The gap between a design and an order
Many configurators end with a form: the customer's design is turned into an email containing a screenshot and a list of the options they picked. A salesperson reads it, looks up each item, builds a quote by hand in another system and, if the customer accepts, someone enters the order in a third. The configurator produced interest. It saved no work, and each manual step is a chance for the order to differ from what the customer designed.
Closing that gap is an integration project, and its difficulty depends less on 3D than on how your quoting and ordering work today. The sections below go through what has to be decided.
Treat the configuration as data
The picture is for the customer. What your business needs is the configuration as a record: a product model, a list of option codes with their values, dimensions, quantities and any personalization, expressed in the same codes your price list and ERP use.
- Stable identifier. Every saved configuration has its own reference that customer and staff can quote, and a link that reopens it.
- Your codes, not display names. Fabric F-204 in grey, not Storm Grey Weave. Names change with marketing. Codes are what systems match on.
- Version of the rules and prices. Record which catalogue version produced the configuration, so that a later change can be detected.
- Derived items included. Parts the customer did not choose but the design requires, such as supports, fixings and connectors.
- Images attached. Renders from fixed angles, stored with the record, for the quote document and for production to check against.
- Who and when. The customer or dealer who made it, and the times it was created and changed.
If option codes in the configurator do not match those in your ERP, somebody must maintain a translation table for ever. Aligning codes at the start is tedious and far cheaper.
Map the configuration to what you sell and make
| Your business sells | A configuration becomes | Complication |
|---|---|---|
| Stocked variants | One existing item code that matches the chosen options | Every valid combination must exist as an item, or be created on demand |
| A base product plus options | A base item with option lines | Options priced and stocked separately must appear as their own lines |
| Assembled to order | A parent item with a bill of materials generated from the choices | Derived parts and quantities must be calculated by rule |
| Made to measure | A parent item with dimensions and a parts list calculated from them | Cutting lists, material usage and production time depend on the numbers |
| Engineered to order | A specification for an engineer to review | Full automation is unrealistic. Aim for a complete, structured enquiry |
Work out which row describes you, with your production and ERP people, before designing the connection. It determines whether an order can be created automatically or needs a review step.
Settle who calculates the price
- 01
Where are prices calculated today?
Why it mattersIf the ERP or a pricing tool produces invoice prices, it should also produce, or confirm, the configurator's price.
- 02
Is the price the same for everyone?
Why it mattersDealer discounts, customer contracts, regions and currencies mean the same design has different prices for different people. The configurator must know who is looking.
- 03
Is the displayed price binding?
Why it mattersState clearly whether it is a guide price, a price subject to confirmation or a firm offer, and for how long it holds.
- 04
What is included?
Why it mattersTax, delivery, installation and optional services, shown separately so that the total is understood.
- 05
How fast must it update?
Why it mattersCustomers expect the price to change as they choose. A slow pricing system needs a cached price list for display, confirmed by the authority when the design is submitted.
- 06
What if the two disagree?
Why it mattersThe authority wins, the customer is told before committing and the difference is logged so that the cause can be fixed.
Produce a quote people can act on
- 01
Generate the document from the data
A quote with images of the design, the list of items and options in customer language, prices, terms, validity date and the configuration reference.
- 02
Create it where quotes live
In the CRM or ERP that your sales team already uses, linked to the customer and the opportunity, so that follow-up and reporting work as usual.
- 03
Keep the link back
Staff and customer can reopen the design from the quote, change it and produce a revised quote, with the earlier version kept.
- 04
Route it
To the right salesperson or dealer by region, product or account, with an alert and a target time to respond.
- 05
Decide what needs review
Simple configurations may be quoted instantly. Large, unusual or made-to-measure ones can go to a person first. Define the thresholds.
- 06
Record the outcome
Accepted, revised or lost, with the reason. The data shows which options sell and where customers hesitate.
