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Growing companies that are faced with an increasingly competitive marketplace where customers demand custom products should seriously consider use of a parametric configurator. Parametric configurators are especially suitable where the product is technically complex and the company needs to support an expanding salesforce with on-line knowledge. These solutions are available for small to large corporations and vary in both price and sophistication. Adoption of parametric configurator technology requires not only a significant investment in software, but also a considerable investment in development of the models and training of the users. Before the implementation is started it must be determined where, how and by whom the technology will be used. This will determine the purpose of the configurator, how the user interface will guide the user through the evaluation of requirements, the required output, etc. Implementation requires pinpoint analysis of the existing engineering rules pertinent to a product and then interpretation into modeling rules. It also requires foresight into how the underlying database may change and how new products and rules may be added. The success of the technology in a corporation ultimately depends on user training and the users’ ability to easily and quickly generate the required output. Parametric configurator technology is a mission-critical technology which should be implemented in a controlled and tightly managed environment. The implementation should draw resources from all pertinent departments of the organization, including engineering, manufacturing, sales, purchasing, etc.
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