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How to Simplify the Selling of Complex Products

Reduce sales cycles and increase customer satisfaction by eliminating configuration errors

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Introduction

Complexity challenges in configure to order

Enhance your sales tools with scalability and insight

End-to-end configuration information simplifies the sales process

Viessmann’s sales solution empowers partners

Seamless sales of complex products leads to better buying experiences

About Configit’s Sales Configuration Solution

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Table of Contents

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IntroductionComplex products go well beyond the simple configuration of parts. Parameters, dependencies, and embedded software must also be considered in the configuration process. This makes complex product sales challenging, while also having a negative impact on the sales cycle time. Complex products are often critical components of building structures, or serve lifesaving functions such as medical ambulances or firetrucks, which is why potential customers need to make sure that they are purchasing the right solution. Add to this the increased demand for online sales, it becomes even more critical to ensure that what is offered to customers is

correct and possible to deliver, without errors!

Unfortunately, the complexity of products often adds to the complexity of the

sales process itself. Salespeople face significant challenges in configuring the

right solution for customers due to the lack of adequate tools. Sales tools can be

as simple as a paper catalogue or as advanced as an SAP solution, but both can

prove equally inadequate. For example, if the advanced sales tool cannot scale

to accommodate all of the product configurations possible, it will lead to a poorly

responding tool in live sales situations where customer patience is at a premium.

With the right sales configuration tool that is powerful and scalable, salespeople

can collaboratively work together with customers to configure exactly the solution

they need, confident in the knowledge that what is being presented is up-to-date,

accurate and deliverable. The same configuration tool can be used to support sales

through partners, and even online sales, as well as provide reliable information to all

customer-facing functions in the organization.

The right sales configuration solution is more than just a sales tool. It ensures that

the customer buying experience is fast, seamless and satisfying, no matter the sales

channel they choose to use, leading to repeat sales and loyal customers.

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Complexity challenges in configure to orderIncreased choices and options = Increased complexity

Customer needs are becoming more sophisticated. This is true of both consumers

and businesses. The increased use of digital solutions has enhanced both individual

and corporate understanding of complex technologies like IT. Customers are

also more adept at using the Internet to research solutions and learn from other

customers. They are therefore better informed and capable of understanding what

they need. Customers are more demanding and want more options that allow them

to personalize their solution and tailor products to their environment and needs.

Product vendors have been quick to respond and now offer more choice and

variety in their offerings to meet a broader set of needs globally. However, with this

choice and variety comes complexity, and this needs to be managed to assure the

customer buying experience and ensure that what is ordered can be delivered.

Complex sales are now omni-channel

Traditionally, complex products are sold directly by highly competent salespeople

who understand the product and market. However, this no longer needs to be

the case. Customers are now performing a great deal of their research online,

often selecting their shortlist of vendors long before they contact a salesperson.

Complex products with multiple configuration options can be displayed online

allowing customers to configure the product they need without ever contacting a

salesperson. Just think of “build-your-own-car” services now offered by most major

automotive brands.

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The next natural step is that sales are performed online without any human

interaction. This is already happening for many complex products and solutions. In

these circumstances it is essential that the configuration options offered online can

be delivered as ordered and that options that cannot be delivered are not offered to

the customer in the first place.

Complex sales does not mean complex pricing

One of the challenges of omni-channel sales is pricing for each sales channel. This is

particularly the case for partner sales where agreements are made on which terms

partners can resell complex products and solutions. The challenge is ensuring that

the price the customer pays is the same no matter the channel the customer uses.

This requires that both product configuration and sales options are synchronized

across all channels with a minimum of effort. This can also include regional

differences especially when selling in foreign countries. Managing this complexity

with Excel sheets will soon prove to be impractical and time consuming. It is prone to

errors that can lead to channel conflict due to pricing discrepancies and arbitrage.

Complex sales do not conclude with an order

The service and maintenance of complex products can be just as complex as the

product itself. As many companies move to a servitization model, where customers

do not own products, but consume them as a service, the service obligations shift

from the customer back to the vendor. It is therefore important that this is taken into

account when the product is being configured to ensure that service, maintenance

and upgrades can be performed without issue. This ensures that current customers

remain customers.

