How to scale customization without overloading teams
For custom product manufacturers, the complexities and inefficiencies associated with manual design and sales tasks can be an obstacle to growth. Manual processes can slow down sales cycles, increase error rates, and overload teams.
The solution is to automate and standardize design, configuration, pricing, and quoting processes. Design automation and CPQ technology solutions enable manufacturers to manage product complexity, reduce manual effort, and handle increased demand without overloading teams and causing bottlenecks.
The challenges of scaling custom products
1. Complex pricing models
Managing a range of different pricing structures can be difficult for manufacturers of custom products. Pricing can vary not only according to configuration options but also depending on location, volume, distributor, etc.
2. Risk of errors
Manual processes involve a higher risk of error. They can lead to miscalculations, delays, rework, and potential lost sales. All of this can have a negative impact on revenue and customer confidence.
3. Long quote and sales cycles
Sales teams can lose their momentum and become demotivated when custom products take too long to configure and quoting is complicated and slow. Sales opportunities can be lost if prospects receive quotes from your competitors ahead of a quote from your business.
3. Bottlenecks and miscommunication
Traditional pricing and quoting processes for custom products can struggle to keep up as demand grows. Communication between sales, design, and production teams can become complicated, resulting in bottlenecks, errors, and rework.
Scaling customization with DriveWorks
How manufacturers using DriveWorks scale customization without increasing team workload
DriveWorks design automation, 3D product configurator, and CPQ solutions enable manufacturers of custom products to scale customization without overloading sales and engineering teams.
Reduce engineering bottlenecks
Rather than relying on engineers to review every custom request, configurable rules ensure that sales teams can only select valid product options. Design automation technology automatically generates accurate SOLIDWORKS® drawings and models, freeing up engineering time and ensuring accurate designs.
Enable sales teams to work independently.
Guided selling tools enable sales teams to confidently configure complex products accurately without needing support from engineering teams.
Deliver quotes faster
Automated pricing and quote generation let manufacturers respond quickly and consistently to customer inquiries.
Standardize processes across channels
The same configuration and pricing rules are used across internal sales teams, dealers, distributors, and resellers to ensure consistency as sales volumes increase.
Increase capacity without increasing headcount
DriveWorks enables manufacturers to handle more customer inquiries, generate more quotes, and manage more orders without proportionally increasing resources.
Which industries benefit from automated customization processes?
Manufacturers in the following industries often manage products with hundreds or even thousands of possible product options:
- Industrial machinery
- Materials handling
- HVAC
- Doors & windows
- Furniture
- Transport equipment
- Enclosures
- Medical
- Construction
Configuring these products becomes increasingly difficult as demand grows and product ranges expand. DriveWorks technology enables manufacturers in these industries to meet increased demand for customized products without overloading processes or teams.
Learn more about industries that use DriveWorks here.
Frequently asked questions about scaling customization
How do manufacturers scale product customization?
Manufacturers scale customization using rules-based technology to enable accurate configurations, pricing, and quotes without the need for engineering involvement in every custom request.
What challenges come with manufacturing custom products?
Common challenges include complex pricing, manual quoting prone to errors, longer sales cycles, and increased workloads for sales and engineering teams.
How does CPQ help manufacturers manage customization?
CPQ enables intelligent configuration and automated pricing, quote generation, and approval workflows. This helps manufacturers respond faster, improve accuracy, and win more deals.
Can manufacturers increase customization without hiring more engineers?
Yes. By capturing engineering knowledge and rules, manufacturers can enable sales teams, distributors, and customers to configure independently without additional involvement from engineering.
How does automated quoting improve efficiency?
Automated quoting removes the need for manual calculations, reduces errors, generates documents faster, and shortens sales cycles. This enables sales teams to process higher volumes of inquiries without increasing workload.
How SAFE-T-FAB scaled customization with DriveWorks
SAFE-T-FAB is based in the USA and specializes in custom ladders, crossover stairs, and platforms. Their products are highly customized, providing bespoke safety solutions that “off-the-shelf” products can’t match.
As the business grew, the engineering team found themselves spending more time on manual CAD work and less time on the complex design problems they were hired to solve.
SAFE-T-FAB uses DriveWorks to encode their engineering knowledge and automate their design process. Using DriveWorks, the engineering team:
- Built rules for their design logic
- Embedded safety standards (including OSHA safety codes)
- Automated the generation of models, drawings, and manufacturing data
- This enabled SAFE-T-FAB to maintain full customization while improving speed and design consistency.
The implementation of DriveWorks delivered several benefits for SAFE-T-FAB:
1. Time savings
What previously took an hour of manual CAD work is now completed in around 10 minutes as an automated background process. This freed engineers to focus on higher-value tasks, such as complex design challenges and customer collaboration.
2. More quotes processed
SAFE-T-FAB now processes 15% more quotes. Automated notifications also alert their sales team to follow up on quotes with no response. Their sales team has more time to focus on selling rather than sales admin.
3. Revenue and business growth
By improving quote turnaround times and enabling customers to configure products online, they have achieved a 56% year-on-year revenue increase and a 50% increase in average order value.
4. Improved accuracy and compliance
By embedding engineering rules and safety standards, SAFE-T-FAB has reduced the risk of design errors and ensured consistent adherence to safety regulations.
5. Scalable customization
DriveWorks enabled SAFE-T-FAB to scale their business without sacrificing their unique, highly customized product offering.
Configure, design, sell, and manufacture custom products faster
DriveWorks enables manufacturers to design, customize, and deliver custom products faster and more accurately.
Whether you operate in industries such as architecture, machinery, HVAC, medical equipment, or transportation, DriveWorks enables you to handle complex, configurable products with less manual effort. By automating design and quoting processes, you can reduce errors, shorten sales cycles, and respond faster to customer requests for bespoke solutions.
DriveWorks is used by manufacturing companies from a range of industries, enabling manufacturers to overcome the challenges of designing and selling configurable products.
Because DriveWorks is modular, scalable, and incredibly versatile, manufacturers use DriveWorks in many different ways, building design automation, product configurator, and CPQ solutions to suit their needs.