Founded 45 years ago, Solotech is a global leader in audiovisual and entertainment technology that has been ranked among the top 10 of SCN's Top 50 Systems Integrators.
The business currently has 18 strategic locations across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and China, and more than 1,300 employees. Thanks to an inventory encompassing more than 300 renowned manufacturers, Solotech is a single source for audio, video, lighting, rigging, soft goods, control, and collaboration solutions and services. The company is internationally known for its expertise in live productions and systems integration in various markets, including music, sports, business, culture, and education.
[Executive Q&A: Managing the Process]
In early 2021, Solotech acquired Nashville-based Morris Sound & Light and InteRise. The acquisition, part of Solotech’s impressive growth plans, led to an unexpected and exciting development as the acquired company had something that would bring a great return on investment: Jetbuilt.
“Up until the acquisition of Morris Sound & Light and InteRise, we used Microsoft Excel to quote across the business, just like many other integrators," explained Alexandre Pecqueux, vice president, innovation and operational excellence, Solotech. "Accessing Jetbuilt through this acquisition made us discover that Jetbuilt is a far quicker, less cumbersome, and a more accurate quoting tool.”
From initial conversations, Solotech had some concerns over a cloud-based solution and how it could support a business of its size. “We had identified issues in other cloud-based platforms: lagging systems and lack of performance. But it was not the case with Jetbuilt," Pecqueux added. "This solution is like working on a desktop application speed-wise, with all the added features a cloud-based system provides. We have been blown away by the software. In fact, we did some time and motion studies which showed Jetbuilt has reduced our quote time by at least 50%, and even more when dealing with larger and complex projects. Another massive advantage Jetbuilt offers is quoting accuracy. We’re no longer concerned about human errors as all our products and pricing are now pre-loaded in Jetbuilt.”
Jetbuilt is a business that understands the needs of the AV industry, how it works and what is needed to grow.
Alexandre Pecqueux, Solotech
Like many other businesses, Solotech had experienced a certain degree of inaccuracy when using humans to input data. It could occasionally affect a quotation by making it too expensive or engaging potential lost revenues. Jetbuilt eliminated the human input factor where errors are more likely to occur.
[Solotech Goes With L-Acoustics K3 for No. American, European Projects]
Jetbuilt worked closely with Solotech to offer a comprehensive launch plan before rolling it out across the group. "There is so much information and detail to review for a project of this size. Yet, whatever we needed, Jetbuilt was able to provide it pre-launch, in the planning phase, during the rollout, and after implementation,” Pecqueux noted. “Jetbuilt delivered far beyond our expectations. The Jetbuilt support team has been so responsive and dedicated to making this implementation completely fault-free for us. In fact, after just one week, we had staff telling us they didn't want to use anything else!”
Nancy Dugas, process optimization analyst at Solotech, confirmed that Jetbuilt seamlessly integrates with the company's existing CRM and ERP system. "The API works brilliantly," she said. "We don't have to duplicate work by adding information into several tools; just one entry and then everything synchronizes and communicates perfectly. It's a game-changer for our business.”
[Jetbuilt Launches Jetbuilt Engineering Lab]
One of the other critical aspects for Solotech was Jetbuilt's ability to quote in other languages. Solotech can now produce a quote in one language and have it fully translated into a range of other pre-determined languages without delay or extra cost. Previously, this would have required an internal or external resource to translate every quote, further slowing the process and increasing costs.
Frederic Senay, sales director at Solotech added, “We work with several multinational customers, where dedicated pricing is setup across various suppliers and territories. Jetbuilt can add discounts instantly into the quotes, which has halved our workload for special projects and ensured accuracy. It's an amazing tool that I only wish we'd had sooner.”
”We have plans to grow our business significantly outside the U.S. and Canada in the coming years, and we see Jetbuilt as a vital part of that expansion," Pecqueux said. "Jetbuilt is a business that understands the needs of the AV industry, how it works and what is needed to grow. This solution has been one step ahead of what we need with every new development. They've wowed us for sure—and we can’t wait to see all the other new features and tools they have planned.”