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Enhance your sales tools with scalability and insight Most sales automation tools are singularly focused on the sales process itself but

fail to consider the knock-on implications to the rest of the organization. Selling a

product that cannot be produced or delivered leads to disgruntled customers, and

while the salesperson might well register the sale and make their quota, it is unlikely

that the customer will return.

It is this kind of siloed thinking that leads to inter-departmental conflicts where

product and manufacturing organizations begin to distrust salespeople who

continuously sell products that cannot be delivered, and salespeople begin to

distrust the product information available. The answer in most organizations is to

introduce bureaucracy with time-consuming approval processes, which further

delays the sales process and leaves the door open for competitors to close the deal.

As many salespeople will attest, there are moments in the sales process when the

timing is right to close the deal. When these moments arise, it is important to have

the capability to quickly and confidently close the deal including the configuration of

the product to be sold. For complex products this requires a reliable and trustworthy

sales configuration tool that has the scale and capacity to be responsive when you

need it.

Many sales tools include sales configuration solutions that can only determine the

validity of a configuration once all the options have been selected. Once the choices

have been made, the solution will calculate all the possible combinations and only

then can the validity be determined. This is time consuming as every conceivable

combination needs to be calculated every time. If an issue arises, all of the choices

need to be investigated individually. Errors in configuration can thus lead to time

consuming frustration as well as “dead-end” options.

What is required is a sales configuration solution that can examine each choice, as

it is made, and indicate immediately if there is an issue, rather than waiting until the

end to make an assessment.

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End-to-end configuration information simplifies the sales processTo effectively support the sales process for complex products, it is not enough to

provide an extension to existing sales tools. Replacing these tools is also not the

answer. What is required is a reliable ‘single source of truth’ on available product

configurations that can be confidently offered to customers. This is a source of

information that can be integrated with existing solutions to enable salespeople to

close deals faster and with greater accuracy.

This ‘single source of truth’ can be achieved in 3 steps:

Step 1: Extending the sales configuration solution to encompass what is possible

to deliver by extracting information from Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)

and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. This ensures that any product

configurations offered can also be delivered.

Step 2: Extending to Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems to ensure that

the latest product releases and options are available and can be presented to

customers.

Step 3: Once integration to these systems has been implemented, it is possible to

provide end-to-end product configuration information to all functions from product

design to manufacturing to sales and service functions. This acts as a ‘single source

of truth’ on product configuration options that is shareable and reliable with

real-time updates.

For salespeople or for your partner network, this information can be used to support

digital product brochures where customers can interactively choose the options

they need, safe in the knowledge that only valid options are being presented. It can

also be used online to present valid product configuration options to customers

researching their needs, and to empower sales partners when they configure

solutions for their customers. No matter the sales channel, the information is reliable,

up-to-date and accessible any time.

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Viessmann’s sales solution empowers partnersGermany-based Viessmann, an international leader in climate, industrial and

refrigeration solutions, uses SAP to manage its extensive product portfolio, but

faced challenges in enabling its partner network to sell such a complex portfolio of

products:

“Viessmann has a very broad range of partners in Germany and worldwide. Every

year they receive up to five price lists. While working with these price lists, they are

confronted with the whole complexity of the Viessmann product program and for

many of our partners it is just too time-consuming to work with these price lists

and to find a match of the demands of their customers to our products and prices,”

explained Christoph Dannler, Director of Global Sales Processes and Operations,

Viessmann.

Configit worked with Viessmann to create a sales tool that could be provided to

partners, providing guidance on how to configure heating system solutions based

on the many product options available. This includes technical validation of the

solution to ensure that product configurations are correct and safe. The tool is

named “The Quote Assist” or “Viessmann Angebotsassistent” in German.

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A key capability of the solution is its ability to be integrated directly with SAP to

access product portfolio information and share this effectively with partners

including pricing and other commercial rules. This resulted in more efficient partner

sales, as well as new opportunities:

“By using the Configit Configuration Engine we were on the one hand able to gain

efficiency and on the other hand we were also able to lift cross-selling potentials,”

stated Manuel Wohlfarth, responsible for IT Business and the Digital Services,

Viessmann.

