Productconfigurators

How the Implementation of Our Enterprise Configurator Works

Manuel Wolf

16.5.2024- 4 Min.

So läuft die Einführung unseres Enterprise Konfigurators

Introducing new technologies can often seem daunting, especially when it involves digitizing complex corporate processes. In this blog post, we want to demonstrate how simple and effective the implementation of our Enterprise Configurator can be, and how quickly you can build upon this initial setup.

Initial Needs and Analysis

A company approached us with the need to digitize and automate its unstructured quotation process. In our initial discussions, we jointly identified the precise problems and objectives. It became apparent that the existing process included many manual steps that led to errors and were time-consuming.

Workshop and Process Analysis

We then organized a workshop involving key employees from sales, engineering, project management, and product management. This analysis revealed that numerous different documents such as price lists, configurations, and technical data spread across various Excel sheets and Word documents complicated the process unnecessarily. Information had to be sent back and forth between different departments, slowing down the process and making it prone to errors.

Development of a Process Diagram

Our next step was to create a unified process diagram that clearly defined all tasks and responsibilities. This diagram was coordinated with all stakeholders and served as the basis for further development.

Prototype and Initial Successes

To quickly generate value, we developed a prototype focusing on a specific part of the process. Just about 1.5 months later, this process part was digitized and integrated into our Enterprise Configurator. This initial step already brought significant time savings and reduced errors.

Collection of Further Ideas and Development

The prototype was not only a technical demonstration but also a tool for promoting internal communication. It helped to make the value of digitization tangible and inspired employees to come up with further ideas, which were collected and prioritized in a subsequent workshop. After several development iterations, the first complete version of our configurator was finished.

Implementation and Training

After intensive training and a two-week test phase for a selected internal group, the application went live. Just three months later, we drew a first positive balance: The creation of quotations, which previously took a week, could now be completed in just a few hours. Moreover, all quotations were always up to date as the data were automatically updated.

Improvements and Outlook

With the automation of the quotation process, sales employees can now fully concentrate on their core tasks rather than performing time-consuming manual activities. The number of quotations produced increased, and the error rate drastically decreased. Additionally, the configurator offers the possibility to provide customers with a schematic 3D drawing of their configured machine, further enhancing understanding and satisfaction.

The implementation of our Enterprise Configurator demonstrates that digitizing and automating business processes is not only necessary but also straightforward to implement and quickly leads to measurable successes. If you want to make your quotation process more efficient, contact us for a personal consultation and a demo of our system. Let's revolutionize your business processes together.