Case Study: Quick Quote Feature for The Parent Institute

Overview

The Parent Institute is a leading provider of educational materials designed for schools and educators. Their business involves handling large-volume bulk orders from schools, districts, and educational institutions across the country. To make this process easier for both customers and their internal team, we built a custom Quick Quote feature on their Shopify storefront. This tool allows customers to generate instant quotes online, streamlining a manual process that previously created bottlenecks for both sales and fulfillment.

The Challenge

The Parent Institute receives a high volume of bulk order inquiries, many of which were being managed manually through phone calls, email threads, and spreadsheets. Their internal team was spending significant time gathering product details, calculating totals, and manually preparing quotes for potential customers. As their order volume increased, this manual process became inefficient and difficult to scale. They needed a way for customers to create and review quotes on their own through the website, while still allowing the company to retain control over final order processing and payment.

The Solution

We developed a Quick Quote feature that integrates directly into The Parent Institute’s Shopify storefront. Customers can now browse the catalog, add products to their cart, and generate a formal quote with pricing that reflects their selections. Once submitted, the system creates a draft order in Shopify, which the sales team can review and convert into a purchase order. The customer also receives a copy of the quote by email, making it easy for schools or institutions to get internal approval before placing an order. This solution keeps everything within the Shopify ecosystem, reduces manual effort, and gives both the customer and the company more control and visibility over the quote-to-order process.

Result

The Quick Quote feature has transformed the way The Parent Institute handles bulk order requests. Customers now get immediate feedback on pricing and can move forward with purchasing decisions without delays or back-and-forth communication. Internally, the sales team has seen a significant drop in manual quoting tasks, freeing up time to focus on higher-value activities. The feature has improved efficiency, customer experience, and overall sales operations, making the quote process just as easy as placing an order.