For Airpax Corporation, a world leader in the design and manufacture of magnetic circuit breakers and related products, TechniCon developed a guided sales system that allows customers to quickly find and specify circuit breakers to meet their unique requirements.

Advanced selection tools include parametric search, which allows users to find products that meet specific operating or feature criteria, such as maximum interrupting capacity or approval rating.

Parametric search always returns results. If no products match the parameters selected by the customer, the system returns a table showing those products that meet a subset of the parameters.

For example, if no product meets all five specified parameters on a search, there may be a product that meets four of the parameters. Three other products may meet a different set of four parameters. Another product may meet three parameters. The customer can then determine if any of these "near-matches" will work for this application.

Users can also enter a partial or complete Airpax or Airpax competitor's part number to find products. Customers can do side-by-side comparisons of products returned by a search.

After selecting a product, users can do a detailed configuration by specifying product options using the "Airpax Assembler." Based on the options selected, the Assembler provides notes, drawings and specifications to help customers configure products.

Part numbers are assembled as customers select options. Once a product is configured and has a complete part number, customers can check pricing and real-time availability directly from Airpax's AS/400-based ERP system.

TechniCon designed the user interface to engage the customer. A compact client-side product configurator is transparently provided to minimize server traffic and maximize responsiveness. "Glass paning" techniques help guide users as they navigate the interface.

"We're excited about the system," said Don Pruitt, Sales and Marketing Manager for Airpax's Power Protection Products division. "The feedback from the users has been overwhelmingly positive. Customers are finding they can create detailed solutions and specifications for their power protection needs in minutes."

"In the past, this could take hours, and in many cases, customers didn't feel comfortable with a solution until they consulted the factory to ensure the part number was correct."

"The Airpax Assembler lets them know in minutes and provides a detailed data sheet. We're still there for support, but now we can focus on our customers' special or unique requirements."

As of Q4 2005, 8600 customers had registered to use the Assembler, with 500 regular customers using the system daily.

Founded in 1895, Holophane is the acknowledged industry leader in outdoor and industrial lighting products. Along with its affiliated brand, Antique Street Lamps, Holophane offers the widest selection of outdoor decorative lighting on the market.

Specifying street lamps is a complex process. Each component of the lamp (post, crossarm and luminaire) has multiple design and functional options that need to be configured. Wind safety issues need to be addressed.

Customers often have no idea on how to correctly specify these fixtures. Incorrect orders mean costly schedule delays. Product returns are expensive. Looking for a system that would change the business of selling street lamps, Holophane selected TechniCon.

"We had experience with configurators and looked at a lot of vendors. We were looking to do something unprecedented and TechniCon made us confident that we could pull this project off," explained Jeff Ehret, Director of Business Systems for Holophane.

TechniCon developed the "Envision" system to guide users step-by-step through the configuration process. As a first step, the user enters a wind speed so the system can calculate the available wind load capacity of a street lamp as the user selects components.

Users can select posts, arms and luminaires in any order. After each component is configured, it is added to the street lamp assembly. A 3D model can be displayed of a component before adding it to the assembly.

A 3D image of the assembly is displayed and updated whenever a component is added. Users can quickly view different combinations of components and post heights. An interactive viewer allows users to zoom-in and examine the street lamp from any angle.

The 3D models and images are generated using an automation module that TechniCon developed for Autodesk Inventor®.

Design documentation is a key part of the system. Street lamp images can be overlaid on either stock or user-uploaded photographic backgrounds so users can see how the lamp will look in its proposed environment.

A custom cut sheet can be generated that incorporates color renderings, detailed specifications and an order-ready catalog number. Also included is an orientation diagram that locates banner arms and other accessories relative to the street.

When customers can see the exact street lamp that will be manufactured for them, change orders and returns can be eliminated. The system also significantly reduces the need for costly back-end services that had been required for each sale, such as calculating wind load capacities and creating orientation drawings.

At one time, NEC found selling their notebook computers was relatively easy compared to selling their notebook accessories. To increase sales of notebook add-on products, the Portable Systems Marketing Group hired TechniCon to create an electronic accessory catalog for NEC's Versa notebook computer.

