Depending on the various application features and functionalities, the product configurator is often referred to as:
Variant configurator
Sales configurator
Quote configurator / Configure-Price-Quote
ERP configurator
The biggest difference to the product configurator, apart from the different terminology, is the software implementation. On the one hand, product configurators can be offered as a completely independent software solution. In this case, it is important to check whether the software solution can be integrated into the existing system landscape relatively easily.
On the other hand, renowned ERP software manufacturers deliberately opt for their own implementation by means of deep integration into their ERP system. ‘ERP configurators’ offer decisive advantages for very complex products with many features and characteristics. The product configurator itself is aimed more at determining the customer-relevant product characteristics. Only in combination with the ‘parts lists’ and, in the best case, ‘work plans’ that are generated from this can work be carried out reliably and efficiently across processes.
Excursus: What is a parts list?
A parts list is a list of the components or parts of a product. The parts list contains information about, for example, the number, characteristics, designations and hierarchical order of the various individual parts that are necessary for the composition of the product.