Connecting a configurator to your ERP: where do you start?

A configurator that produces fine quotes, but whose orders are then typed into the ERP system by hand, does only half the job. The real benefit comes when the order, with its bill of materials and routing, lands in your ERP by itself. This article covers what that takes.

What goes from the ERP to the configurator

Your ERP is usually the source of the master data. The configurator reads it, so it only has to be maintained in one place:

articles and descriptions;
customers, with their price agreements and discounts;
cost prices and sales prices;
if you like: stock levels and lead times.

What goes from the configurator to the ERP

The sales order, with customer, lines, prices and delivery date.
The configured product, with an article code and description built from the choices.
The bill of materials: which parts, how many, and in which size.
The routing: which operations, with set-up and run times.
Documents, such as the quote as a PDF or a production drawing.

Three ways to connect

Exchanging files (CSV or XML). The easiest place to start, and almost every ERP can import them. Less direct, though: there is often a few minutes' delay.
A web service or API. The configurator and the ERP talk to each other directly, and an error comes back immediately. Usually the best choice if your ERP has a good API.
Directly through the database. Fast and flexible, but more sensitive to a new version of the ERP. Only do this in agreement with your ERP supplier.

Four choices to make up front

New article or generic article? Does every configuration get its own article code in the ERP, or do you use one general article with the features in the description?
Who owns the prices? The ERP or the configurator. Pick one, or they will drift apart.
When does the order go through? As soon as the customer agrees, or only after a check by the back office?
What about changes? If the customer wants to change something after ordering: do you adjust the configuration and send the order again, or change it only in the ERP?

Start in one direction

You don't have to connect everything at once. Start with the order and its lines from the configurator to the ERP; that alone removes the retyping. Then add the bill of materials and routing, and finally let prices and articles come from the ERP. Test each step in a test environment before it goes live.

Want to read more? See also How a product configurator prevents order errors.