Speed up the sales and after-sales of your configurable product

One product, multiple variations – speed up the sales and after-sales of your configurable product

The change in purchasing behavior and new business models is putting pressure on companies. Due to increasing competition, companies are offering more individual, custom-made products. To keep unit costs at a reasonable level, many companies are developing their offerings through mass customization. But how could you best take advantage of all the stages of a product’s life cycle and the associated additional sales opportunities?

Additional services should be acknowledged in the product planning

Today’s customers want to have more options than before which makes the producing process more complex. To grow their business, companies also want to combine additional services with manufactured products, such as the maintenance business, so that the customer can be served throughout the product's life cycle and the value of the purchase transaction increases.

The above can cause a rush to a company’s sales and design departments, complicate production, or increase the potential for errors in end products. In addition, if the company's internal communication between departments is not seamless, a lot of time is spent on data transfer and collaboration. This slows down the launch of new products or the production of additional services; it can also manifest itself in increased complaints, customer dissatisfaction, and lost sales.

How could a software help to manage the lifecycle of a configurable product?

The offering management software solution, VariSuite, helps to manage product information from end-to-end of the life cycle. With the help of the software, it is possible to automate the sales process: the features and services desired by the customer are selected for the products sold, i.e. the product can be configured for production without errors, thus the customer gets the product as originally wanted.

VariSuite uses unified product information in product design, sales, manufacturing, and maintenance, enabling smooth data transfer and sharing between different departments and for subcontractors. Managing product individual data throughout the lifecycle enables product-related lifecycle services. This way, the company gets additional sales instead of a one-time transaction.

The quality of sales work is improving, and the number of offers is increasing

When a salesperson makes an offer using VariSuite, he or she follows a predefined bidding process; the vendor sells and configures only those products that can be manufactured. VariSuite makes selling fast, easy, and error-free. A smooth sales process helps to make the right kind of offer with agility, and this also leads to a satisfied customer. According to customer orders, order-specific product units and the necessary documentation are created, for example for product maintenance and operating instructions.

The product individual data generated in the production configuration of VariSuite can be easily used in the maintenance and upkeep of the equipment base and in associated services. The product database of the product individual contains information on all components, changes made during the service life, and available spare parts from a maintenance point of view. Thus, VariSuite enables the analysis of equipment and services, as well as metering in terms of deliveries as well as sales and after-sales. It helps with warranty and complaint management and maintains up-to-date information throughout the life of the product.

Once deployed, the benefits of VariSuite will begin to show in streamlining processes quite soon. VariSuite enables product information to be easily accessed both in-house and distributed to subcontractors as needed. It reduces errors and streamlines operations for all parties.