Exact Online x CPQing Configurator
Clear product variations of composite articles in no time at all!
Many companies rely on the handy and therefore popular ERP package Exact Online to keep track of their accounting and stock management. If your entire range is provided with parts lists, you can gain insight into the current situation with just a few mouse clicks. But if your company works with product variations and uses Exact Online, you may have noticed that the software can sometimes become a bit complex. This is because the parts lists of these composite products all have to be provided with their own product codes and prices. A few variations can quickly generate thousands of parts lists.
To guarantee our customers the best of both worlds, we have built an integration with Exact Online with our product configurator. We help you optimize Exact Online, so that the software can handle your product variations and/or combinations without any problems.
Product variations result in too many BOMs
As mentioned, Exact Online is very user-friendly for simple stand-alone products. A parts list is created for each of these products with a unique article number. But if you offer composite/more complicated products or services, this quickly leads to many BOMs with many variables. We will explain this using an example.
Suppose a sportswear company makes t-shirts. The customer can choose from three basic models (children, men, women), five sizes (from S to XXL), eight different fits (sleeve length, with or without pockets, etc.) and ten basic colours. In this example, 1,200 different BOMs would be needed to provide each variation with an article number with its own price. If another variation were to be added (such as with or without a collar), another 1,200 BOMs would be added.
In this case, the number of parts lists quickly increases. Especially if there would also be an option for expansion with matching (sports) pants in different sizes and fits. The result is a folder with thousands of bills of materials that affect stock management: they are, after all, included in Exact Online as unique products. By working with composite articles, you can benefit from the conveniences that Exact Online has to offer on the one hand and keep your sales, administration and stock management manageable on the other.
Composite articles
What we often see with (new) customers who work with Exact Online, is that they deal with the challenges discussed in their own way. For example, by implementing your own system of article numbers, so that it is always known exactly what is being sold and what effect it has on the stock. An article number is often built up as a composition of the individual articles. Looking at the example above, each part (base model, size, fit, and base color) would occupy a position in the item number. Each part must then be created and provided with a sales price. In this case, the CPQing Configurator can generate codes based on the rules, implement changes (such as price changes), etc.
By only importing the basic products and variations from Exact Online into our CPQing Configurator, the configurator can put together the product, generate the parts list and calculate the correct price. As said, you can enjoy the benefits (and cooperation) of both systems! The accrued item numbers are also (if necessary) generated directly based on your own logical system. And that is very handy if those numbers are known to your customers and suppliers.
Guaranteed correct orders without margin of error
Another additional advantage of the link between Exact Online and the CPQing Solutions product configurator is that you can immediately rule out impossibilities in this way. After implementation, your salespeople or dealers can, by definition, only compile producible products or services. If we continue with the example of sports shirts, it is conceivable that children’s sizes cannot be produced in all fits, for example. By indicating this via easy to set knowledge rules, the customer, seller or dealer simply cannot make this composition. For example, the margin of error in quotations and/or orders is reduced to 0% and even sellers without full product knowledge can simply draw up quotations. But we go one step further! Our product configurator can also be implemented online in your webshop. Your (anonymous) website users can also themselves place correct orders.
“By using the CPQing Configurator, we don’t have to create and manage tens of thousands of parts lists, but only a few hundred.”
The CPQing configurator specializes in putting together all possible products with the corresponding prices. These are then recorded in a (quote) document. During the composition of the product in the configurator, both a commercial bill of materials and a technical bill of materials are created under water (if necessary). Thanks to the configurator, item management in Exact Online is even more manageable!
Curious?
Would you like to talk to us about how we can make your specific situation easier or would you like a demonstration of our software? Please feel free to contact us without obligation. Together we discuss the possibilities for your organization.