ERP, Configurators and Quotation Systems
05 May 2011
About 15 years ago, I worked for an ERP supplier with a unique vision when it came to product configuration. But since then little seems to have changed in the world of ERP suppliers with regard to software for configuration and quotation generation.
Vision on configuration
In my opinion, the ERP supplier that I worked for was one of the first in the field to have a good product configurator. This was back in 1987. Around 10 years later, i.e. at the end of the 90s, the company made several acquisitions. A number of these involved product configuration and quotation generation. After the takeovers, the company owned three different products that when combined would offer the correct functionality. But that functionality could not be combined!
Combination of configuration and quotation generation
When we established Sofon in 1998, our goal was to develop a standard software solution that would combine product configuration, sales configuration, calculation, pricing, quotation generation and contract generation. The first release of Sofon Guided Selling (called Quotation Information System at the time) was launched in 2000.
Standard quotation system
More than 10 years and 10 releases down the line, the very first Sofon customers still work with Sofon. Sofon Guided Selling now offers a functionality that is far more robust than 10 years ago and is based on today’s technology. Throughout the years, our customers have never had to do any converting, since the configuration models from many years ago still function. This is the greatest advantage of standard software!
Configurator developments
What has changed at ERP suppliers in terms of configurators? Surprising little actually. Almost all ERP suppliers continue to offer only a production (not sales) oriented configurator and only meager support for quotation generation – not to mention the lack of such functions as project configuration, service configuration, financing calculation and so on. Are they simply not interested in supporting the quotation process? Or is this a specialty best left to best-of-breed suppliers?
Marijn Schouten is Director Business Development at Sofon - supplier of sales support software. As Marijn has a lot of contact with clients, he has a clear insight into how companies that deliver customer-specific products and services can realize improvements within their sales and quotation process.
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