Viessmann has identified many benefits of implementing “The Quote Assist” solution

including an improvement in customer satisfaction:

“The three main benefits for our partners are the guided configuration of heating

systems, the reduction of the product complexity and the technical validation that

provides security and to avoid mistakes. The external benefits are the seamless

customer journey for our partners, the increase of customer happiness and their

clients and partner retention. Seeing that Configit is a very powerful tool that is easy

to operate, we now use Configit for two further products,” according to Christoph

Dannler, Director of Global Sales Processes and Operations, Viessmann.

Learn more about this case on Configit.comSeamless Seamless sales of complex

A comprehensive digital transformation implementation not only benefits us, but our partners are enjoying a seamless customer journey, increased customer satisfaction and greater client and partner retention. A true win-win!- Christoph Dannler Director of Global Sales Processes and Operations, Viessmann

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Seamless sales of complex products leads to better buying experiences With the right sales configuration solution, the focus shifts from internal

discrepancies to external empowerment. Without adequate sales tools, there is

increased risk of:

• Products being promoted and sold that cannot be delivered

• Discrepancies between what is offered on one sales channel versus another

• Inadequate service as necessary components are no longer available without a

suitable replacement option

Modern sales configuration solutions, like Configit Ace® for Sales Configuration,

ensure that there are no discrepancies. Reliable product configuration information is

available to all functions and across all sales channels without delay, with each step

in the product configuration process validated immediately.

This empowers sales and service functions, partners, and ultimately leads to a

better buying experience, increased customer retention and brand loyalty.

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About Configit’s Sales Configuration SolutionThe Configit Ace® for Sales Configuration solution is based on Configit Virtual

Tabulation® technology, which enables millions of product configuration options

to be presented to customers without delay or scalability issues. It manages all

the rules governing which options can be combined together, and is automatically

updated when new options become available. Any potential conflicts between

options are identified, and the solution is automatically updated, eliminating the

ability of a customer to choose a non-deliverable combination.

This ensures that only valid configurations are presented to customers no matter the

sales channel.

In addition, the sales configuration solution allows rules governing sales options to

be added to the solution. This could include pricing options, terms and conditions,

partner discounts and other options that could be associated with specific product

configurations.

With the Configit Ace® for Sales Configuration solution, salespeople are now in a

position to collaborate with customers in real-time with up-to-date information

allowing the deal to be closed when the time is right. This same information can be

presented in all other omni-sales channels governed by pre-defined rules, including

automatic conversion to local or regional configuration options including payment

terms and other commercial options.

The solution can scale to millions of configuration options so there is no limit to what

can be accommodated for even the most complex products and demanding sales

processes.

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Enabling cross-functional collaboration

The Configit Ace® solution can be configured to provide views that are specific to

each function, so only information relevant to salespeople are presented in the sales

view, while sales rules and options are not present in the PLM or manufacturing

views. This allows each function to benefit from the single source of truth that the

solution provides while also adding the options and rules that are specific and

important to daily work.

It also provides the basis for a closer collaboration on how to design, manufacture,

sell and service new products and services. A single source of truth means that

a key source of frustration and distrust between departments is now removed

allowing more constructive and inclusive discussions to begin. The sales and

service departments can provide valuable input on how customers view and use

products and services, what their preferences are and what trends are emerging.

Manufacturing can provide input on what is easy or difficult to manufacture, which

combinations of configuration options are more profitable than others and which

options have inherent risk due to the availability or lead-time of key components.

With a single source of truth, the discussion moves to a higher level leading to

greater insight and end-to-end thinking on how products and services should be

designed, manufactured, sold and serviced.

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At Configit, we help our customers globally to master the challenges of getting configurable products to market faster, with higher quality and engineered at lower costs. As a pioneer of Configuration Lifecycle Management (CLM), we have been instrumental in driving the adoption of CLM solutions globally. The Configit CLM solution is the first of its kind to connect and enable collaboration across functions - from engineering and sales to manufacturing and service - by ensuring the entire organization is operating from the same data. We call it a single source of truth, which provides companies with comprehensive, accurate and easily accessible data of all their configurable products.

Trusted by the world’s largest manufacturing companies for their mission-critical digital transformation projects, our advanced configuration platform built on patented Virtual Tabulation® technology handles the most complex products on the market.

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