E3 Category: Coverstory 18-04

CAD data are the basic framework. The variant configuration is the individual offer to the customer. Added to this are good relationship management and pricing. Until an ERP system is a satisfactory quotation and sales system, it needs many adaptations. SAP partner SAE has solved this Gordian knot. Peter M. Färbinger, E-3 Magazine, spoke with the managing directors Susanne Henkel and Erich Schaarschmidt.

Industry 4.0 initiatives require and accelerate variant manufacturing. In the process, sales of variant-rich complex products are also adapting in the direction of 4.0 with Configure-Price-Quote software that dovetails configuration management and virtual reality simulations.

3D visualizations are already being used in the CPQ environment today. In the future, process-integrated interactive configurators with VR environments will be realized with feature evaluations directly on the complex variant product using VR technologies.

The speed of innovation in Configure Price Quote software has always been high. Both the broad midmarket and large companies benefit from the constant innovations and further developments.