Complex products in 3D view
In the course of the digital transformation, the demand for individually configured products is also increasing in the B2B sector, whether it is for truck trailers, furniture, hazardous material containers, wind turbines, gearboxes, pumps, large kitchen appliances or special vehicles and machines for cleaning and grinding. As a result, the number of variants and thus also the complexity of the configuration is constantly growing.
Efficient, practical configuration processes adapted to the needs of different user groups are an essential factor for the economic success of variant manufacturers.
MSG Treorbis has developed the right tool for this with its SAP-based add-on "Variant". Nowadays, users - field or office sales staff, engineers, end customers - also expect an intuitive configuration experience, on the desktop PC as well as mobile via smartphone or tablet.
MSG Treorbis closes this gap with the UI5 quote configurator, a component of MSG Treorbis Variant, whose modern HTML5 (SAPUI5) interface automatically adapts to the respective operating system as well as to the end device.
Guided Selling from A to Z
The SAPUI5 interface, which clearly visualizes the configuration in a 3-D model, guides even less experienced users safely and quickly through all process steps in the sense of Guided Selling: from pricing to the finished product configuration, which also includes images, drawings and technical descriptions.
If an entry is missing or if the selected combination of features is invalid or technically unfeasible, this is signaled immediately and alternatives are automatically displayed to the user.
Flexible and versatile
The UI5 quote configurator can be adapted to the requirements of each customer in terms of layout, configuration dialog, visualization of feature evaluation and corporate design, and it can be used in different scenarios.
In the SAP environment, this includes SAP ERP, SAP Business Suite or S/4 Hana, and the CRM SaaS cloud solution Hybris Cloud for Customer; it is also compatible with Microsoft Dynamics CRM (365) and Salesforce.com.
Direct online access to SAP data
Regardless of the deployment scenario, the UI5 quote configurator allows direct online access to the current product configuration and the data in the SAP back-end, regardless of whether it originates from LO-VC or from SAP CPQ. Thus, the configuration knowledge stored there can be used one-to-one, while user interaction is managed in the application.
Due to the online connection, every change to the configuration data in the SAP back end also appears in the configurator practically in real time. This means real added value, especially for companies whose configuration models and/or sets of rules are subject to frequent changes.
In return, every adjustment that the user makes to the 3-D configuration model in the web application is also immediately transferred to the dataset in the SAP back end.
Configuration innovation
The ability to use the UI5 quote configurator on mobile devices brings a gain in efficiency. Manufacturing companies are constantly faced with new challenges, so MSG Treorbis continues to develop the web application.
It will soon be made available as a standalone digital app via the Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) SAP Cloud Platform, which will also be used to develop innovations in the future.
Ideas are already available. For example, in the future a B2B user will be able to describe his or her requirements for a product in the UI5 quote configurator without any configuration at all and automatically receive suitable solution suggestions.
