Formaspace relies on Configure One’s CPQ software to assist team members and clients

Adapting to the needs of an ever-evolving market requires manufacturers to employ the latest technology, so Texas-based workspace design firm and furniture manufacturer Formaspace recently licensed Configure One’s CPQ software for both internal and dealer use.

Adapting to the needs of an ever-evolving market requires manufacturers to employ the latest technology, so Texas-based workspace design firm and furniture manufacturer Formaspace recently licensed Configure One’s CPQ software for both internal and dealer use.

Catering to the science sector, Formaspace markets a specialized line of furnishings for laboratory applications from lab benches, workstations and industrial furniture to computer workstations and traditional office furnishings. It has an extensive catalog of products with a wide range of specifications, so the utility of purchasing CPQ software easily became self-evident.

“We will use Configure One to help our sales staff easily make standard and modified made-to-order (MTO) quotes,” CEO Jeff Turk said.

Integrating Configure One’s product into the firm’s existing platforms of Oracle NetSuite and Autodesk Inventor promises to be a seamless transition, according to a company spokesman.

“The Configure One software will make a bill of materials in Autodesk Inventor, and then send that [bill of materials], with routings and accurate costs, to NetSuite, where a customer quote and/or work order can be created,” Turk said.

Formaspace manufactures and distributes its line of custom industrial lab furniture worldwide. The company plans to roll out Configure One gradually as it integrates the software into its routine.

“Initially, only our inside sales staff will use the software,” Turk said. “We already have two customer-facing 3D tools for dealers and direct clients.”

Because customer service is paramount to the business’ success, Formaspace participates as an active player in every step of its sales from CPQ to customer service rather than funneling too many responsibilities down the chain to its dealers. Hence, its personnel deal directly with customers in fulfilling orders at the same level as all of Formaspace’s many product dealers.

Turk conveyed that the company’s home office in Texas, with 63 employees at last count, has “most, if not all of the same resources as most dealers, and are therefore able to support our dealers with unusual needs and one-time demands.”

The business came to select Configure One for three main reasons according to its CEO. First, its clients prefer “as-configured” drawings, which require a lot of “human time” without software. Second, Configure One’s CPQ system helps to avoid human error or client miscommunication and also eliminates “more human time than would be preferable.”

“Detailed drawings could potentially alleviate occasional misunderstandings and automate processes that are currently performed manually,” Turk said.

Third, “the program promises to help us have a single view of our costs throughout the organization,” he said. Clearly, Configure One’s CPQ software proved to be the right product choice for this company.

Based in Austin, Texas, with dealers throughout North America and globally, Formaspace has provided preeminent design solutions for commercial laboratory facilities since 1981. Its Configure One license will now facilitate business across several continents, including branch offices in San Francisco and dealers nationwide in Canada and Taipei.

About Configure One
Configure One is a leading provider of web-based product configurator and CPQ (configure price quote) software. Configure One’s Enterprise Product Configurator® is an enterprise CPQ application that enables companies to efficiently sell and process orders for configurable, multi-option, and customizable products and services. Configure One’s customers can increase revenues while reducing costs by automating much of the sales, order entry, and engineering processes. Customers include industry leaders such as Alstom, Dover Corporation, Rosenbauer, Masonite Corporation, Otis Elevator, SPX Corporation, Stanley Black & Decker, and Sumitomo.