The demand driven chain [product configurator]

The configurator is a family of software systems that typically provides the customer with an interface to show the product range, enables customer-driven product configuration and may allow the ordering of configured product. In this paper, the author explains how a product configurator can help with demand management. A configurator can be an important driver for change in the supply chain infrastructure because it contains key information on customer preferences. It can also provide important data source - data can be mined from it on customer ordering behaviour, which may inform future strategy and be used for forecasting and supply chain management.