Where can configurators take my company? I have been asked that question a few times.
What makes answering that question difficult is the terminology translations that have to be made because everyone has a different understanding as to what a configurator is.

To some the configurator is a guided selling tool or sales automation. To others it is a product builder or product designer tool and to others it might just be all lumped into a “logic compiler”. But if you ask me, I will say it is the “golden key to many company’s dungeon of doom!”.

What a configurator can do for a company is to allow the company to finally address the horrible dungeon of doom lurking below the foundations. It allows a company to finally address the things that plague them from the point they take quote/order/questions to the point of fulfillment or answer.

Some companies turn to CRM systems like SalesForce.com thinking they need to better know their customers. Some companies turn to sale and order management tools like WrightTools so they can see where they are with the sales cycle. Some try to use an ERP system like Fourth Shift to stuff the order in head first and many, and I mean MANY companies turn to the catch-all of software, Excel. Those are GREAT tools for what they are designed to do.

If you want to properly take “care” of your customer, don’t screw up their quotes, orders or questions. It’s called a pre-emptive strike to failing! And if you don’t, you stand a chance to loosing another to the dungeon of doom! Make sure your sales or support team has the tools to make sure every quote/order/questions is 100% accurate or at least shoot for the 80/20 rule and reduce the number of mistakes by a large margin.

How?

Well that is a much deeper discussion that is unique to every company. But the basic answer, “control your company and product variables.”

But today I just wanted to answer, “Where can configurators take my company?”. If you can see your company improving their ability to reduce the errors they make with customers then you are definitely moving in the right direction. Sometimes and usually that tool is a configurator. Imbed it with any application or tools your people need to increase their success rate with your customers. Help them open the doors to the dungeon of doom and let those people free!

What about using a configurator to build an options package for ANYTHING? Not just a manufactured product. Shouldn’t you be able to do that?

Where business happens!

Everyone seems to have a configurator software package they want to sell you. Some are industry specific and others are a one-size-fits-all package. Which one is the right one?

What is the right configurator software for me?
Do lots of research. Not just for different software packages but research your needs and really understand why you need specific types of features in a software package.

• Why do I need configurator software?
• Who will benefit if I have a configurator software package?
• When and where can I use my configurator software?
• What do I want for a final output?
• What can I do with the output?
• Can I or do I want to host the software?
• Can I customize the interface for my needs?

These are a few basic questions that you need to ask yourself when you want to find what will best work for you.
Lets use an example of a Fence manufacturer.

Why do I need configurator software?
I have a product that is never the same for any customer but every fence uses the same materials and labor costs. The only thing that changes is the type, style and dimensions.

I use spread sheets, supplier manuals and tribal knowledge to put my quotes together.
I am usually pretty close to my estimate and I usually don’t make errors. But when I do, they can be small or big. Either way, errors cost me time and money.

I am so busy making quotes that I can’t grow my company by getting more jobs. I spend too much time estimating the jobs I do have.

I can hire more help to estimate but it will take more time bringing them up to speed than it would be faster to just do it myself. The new person would more likely make more mistakes because they won’t know all the little in’s and out’s.

Who will benefit if I have a configurator software package?
My customers usually have to wait 1 to 24 hours or sometimes even longer to get an accurate estimate from me.

I usually can give them a verbal estimate and will send them an actual estimate by mail, email or call them back on the phone.

When I make an error, my customers usually are not 100% satisfied unless I assume all blame for the error and eat all the costs. I live off word of mouth so I need that happy customer base.

If I can give an accurate quote with in minutes I have a better chance of landing the job because the customer says “yes” if I am standing in front of them. If I leave to finish the estimate my closing rate drops by 50%.

All I do is quote jobs, I can’t grow my company.

When and where can I use my configurator software?
I am out at the site and need to access my software so I can give the estimate right there and then. If I could just have it on my laptop, hand held or even my cell phone. My close rate would be better.

I’m not always working in the office, if I could access my software via the web or run a local version.

I have other software packages that help me track my customers, quotes, orders and billing but none of them help me configure my product.

What do I want for a final output?
I need my buy list of materials.

I need to know how much material/labor it will take.

I just need a price and the special options the customer picked.

I need EVERYTHING. I need cost, price, margin adjustment, I need to show the customer pictures of the product and options, I need have it build the Bill of Material, break down all elements of the quote separating my different labor costs, allow me to use different supplier parts to cut costs and anything else I can think of!

What can I do with the output?
I am not a very computer or technical company. I just need a simple output like an email, excel file, text document or even just to see it so I can write or type it in my proposal.

I need something that will save me time. I need it to integrate with my other software packages. I need it to integrate with my current quoting software.

Can I or do I want to host the software?
I am a very small company, I don’t have the staff or the knowledge of hosting or maintaining a software package.

I have the staff or the knowledge and can easily manage software.

I have older slower computers that I run software on.

Can I customize the interface for my needs?
I want to allow my customers to come to my website and configure the fence of their dreams!

I have a corporate image that has to be followed for any public display.

My marketing department want to make sure it is “flashy”.

Do I have to be in a specific industry to use ConfiguratorPlus?
No. Good configurator software packages know one size can fit all IF you give them the right tools. Industry specific software works well for company only if your company fits the mold. But, they may be exactly what you need. Usually industry specific software packages and help cut down on the little extra work that is needed for setup and or maintenance.

This site is dedicated to the concept of bolt on configuration technology for order entry systems. Call it Guided Selling. If there are options or choices to be made when buying a product, then a configurator is the way to go. Educating customers and sales people is what this is all about. Think about all the interdependent choices you make everyday. So many things hinge on a complex and nuanced series of options and choices that we often aren’t even aware we’re doing it.

Is life a series of compartmentalized yes/no decisions? Sometimes it seems that way. This blog examines the art and science of choice mangement and recognizing the amazing number of things we use and do that are actually “Configuration Engines.” An example? How about any of the popular tax preparation software programs, like TurboTax. Taken a step further, a manually prepared tax return is a configuration engine, too. Using the same set of forms, you can create a one page 1040 EZ or a 100 page Corporate tax return.

A more abstract example is the recent movie “The Butterfly Effect”, where someone goes back in time making only small changes to his past, which result in monumental (albeit disasterous) changes in his life. More on both of these later. Anyway, the theory of configurators is our playground. Have at it!

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