#configurator software

Configurator Software Powers B2B eCommerce

Some intriguing statistics: 2022 was the first year B2Bs became more likely to offer eCommerce over in-person sales, with 65% of B2B companies exclusively selling online. And in the manufacturing sector, nearly 70% of shipments originate from online channels. 

The growth of B2B eCommerce is astounding. But when we hear these stats, we assume they apply to the US. However, they do not; they are worldwide data. And while the North American B2B eCommerce market will reach $1.8 trillion in 2023, Asia still makes up roughly 80 percent of it.

Some countries are far ahead of the game in manufacturers, such as China, which means that manufacturers in the United States and Europe have a huge opportunity to step up and surpass their national counterparts.  They just need the right software to help.

As a company intending to implement B2B eCommerce, the major software you will require is a B2B eCommerce platform. This service enables you to sell things to other businesses via digital transactions.  You then need to start layering other solutions on top through native or third-party integrations to add additional functionality to your website. But where to begin?

Manufacturers offering complicated configurable products--or any organization that wants to provide customers with immersive eCommerce experiences--should turn to configurator software first.  This article explains why.

Read on to discover how configurator software can revolutionize your business and dramatically increase profitability.

About Configurator Software

Configurator software is a powerful solution designed to create and display configurable products. It’s often used in the manufacturing industry, where products are complex with many options, and users need a tool to streamline and automate the configuration process.

Through an interactive user interface (configurator), visual configurator software enables sales representatives, engineers, and end users to see and configure items in real-time. Typically web-based, this configurator can be integrated and embedded in the company’s website, empowering all user groups with the autonomy to design products according to their unique preferences and budget.

Deployment of Configurator Software and CPQ

A thorough CPQ (configure, price, quote) solution frequently includes configurator software. The CPQ system incorporates a visual configurator allowing users to interact with product options while generating real-time pricing and quotes. 

Users of CPQ get the details they need to configure items and move quickly through the buying process. This boosts conversion rates and expedites sales significantly. On average, Epicor customers experience a remarkable 40% increase in conversion rates.

Quickest Pricing With CPQ

With high-quality CPQ software, businesses can provide not just the quickest but also smart pricing. The software includes pricing agility and flexibility by incorporating various pricing strategies—such as discounts, promotions, customer-specific pricing, fluctuating costs, and even live competitor prices. This capability of dynamic pricing enables companies to maximize their profit margins on each transaction without losing out on good possibilities.

Is Configurator Software Power to Boost B2B eCommerce?

B2B eCommerce is developing at an incredible rate. Today, a website can be developed in a matter of days for less than $100 each month, compared to a decade ago when it would have cost $100,000.

With current developments in AI, it wouldn’t surprise me if the same website could soon be generated for pennies in a couple of minutes.

The secret to long-term success with B2B eCommerce isn't just having a website or just mimicking the experience clients have when speaking with sales representatives. It's about upgrading the purchasing experience and making it faster, more adaptable, more convenient, more realistic, and more appealing than ever before. 

The simplest approach to implementing configurator software is to provide an improved purchasing experience. It streamlines the configuration process and offers immersive 3D visualization capabilities that improve efficiency and product understanding while driving engagement.

7 Trends of B2B eCommerce that Align with Configurator Software

B2B eCommerce is constantly changing. Many businesses believe they can no longer catch up to the digital leaders because they have already fallen too far behind. This fear is understandable but unfounded. By integrating configurator software into the eCommerce experience, businesses can quickly and easily bridge the gap, surpassing customer expectations.

The following are the most recent eCommerce trends and how configurator software solves them successfully. 

Custom-made

A recent McKinsey & Company survey involving 3,500 decision-makers revealed that buyers seek "more channels, more convenience, and a more personalized experience." Invest in B2B eCommerce efficiently manages channels and convenience while configurator software solves the customizing component.

Configurator software drives personalization in two ways:

It allows customers to tailor things to their requirements.

It could be set up to provide a tailored message, prices, catalogs, suggestions, and extensive customer history to consumers. Seamless CRM integration enables these tailored experiences. 