A worked example
From design to production order at a staircase maker
This example is invented to show a flow with one review step. A staircase manufacturer sells through joinery firms, who configure stairs for their own customers.
- BeforeJoiners email a sketch and measurements. An estimator re-draws the stair, prices it in a spreadsheet and replies in three to five days. One order in ten has a dimension error.
- ConfigurationThe joiner enters floor-to-floor height and opening size, picks the layout, timber, balusters and handrail. The record holds every option in the maker's part codes, plus derived parts such as the number of treads and newel posts.
- PriceThe ERP's price list is the authority. The configurator shows a cached trade price for the signed-in joiner and confirms it with the ERP on submission.
- ReviewStraight flights within standard limits are quoted at once. Winders and anything outside limits go to the estimator, who sees the 3D design and the calculated parts list and approves or adjusts.
- OrderWhen the joiner accepts, the quote becomes a sales order in the ERP with a generated bill of materials and a cutting list. Production prints the rendered views with the job.
Standard stairs are now quoted in minutes, and the estimator's time goes to the difficult ones. Dimension errors fall sharply because the measurements entered by the joiner are the ones production cuts to.
Carry it through to order and production
The last stretch turns an accepted quote into work. How much of it to automate depends on volume and on how standard the product is. Where orders are frequent and configurations fall within tested rules, creating the sales order and bill of materials automatically removes the main source of errors. Where each order is large and unusual, a structured handover that an order clerk confirms in a few clicks may be the right level.
A dependable connection
- Every configuration re-checked against the rules on the server before a quote or order is created
- Orders created through the ERP's documented interface, as drafts where review is wanted
- A failed transfer is queued, retried and reported, never lost
- Each order carries the configuration reference and images
- Changes after acceptance go through a defined amendment route
A fragile one
- Rules enforced only in the browser, where they can be bypassed
- Orders typed in from an email
- No record of which catalogue version priced the order
- Production working from a screenshot
- A saved design that silently changes when the catalogue is updated
The server-side check deserves emphasis. Anything running in a customer's browser can be altered, and old saved designs may break rules introduced later. The system that accepts the order must validate the configuration and the price itself. Our guide on 3D configurator requirements and product rules explains how those rules are written.
Connection checklist
Configurator to quote and order checklist
0 of 11 checkedWhat to do next
Follow one recent configured order backwards, from the production paperwork to the customer's first enquiry, and count how many times its details were typed. Each retyping is a place the connection could remove. Then ask your ERP administrator how an outside application may create a quote or an order.
Our integration discovery questionnaire collects the facts about the systems involved, and our system integration services page explains how we build the connection. Tell us how you quote today.
Common questions
Can a configurator create orders directly in our ERP?
Yes, where the ERP offers a documented interface and your products can be mapped to items or a bill of materials by rule. Many businesses begin with draft orders that a person confirms, and move to fully automatic creation for standard configurations once the mapping has proved reliable. Check what your ERP edition and licence allow.
Should the configurator show prices at all?
Usually, because a price is the first thing customers want and its absence reduces serious enquiries. If prices vary by dealer or customer, show them after sign-in, or show a guide price marked as subject to confirmation. Be explicit about what is included and how long the figure holds.
What if a customer manipulates the configuration in their browser?
Assume it can happen. The browser is under the customer's control, so rules and prices enforced only there can be bypassed. The server must re-validate every submitted configuration against the current rules and recalculate the price before creating a quote or an order. Anything that fails is rejected or sent for review.
How do we handle changes after a quote is accepted?
Define an amendment route. The customer or salesperson reopens the saved design, changes it and produces a revised quote, which replaces the earlier one once accepted. If production has started, changes need approval and may carry a cost. Keep every version, so that what was agreed and when is always clear.
Do dealers and end customers need different flows?
Often. A dealer signs in, sees trade prices, saves designs for several of their customers and submits orders. An end customer may see a retail guide price and be passed to a dealer or a salesperson. Decide who the configurator serves first, since permissions, pricing and the destination of the output differ for each.
