Synergy in Action: PIM, CPQ, and 3D visualization

The trio, transforming B2B sales

Product configuration is at the heart of the success of almost 80 percent of leading companies in the industrial business. And for good reason! The companies crossbase, Plan Software and KiM (now under the umbrella company 4PACE) have also recognized this potential and have been working together successfully as partners for many years. The common goal: the seamless integration of their software solutions in the areas of PIM, Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ) and 3D visualization for industrial customers, particularly from the mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and building technology sectors.

Longstanding partnership meets innovation spirit

PIM, CPQ & 3D visualization – The formula for perfect products

The three partners work together seamlessly to enable the following interaction: Crossbase provides all the product information from its Product Information Management (PIM) and Media Asset Management (MAM) that is required for the components used in the configuration. The 3PQ® configuration system defines the rules for combining the components, while the CAD models for the 3D visualization are defined in CADClick® at the same time.

Der User hat die Möglichkeit, in einer benutzerfreundlichen Webapplikation eine maßgeschneiderte Produktlösung aus verschiedenen Bauteilen zu konfigurieren und das Ergebnis der Konfiguration direkt in seinem CAD-System weiterzuverwenden. Zudem kann CADClick® fotorealistische Bilder und CAD-/BIM-Dateien zur Verteilung über Portale oder zur Erstellung von Dokumentationen an crossbase zurücksenden. Dieser Kreislauf zielt darauf ab, maßgeschneiderte Produktlösungen für Planer und Endnutzer bereitzustellen und dabei den internen Arbeitsaufwand auf ein Minimum zu reduzieren.

Expert webinar ‘Product configuration meets PIM’

In the webinar, the connection between PIM, configuration, 3D visualization, and CAD/BIM data was vividly explained through best-practice examples. Get an insight here.

Spotlight on product information

crossbase – A well-maintained PIM sets the foundation

As already mentioned, crossbase provides extensive product information. This information includes not only technical features such as dimensions, material, color and mounting. The company also provides data from the connected ERP system (e.g. prices), product relationships (e.g. parts lists, accessories and spare parts), media content (e.g. images, drawings, diagrams, documents and videos) and texts (e.g. for tenders, data sheets and offers). This information is available in different languages and country variants.

Furthermore, in crossbase The basic options for configuring components into a complete product solution are maintained using a configuration structure. This includes the definition of the components (“configuration objects” ) that make up a product solution, as well as the configuration features in which these components vary. Each of these configuration features can in turn be assigned further information such as information texts and images to support the selection as well as data for the calculation or presentation in the data sheet.

Excellent product configuration

3PQ® – A CPQ system for complex use cases

While crossbase provides the components and basic combination possibilities, Plan Software’s (now part of the umbrella company 4PACE) introduced the specific technical possibilities. The CPQ solution specializes in complex use cases and has a web-based maintenance environment and an open interface concept.

In the configurator’s data manager, the set of rules for the product logic (“conditions”) is defined in the form of possible and excluded cases based on the configuration features mentioned above. But that’s not all: it is also possible to define logics for parts lists and price calculation.

This is a guided configuration in which the configuration engine processes the relationship knowledge after each click by the user and provides the user with only technically buildable response options.

Next level 3D visualization

CADClick® – A picture is worth a thousand words

In the 3D configurator from KiM (now part of the parent company 4PACE) components and the overall configuration, consisting of several components, are visualized. For this purpose, 3D CAD models with snap points and collision checks for the geometrically possible connections of the components must be modeled.

KiM implements the application interface, based on a UX/UI concept, with a 3D visualization, which is carried out in real time according to the configuration. The view can be moved, rotated and zoomed and components can be “mounted” using drag & drop or point & click.

Finally, the complete configuration can be output as a bill of materials (‘BOM’) with prices, rendered photorealistically (with adjustable perspective, zoom, and resolution), generated as a CAD/BIM file (3D-PDF, STEP, DWG, IFC, etc.), or projected into a real room image as Augmented Reality (AR).

And thus, the circle is completed

Back to crossbase

Finally, the results from CADClick® are returned to crossbase. The following advantages arise for the user:

Using photorealistic images of components in marketing
Distribution of BIM files generated with CADClick® through the crossbase API server to portals, websites, or directly to customers
Creation of an appealing offer data sheet based on the selected configuration parameters, thanks to the crossbase Print-Engine

In short, what the combination brings to your company

By using CPQ and 3D visualization, products that require a detailed explanation can be impressively visualized for end customers, which significantly improves their marketing. In combination with a product information

Management System (PIM), it ensures that the underlying product information only needs to be maintained or translated once, and each update seamlessly transfers to the configurator.