Mobile-First Buying

With high-quality configurator software, buyers and sellers can browse, customize, and, depending on the product, place orders from anywhere globally at any time.  

Worthwhile 

The growing sustainability is the biggest concern for partners, regulators, and potential customers. Research suggests customers are 4.3 times more loyal to eco-friendly businesses. By speeding the design and production process, lowering material waste, and improving resource use, configurator software can support businesses in becoming more sustainable. Precise customization ensures products are tailored to meet specific needs, minimizing overproduction. 

Unified Commerce Experiences 

Nowadays, consumers want more freedom and alternatives when it comes to how, when, and where they interact with your business and buy your items. B2B eCommerce adds a crucial dimension to your offerings. A smooth omnichannel purchasing experience is possible, which also helps sales professionals, distributors, and other channel partners.  By utilizing a shared back-end across all channels, customers can effortlessly transition between them without starting from scratch each time. This ensures cross-channel consistency and convenience. 

Self-reliant Searching 

More and more buyers want freedom in decision-making, preferring to research product options at their own pace and on their terms. Configurator software, with its 3D visualization functionality, provides customers with a crystal-clear understanding of your product selection, accessible around the clock for their convenience. 

Instant and Self Buying 

Buyers desire to place orders without speaking to sales after becoming familiar with your product line. By integrating configurator software with your eCommerce platform, customers can instantly purchase customized products without any human interaction.  

Quicker Delivery  

CPQ solutions include configurator software, which power the entire engineer-to-order process. They initiate workflows from the shopping cart to the shop floor, encompassing automated pricing approvals, CAD and BOM automation, inventory checks, and logistics integration. 

As a result of all of this automation, efficiency levels are raised due to shorter lead times, quicker product delivery to clients, and shorter holdups.

Summing Up

By providing tailored, practical, and immersive experiences that fit the changing expectations of modern purchasers, configured software plays a crucial role in helping firms adapt to new B2B eCommerce trends.

Here are three key takeaways:

eCommerce for businesses to business is expanding quickly. Though a large portion of this development is concentrated in Asia, there are enormous prospects for US businesses that pioneer immersive internet retailing.

Configurator software is critical to success for companies that deal with complicated items and desire to sell and provide profound experiences on the Internet. Integrating with CPQ enables 3D visualization of configurable products and real-time pricing and quotes, leading to increased conversion rates and optimized profit margins.

Bringing B2B eCommerce to Life: The Power of Configurator Software

What are the Benefits of Product Configurator Software?

Every organization’s main aim is to improve sales, which can be accomplished by having shorter sales cycles, fast price quotations, and aligned procedures. Businesses are attempting every possible means to achieve these goals; however, a complex product configurator allows you to accomplish these goals in a single step.

Product configurator software is an inseparable part of the manufacturing industry; its proper implementation can bring huge opportunities for you. Let’s discuss some vital tips to implement a complex product configurator successfully.

Tips for CPQ Implementation for Thriving Business Growth 

Because the software assists in directly administering pricing-related issues, a good product configurator software model is critical to ensuring effective CPQ deployment. Let’s go through some of the most important considerations for successful complex product configurator implementation:

Get the Most of Opportunities: 

Customer experiences resulting from installation services of 3D product configurator software are typically uniform across all platforms and are critical to sales operations. Furthermore, the best 3D product configurator software can expedite the sales cycle, creating a win-win situation for both the sales force and customers. As a result, you must take advantage of all available chances, particularly those administered by a product configurator software. Understanding your company’s sales needs can allow you to better serve your customers by providing them with specific services such as guided selling, automated selling, and others. Considering all options will aid in deploying top 3D product configurator software.

Improved Understanding of Your Business

The sales team is mainly responsible for 3D product configurator software deployments. It is critical to evaluate how it can affect your company’s supply chain system and the entire consumer experience. By displaying them in 3D visualization, product configurator software aids in emphasizing your USPs and emphasizing the product’s features.

Another advantage of adopting top 3D product configurator software is the synchronization of all teams involved in creating a product. Teams work better when they have the same goal and are placed in the same row. The team’s ability to communicate effectively increases transparency and speeds up productivity.

