Many people shop online. They’ve become accustomed to scouring the internet for items they want. As a result, businesses continue to seek ways to make customers’ online shopping experiences simpler.
One way this can be done is by configuring product solutions. We’ll focus on the ways to build a better product configurator.
Product Configurator Defined
To determine the five best ways to build a better configurator, let’s first determine what this technology is. When you’re focusing on a configurator for products, you’re dealing with software that can help assist in your selection options for a product. The goal is to meet the individual goals or needs of your customers by creating these configurable products. One of the best examples of a CPQ (configure price quote) solution is the ConfigureOne product configurator. When you’re using such software, you aren’t creating quotes in a quoting interface or specifications manually.
This software helps with automating your business operations, speeding up the quoted timeline, and getting your complex products to production. If your business specializes in creating custom or configurable products, it helps to have this type of configurator. Configuration of products is a software tool that has helped many companies succeed in getting their complex products to customers.
1. Spreadsheet
The first option that you have for creating a concept enterprise product configurator is a spreadsheet. Spreadsheets have become a common tool for many sales reps and home computer users through software such as Excel. Spreadsheets are computer applications that are used for analysis, organization, and data storage. This is done through a tabular form on a worksheet.
With the process of configuration, various business operations can use a spreadsheet to assist them with finding selections options for your product. Whether you’re using Excel or Google Sheets, a seasoned professional can turn either of these programs into product configurator software. These programs can be used to do the math and keep track of inventory. The important thing about spreadsheets is that they are easy to implement. The spreadsheet option for your process of configuration can be used for smaller and simpler uses.
2. DIY Software
Another option that you have for implementing your own configuration process is to do it yourself. Working with your IT team, you can have them create a homegrown coding option. Your team will be creating actual product configurator software, keeping everything with the process in-house. With this method, the configuration process will be more personalized and therefore more fulfilling for your sales reps and others.
On the other side, there’s a good chance that your IT staff will have to provide constant maintenance DIY software. In addition, you’ll have to perform constant maintenance and take on additional duties for your homegrown product configurator. These duties can include system management, end-user testing, and change management. Consider a DIY option for your business.
3. Third Party
When all else fails, hire someone else to do the work. This can extend to your attempt to introduce configurator solutions to your business. Bring in a team of experts that can help build your product configurator from the ground up. Just remember that this will be the team you will have to consult for the lifetime of whatever configurator solutions they build. If for some reason you decide you don’t want the services of this third party, you’ll have to build a new configurator of products from the ground up.
4. Configurator Software
Another option you have is to purchase product configurator software. This can assist with all the functions of the configuration process. Businesses such as Configure One offer these configurator solutions that provide a business with speed, accuracy, growth potential, and increased revenue. Consider adding configurator software to your company.
5. Online Tools
There are websites that can help you build a product configurator. Using the tools that these online portals offer, you can then move forward with creating easy-to-use web portals for shopping experiences. Online tools are one way that you can build a product configurator for your customers.
