Product configurator or CPQ? What engineer-to-order manufacturers need
Published · Yotec Configurators
CPQ promises fast, correct quotes. For engineer-to-order products, the quote is only half of the job: someone still has to design what was sold.
What CPQ does well
CPQ stands for configure, price, quote. A CPQ system guides a salesperson through valid options, applies pricing rules and discounts, and produces a quote document. It usually lives next to the CRM and is built for the sales process: approvals, price lists, margins and proposal templates.
For products with a finite set of options, such as a machine with a choice of motor, colour and accessories, this is often enough. Every valid combination already exists as a part number or a known bill of materials.
Where engineer-to-order is different
An engineer-to-order product is designed for each order. A steel building with a 23.5 m span, a precast beam with a custom recess or a hangar door for a specific aircraft does not exist until someone engineers it. The quote is only correct if the geometry behind it is correct.
That is why ETO manufacturers need more than option logic:
- Geometry. A parametric 3D model that follows your engineering rules.
- Quantities from the model. Steel weight, concrete volume, reinforcement and parts calculated from what is actually designed, not estimated from a table.
- Drawings and documents. General arrangement drawings for the offer and the customer.
- Handover to engineering. A model that continues in Tekla Structures, Revit or another CAD tool instead of being redrawn.
Three ways to set it up
CPQ plus manual engineering. Sales quotes from tables, engineers redraw after the order. Simple to start, but quotes carry risk and the same product is modelled twice.
CPQ plus design automation. A CPQ front end drives a separate rules engine or CAD automation. It works, but logic is split between two systems and often between two vendors.
One product model in code. The configurator itself holds the engineering logic, produces the model, quantities and drawings, and feeds both the quote and engineering. Pricing can still be handed to an existing CPQ or ERP.
Questions that decide it
- Does every order already exist as a part number, or is it designed for the customer?
- How many hours does engineering spend on a quote that does not turn into an order?
- Do your engineers redraw what sales has already configured?
- Who can change the product rules today, and how long does a change take?
If most answers point to engineering work, a pure CPQ will not remove the bottleneck. The model has to be part of the configurator.
How we approach it
We write the product logic in C#, the API language of Tekla Structures and Revit, so one model serves sales and engineering. We start with a pilot on one product family and connect to the CPQ, CRM or ERP you already use. See how it works.