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With complex or custom-made products, presenting your offer is no small challenge. Sales people have to spend a lot of time to explain the possibilities and answer customer questions. The same is true on a website, where we would like to improve the user experience and make it easier for users to find the right product. Sometimes a large number of filters in an online catalog is enough, but such a solution will not help if the selection options have dependencies among themselves. The consultation process (product or equipment selection) can be automated optimizing user experience and staff time. In the case of customized products, this is the only way to present an offer on your site.
What is a selection program / CPQ?
Selection Program / CPQ - A collection of product or equipment features arranged in a logical process. Each configurable item should be described and included in a consolidated data model. Having a closed solution space, we get a comprehensive overview of the user's selection options and the impact on the final price. By dividing the selection options into steps, we give the recipient a clear process that they can complete on their own. The sales process then acts as a digital advisor, giving factual support to multiple customers simultaneously.
The result of the selection program can be a list of components or products that match the selected criteria, for example, a ventilation system or a sliding door system. The result of the CPQ can be a visualized complete composite product or a personalized customized product. E.g. a car has 5 equipment versions, they have different available engines and optional extras, the top two have additional paint colors and sporty visual add-ons.
Product Configurators
CPQ Software
Quote Generation
Pricing Information
What is worth paying attention to?
Visualization of the final result
The result of the selection and configurator program can be a collection of products, a list of components (as in the Heatpex Aria we are implementing), or one visualized individual/complex product. There are quite a few possibilities, in the first step it is worth making an MVP and developing the system incrementally. It can take a long time to gather the necessary drawings for thousands of products, especially when 3D objects are to connect in real time.
User
An important aspect of any system is defining the recipient. The selection and configuration process will look completely different when the recipient is an end user, an outside vendor or a sales employee. Each of them has different knowledge of the offerings, and the amount and level of detail of information depends on this. Fewer choices and simpler steps will positively affect the number of conversions. Therefore, when designing the sliding door configurator, we decided to have two paths for different customers.
Sales process
When automating the sales process, it is worth considering what part of it should be mapped by the system. By default, the selection process is about configuration, price calculation and sending a request for quote to the sales department. It can be extended to generate a product card in PDF, payment for the product, transportation calculations, real-time visualization (adding more elements to the 3D model). As a sales tool, the process should be integrated with the company's sales strategy, achieving the same goals.
Pimcore MDM
One of the tools in which a selection program or configurator can be realized is the Pimcore platform. Technically it is a PIM/MDM system, so it is very well equipped to store a large amount of data in different formats, of varying complexity with many relationships between objects.
Its flexibility in data modeling allows it to give any structure or use an already existing one within the classification standard, such as the ETIM classification system. Pimcore has strong capabilities in taking data from various sources and sending enriched data to target channels. It can consolidate a lot of data supporting its management, e.g., mass change of descriptions. The information can be forwarded or used in the "Headless CMS/DXP" concept.
In addition, the platform has e-commerce modules to support sales processes including order management, customer profiling, complex category pricing logics, customer-specific price lists and assortments. The Pimcore system, thanks to its high customer ratings, has been repeatedly recognized by the Gartner Cupcake Institute. Learn more about the Pimcore platform.
Benefits of implementing a product selection program or configurator
Reduces service costs by acting as a "digital advisor", allows to increase sales without involving employees.
Allows customization of the product by customer interaction with the product. Shape, size, geometry, colors, individual elements - the user can get many options to personalize "his" product.
The closed solution space gives a holistic view of the options. This avoids erroneous orders, which is especially important with multiple options.
Analyzing configuration behavior enables identification of trends. Developing offerings in the direction of trends helps increase competitiveness.
Visualizing the products during setup or the complete product at the end will enable the customer to envision the final product, bringing them much closer to making a purchase decision.
Free consultation for your company.
See also
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Implementation of a comprehensive data management solution for the furniture industry
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