Configure One Removes Restraints on IMMI's Quotation Process

OAK BROOK, IL, January 21, 2011 (Press-News.org) Configure One , a leading provider of web-based product configurator and electronic catalog software, today announced that IMMI —an industry leader in the design, testing and manufacturing of advanced safety systems for commercial vehicles—selected Configure One's Concept Enterprise Product Configurator after a comprehensive evaluation.

For more than 50 years, IMMI has been an industry leader in the design, testing and manufacturing of advanced safety systems. Over the years the business has transitioned from selling components to selling complete systems. "We are a build-to-order company," said Larry Gray, president. "We supply seatbelt systems for school buses and other commercial vehicles, and because of options, colors, sizes etc. the number of potential combinations increased exponentially. We needed a tool to configure these products, and automatically generate, bills of material, routings, and drawings. In addition, we want to guide the selling process for both internal and external sales, and ultimately with our customers."

IMMI invested a lot of time searching for a suitable solution. "Over the years we invested a lot of resources in one solution that ultimately proved too complex. Configure One conducted a proof of concept with our data, and we saw how Concept would work in our environment. Another important aspect was the ability to create rules without specialist programming skills," said Gray.

According to Gray, IMMI expects big benefits from streamlining the Company's quote-to-production process. "Concept will reduce configuration errors and improve the accuracy of bills of material, and routings. In addition, we expect to dramatically reduce the time it takes to release engineering drawings, bills of material, and routings to manufacturing. This will in turn reduce our overall lead time."

Concept will also help IMMI avoid a major problem in the near future. "Our company was founded over 45 years ago," said Gray. "As a result, we have some key people with a lot of experience and product knowledge nearing retirement. We needed a way to capture that knowledge and share it with everyone in the company, so we can still operate our business when people retire."

"Many established companies are facing the problem of an ageing workforce," said Jim Hessin, a senior account executive with Configure One. "Concept provides companies, such as IMMI, with the capability to capture that knowledge and experience in the form of product rules and definitions and make it available to anyone within the organization."

About Configure One
Configure One is a leading provider of web-based product configurator and electronic catalog software. Configure One's Concept Enterprise Product Configurator , Concept E-Catalog , and Concept E-Commerce products are enterprise applications that enable companies to efficiently sell and process orders for configurable, multi-option, and customizable products and services. Configure One's customers are able to increase revenues while reducing costs by automating much of the sales, order entry, and engineering processes. Customers include industry leaders such as ABB, Emerson Electric, British Telecom, Danaher, Dover Corporation, General Dynamics, Stryker Medical, Sumitomo, and Thomas & Betts. For further information, please contact us at (630) 368-9950