Printed price lists, numerous digital pricing details, and various software solutions from different suppliers—all these sources are commonly used today for price determination and quotation preparation. Integrated configuration offers a new approach and possibilities to centralize this vast amount of information and simplify its handling.
Challenges and Current Status
The multitude of sources from which prices must be gathered makes the process of preparing quotes more error-prone, time-consuming, and complex than necessary. Are these gross or net prices in this pricing action? What purchase terms apply to this product line? Are the prices up-to-date, or are there additional surcharges or updated rates to consider? These are just a few simple questions that dealers and sales representatives face regularly. The larger the product range, the harder it becomes to keep track—not only of price information but also of technical data and possibilities. As a result, products with readily accessible or familiar information are often prioritized.
The use of different software solutions and product information sources complicates not only the onboarding of new employees and knowledge transfer but also introduces another significant challenge in terms of business processes: how and where to consolidate and process the data required for a quote. Manual transcription or copy-pasting into the ERP system is still the most common approach. This practice, however, entails additional effort for manual transfer—which multiplies with each change—and carries a considerable risk of errors and data loss. For example, product graphics are often not stored in the ERP system and thus do not appear in quotes. To bridge this gap, attachments are frequently referenced in the quote, aiming to provide the missing details. This not only disrupts a consistent brand presentation but also makes it harder for the recipient to quickly understand the offer and make a purchase decision.
For non-complex articles, centralized data management within the ERP system has become standard practice, thanks to simple data exchange methods like Datanorm or CSV files. Many companies cannot imagine operating without this setup, as it eliminates the aforementioned challenges and enables extensive e-commerce systems to be built upon this data. Integrated configuration now extends this success story to complex building components.
Integrated Configuration
Integrated configuration for building components (ICfBC) focuses on the seamless, cross-system networking of data and processes required for price calculation, visualization, and feasibility verification.
In collaboration with other systems and databases, ICfBC emphasizes open data exchange. System interfaces facilitate both the direct import and updating of individual price and product details as well as the retrieval and extraction of configured elements and the associated generated data. For instance, configurations with price data, descriptions, and generated graphics can be automatically transferred to the ERP system, or the individual product configurators can be embedded directly into other systems.
ICfBC goes beyond networking with other solutions and establishes itself as a central approach to unify the diversity of different building components and suppliers into one solution. Fenzon implements this by allowing all product systems to be independently created, managed, or retrieved as supplier-managed data packages from the marketplace. This enables centralized data management and maintenance for the entire range of building components.
Fully Integrated Configuration Through AI
Building upon ICfBC's focus on system integration and data centralization, fully integrated configuration for building components (FIfBC) emphasizes the networking of centralized data. FIfBC aims to merge independent product systems to enhance efficiency and user experience, as illustrated below with a window and shading system.
System 80 from Supplier A and AK-Top from Supplier D are two entirely independent product systems that would traditionally need to be configured separately. Fully integrated configuration, however, allows data and process fusion, enabling shading configuration within and as part of the window configuration.
While this may initially appear to be a simple expansion of configuration options, it is underpinned by a custom-developed artificial intelligence (AI) designed for this specific use case. Since no initial relationship exists between the two systems, the AI analyzes relevant attributes and properties during integration, generating default settings and presenting compatible options. For example, dimensions from the window element are applied to the shading, only feasible division options for shading based on the window element type are displayed, or surface color presets for shading are automatically aligned by comparing available and selected finishes.
By leveraging AI, Fenzon introduces a new level of flexibility and productivity for all users with fully integrated configuration of building components—without additional effort.
HDC Digital supports building materials retailers in expanding their online presence and digitizing sales processes through e-commerce platforms.
Read moreLearn How Christoph Hölbling, Managing Director of HC Fenster, Successfully Built and Scaled His Building Materials Online Shop.
Read moreMorten Strahl at the Forum "Practical Digitalization" at Fensterbau Frontale on the Topic: Digital Sales Processes for Building Materials
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