint %}


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