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Concept
Configurator
Summary
Configurators, also known as choice boards, design systems, toolkits, or co-design platforms, are responsible for guiding the user through the configuration process. Different variations are represented, visualized, assessed and priced which starts a learning-by-doing process for the user. While the term “configurator” or “configuration system” is quoted rather often in literature, it is used for the most part in a technical sense, addressing a software tool. The success of such an interaction system is, however, not only defined by its technological capabilities, but also by its integration in the whole sale environment, its ability to allow for learning by doing, to provide experience and process satisfaction, and its integration into the brand concept. ()
Configurators can be found in various forms and different industries (). They are employed in B2B (business to business), as well as B2C (business to consumer) markets and are operated either by trained staff or customers themselves. Whereas B2B configurators are primarily used to support sales and lift production efficiency, B2C configurators are often employed as design tools that allow customers to "co-design" their own products. This is reflected in different advantages according to usage:
For B2B:
Lower distribution costs
Quicker reaction to customer inquiries
Reduced capital commitment and less overproduction
Error elimination throughout the ordering and production process
Quality improvements in customer-service
Worldwide access to up-to-date product information
Reduction of item numbers
For B2C:
Differentiation through individuality
Reduced capital commitment and less overproduction
Better knowledge of customers' needs
Higher customer loyalty
Shopping as experience
Configurators enable mass customization, which depends on a deep and efficient integration of customers into value creation. Salvador et al. identified three fundamental capabilities determining the ability of a company to mass-customize its offering, i.e.
Official source
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