Configura, maker of CET Designer software, announces a major technology collaboration with Inscape Corporation and KiSP Inc. for the development of Inscape’s new F.I.R.E. (Fully Integrated Resource for Enterprise management) solution.
The collaboration will build on Inscape’s existing CET Designer Extension, and integrate new Configura and KiSP technologies, to create a customer-centric solution unlike any other. It will result in a single, seamless solution for dealers specifying Inscape products and will transform client engagement and enterprise management experiences.
“F.I.R.E. will position us at the forefront of the customer experience in our industry and greatly reduce redundancies,” said Jim Stelter, CEO, Inscape. “Our dealers will benefit from reduced errors, greater efficiencies, and improved margins.”
Configura first collaborated with Inscape several years ago to create Inscape’s CET Designer Extension, which enables Inscape and its dealers to quickly and accurately specify and order Inscape’s Addwall product.
F.I.R.E. brings Inscape’s investment to the next level: It will incorporate not only Configura’s Parametric Graphical Configuration (PGC) technology but also its newest product, Catalogues, as well as KiSP’s KITS collaborator mobile platform, in order to create a total solution for client engagement and enterprise management.
“We’ll be working with KiSP to create a unique solution so the user can seamlessly get the benefits from both technologies,” said Tim Deemter, production team leader, Configura. “Our Catalogues technology will be the backbone of how this new Extension is implemented. The goal is that the results and successes of this project will be extended to other software platforms.”
The Configura project team will also work closely with Inscape and KiSP leaders to streamline procedures in the total selling process, from specification to ordering. It is an important opportunity to look at previous experiences in order to develop improved software solutions, according to company leaders.
CET Designer is Configura’s “core” PGC-based software platform; an Extension is an addition to the program with functionality that incorporates all of the rules, parts, and pricing of a given manufacturer’s products. Manufacturers invest in proprietary CET Designer Extensions to make selling products easier and more accurate.
Configura’s Catalogues solution is another way for manufacturers to get products into CET Designer; it is a step before the full PGC-based solution. A Catalogue is a collection of a manufacturer’s products, stored in an online database managed by Configura, and made available to thousands of CET Designer users around the world.
KiSP’s KITS Collaborator is a mobile concept ideation, budgeting, and rendering tool that works with modern tablet devices such as the iPad. Designed specifically for the furniture sales professional, this powerful yet intuitive application provides instant access to help find, visualize, and quote product solutions when working with customers.
“This collaboration takes the best of each partner’s capabilities to create efficiencies for our dealers, and it will help designers to visualize solutions quickly and without the encumbrance of existing processes,” said Phillip Damianidis, director of information technology, Inscape. “F.I.R.E. will help designers and dealers focus on the design solution and not worry about the technology or product rules—creating a true collaborative process that delivers a better result for everyone.”
“By partnering closely with our industry friends at Configura, we’re giving Inscape dealers and customers access to a seamless integration of these leading-edge technologies to dramatically reduce cycle times, error rates and duplication,” said Rob Kendal, managing director, KiSP, Inc.
F.I.R.E. will be available for Inscape’s product collection in June 2015.