Identifying Key Business Requirements 

Adopting the KBMax product configurator CPQ in your corporate ecosystem necessitates internal and external adaptations. Before initiating a CPQ quotation, it is critical to identify the necessary business necessity. Furthermore, it is vital to research various issues, such as the organization’s future goals, the current valuing model, item inventories, and estimating techniques. It is necessary to keep item-related details in mind. It is also critical to consider how you would manage current and future data collecting in case of a problem.

Understanding your company’s demands will make it easier to integrate the KBMax product configurator CPQ system into your corporate culture and benefit from its use.

Prepare for Change Like a Combatant:

Automating procedures and implementing other internal improvements, KBMax product configurator CPQ will revolutionize your organization entirely. No matter how solid your corporate policies are or how steady your CPQ installation has been, specific tweaks are required for your sales department to function correctly. Recognizing and planning ahead of time will help you adjust to the change. After thoroughly preparing for these changes, employees will find it easier to use this fantastic business smoothing tool.

Key Takeaways:

CPQ is one of the most durable software to help your sales staff simplify sales processes. However, by ensuring proper product configurator software deployment and following the advice and best practices outlined above, users can reap the full benefits of this program. Enlisting the help of a trained and experienced implementation partner will help ensure that your KBMax product configurator CPQ deployment goes well.

Talk to the implementation teams of the companies that manufacture the software you wish to utilize to find out what their configurators require.

Configurator software is not only an essential part of most firms but also a priceless asset for sales teams, organizing and automating every step of the quote process and providing essential resources right at the sales team's fingertips. Through sales automation, the appropriate CPQ pricing integrated by CPQ software vendors can speed up the procedure for your team, enabling team members to swiftly and accurately write professional, high-quality sales quotations. The configurator software can be a potent sales automation tool that boosts sales productivity when set correctly and tailored to your organization's unique needs.

How to maximize efficiency with integrations

Your organization needs to understand where the configurator software utilizes fully. Other sales process automation solutions step in before you can position your sales team for success and maintain the momentum from the quotation process into the contract management process. While CPQ software can benefit your sales force and boost efficiency throughout the quote process, a lack of proper connection between the CPQ and other systems can jar customers, staff members, and everyone else engaged in the sales process.

It's critical to figure out how to combine the CPQ with other sales process automation technologies, particularly contract lifecycle management software, to reduce the limitations of your organization's CPQ software. The two systems must be integrated to smoothly transfer the sales process from quotation to contract discussions and on to final signature, renewals, and document maintenance.

For your company to maintain consistency, ensure compliance, and boost sales efficiency, a robust interface between your CPQ cloud and existing software is essential. It also improves client happiness. Your team will see an improvement in growth, convenience, and control when your CPQ pricing and existing software are correctly communicating with one another.

Early integration is ideal

Instead of repeating the procedure for two different systems; the implementation will be quicker to install and simpler to set up if the CPQ pricing is appropriately connected with the existing  software. However, it is still feasible to effectively interface with the correct contract management software, even if the system's integration capabilities were a minor priority when the configurator software was first implemented. It's always too late to use automation software to enhance processes and generate efficiency, and if it still needs to, connecting your CPQ system with other systems needs to be a top focus.

Your company can better serve consumers and strive for higher customer satisfaction ratings by integrating configurator software and existing solutions across the quote and contract management processes. For instance, the sales staff has to be aware of the conditions of the present contract if a current client requests a new proposal. The latest quotation can not only be incorrect if the CPQ pricing and existing  systems don't work together effectively, but it can also mark the beginning of a tense relationship with a previously satisfied client.

The client, legal team, and other executors can now approve a quotation and a contract in a single step instead of having to do so repeatedly throughout the sales cycle, thanks to the integration of the CPQ cloud and existing software.

Additionally, the two systems are not integrated. In that case, the sales staff can do their job twice by obtaining client information again during the contract process after doing so during the quote process. When linked effectively, existing  software utilizes the sales team's existing account, opportunity, price, product, and other data from the CPQ pricing to produce contracts more quickly and precisely than they could otherwise. The integrated systems are more effective for the sales force since they use a single data model, which also lowers mistakes and makes it possible for future easy connections with other applications.