Is a Configurator Right for Your Construction Product? 5 Questions to Help You Decide
Configuring a car or designing a kitchen? Just a few minutes.
Configuring a hall or a roof? Just a few clicks online.
Digital configurators are changing how complex construction products are designed and sold. They enable fast design, accurate price quotes, and realistic 3D visualizations—making both planning and decision-making significantly easier.
But is a configurator the right solution for your construction product? Answer these five key questions to find out:
1. Does your product have a repeatable structure with variable parameters?
Configurators work best when the core structure stays the same, but details such as dimensions, materials, or colours can vary. That’s why they’re ideal for products like steel buildings, roofs, fences, windows, or modular buildings. On the other hand, they’re less suitable for highly customized, one-off constructions or historical renovations.
Test: Can your product be defined using a limited set of parameters (dimensions, material, colour)?
If yes, a configurator is a strong fit.
2. Do you handle a high volume of projects each year?
A configurator pays off when you repeat similar processes regularly. The more similar price quotes you prepare, the faster your return on investment.
Best fit:
- 50+ projects/year → ROI in 6–12 months
- 100+ projects/year → ROI in 3–6 months
Less suitable:
- Fewer than 20 projects/year
Test: Do you prepare more than 50 price quotes annually? How many of them are similar?
3. Does preparing a quote take too long?
If your sales team or engineers spend hours—or even days—calculating materials, geometry, and pricing, your product is a perfect candidate for automation. For example, preparing a quote for a residential roofing project can traditionally take an entire day. With a configurator, it can be reduced to just 15–30 minutes.
Test: Does it take more than three hours to prepare a price quote?
If yes, a configurator can save you significant time and costs.
4. Do your customers need visualization?
Customers want to see what they’re buying. They expect 3D previews and the ability to explore different options. This is especially important for structures like roofs, facades, fences, or buildings, where design, colour, and layout play a key role.
Test: Do customers ask questions like:
- “What will it look like?”
- “Can I see another option?”
5. Do you have a standardized product offering?
Configurators work best with a clearly defined catalogue of materials, components, and pricing. They’re a great fit if you have in-house production, stable suppliers, and standardized systems. They’re less effective if every project relies on different suppliers and frequently changing prices.
Test: Do you have a price list or product catalogue you regularly work with?
Evaluation
5 out of 5 “yes” answers
- A configurator is almost a must-have. You’ll save time, reduce costs, and gain a competitive edge.
3–4 “yes” answers
- A configurator makes sense—it’s worth exploring your options.
1–2 “yes” answers
- Other forms of digitalization might be a better fit, or your product may require a more tailored approach.
0 “yes” answers
- A configurator is likely not the right solution for your business.
Where It Makes Sense, Configurators Change the Game
Companies that respond to a quote request within hours instead of days win more projects.
- Accurate bills of materials reduce waste and save time on-site
- Faster processes mean more price quotes with less effort
- 3D visualizations help close deals
HiStruct is used by more than 80 companies worldwide and provides configurators for steel buildings, roofing systems, and modular construction. It also offers custom solutions tailored to specific construction products.
Curious whether a configurator would make sense for your product?
Get in touch with us. We’ll review your current quote request process and compare it with the results achieved by companies using HiStruct—so you can clearly see the potential impact on your business.