Accustomed to working for companies that need results fast, TechniCon called on both its high-level programming expertise and its previous experience with electronic product catalogs to quickly create an easy-to-use program. The software guided users through an electronic catalog of full-screen color images. It also simplified ordering by supplying a built-in, printable order form.

"With our NEC Options Catalog, we threw TechniCon a real development challenge," said Todd Collart, NEC Portable Systems Marketing Manager. "They not only accepted our project with an extremely tight timeline, but they also performed some gymnastics to make sure the product was delivered with time for last-minute alterations. TechniCon put in the extra effort to assure this custom marketing application was exactly what NEC wanted."

NEC's notebook accessory revenues more than doubled in the first two quarters after the catalog's release. As a result, TechniCon has since adapted the program to run on many other NEC notebooks.

SMC, the world's largest manufacturer of pneumatic automation components, offers over 10,000 basic products with millions of variations to meet the diversified needs of its worldwide customers.

Traditionally, SMC's customers had used printed catalogs to research components, obtain part numbers and place orders - a time-consuming and often error-prone process. TechniCon developed an online system to greatly simplify this complex selection and configuration process by providing buyers with guided sales and sizing tools.

Using the "guided search" feature, a customer can choose key attributes of a component and then display a list of compatible products. Alternatively, "wizards" guide customers through specific design processes and suggest appropriate products.

After sizing and configuring a product, customers can view and download dimensionally accurate 3D CAD models and 2D drawing files for use in their assembly drawings.

The online system is tightly integrated with SMC's ERP system. As a result, when the ERP system is updated with new products and pricing, this data is quickly repurposed for the Web site. Being able to leverage SMC's legacy data and systems is one of the reasons TechniCon was able to get SMC's system online in only four months.

The system has proven easy to maintain. Four non-IT, product marketing people monitor and update the system. This team can add over 1,500 new product series to the system in a year.

After a year of operation, there were 25,000 registered users of the Web site and over 10,000 CAD downloads per month. These numbers grew to 140,000 users and over 40,000 monthly downloads in 2006, with total downloads going over 1,500,000 in the third quarter of that year.

According to Tony Hutchinson, SMC's Director of Marketing, "Feedback from the site (www.smcetech.com) has been amazing. Customers are impressed because they can access dynamic product information, solve technical problems and download specs and CAD data, all from the Web."

How does a company efficiently market 57,000 different products on a global scale? How does it effectively distribute and update product illustrations and data while keeping pace with rapid changes in computing? These were the challenges faced by office furniture giant Steelcase.

To meet the needs of its customers, Steelcase needed to migrate from its aging computer infrastructure and provide a new, graphics-rich product database. Steelcase also needed to streamline the update process for the database, which historically lagged well behind product introductions.

TechniCon provided solutions to both problems. First, TechniCon created rich raster and 3D graphics for thousands of Steelcase products, integrating the graphics with extensive legacy product data.

The result was the Steelcase Furniture Symbol Library (FSL). The FSL, which has now been in use for over a decade and a half, allows designers and dealers to quickly view and accurately specify Steelcase products.

TechniCon also automated the database "build" process, significantly reducing the time and cost required to update the FSL. "When a new line of furniture came out, we used to be as much as a year behind in updating the product library," said Steve Fritz, Senior Programmer Analyst for Steelcase. "Now we can do a simultaneous release with new products."

The result, according to Fritz, is faster, lower-cost sales cycles, increased sales, and reduced order entry errors. "The FSL continues to be used by more and more users. It's something we can't do without."

Building on its success with the FSL, TechniCon created a new Windows-based application to automate the product layout and specification process.

The layout software allows users to draw basic interior architectural shapes, such as walls, doors, and windows. Product navigation, selection and placement methods are designed for users with varying levels of product knowledge. Accurately drawn symbols create realistic product representations for proposal and installation drawings.

The program allows salespeople, as well as designers, to search the 57,000-product FSL. They can view and lay out furniture products without manual drawings or physical mockups, and quickly order items directly from Steelcase.

As a result, salespeople have become more productive and the time and cost of Steelcase's sales cycles have been further reduced, according to Steve Fritz, a Senior Programmer Analyst for Steelcase.

"The FSL layout program is an integral part of the design and specification process of Steelcase furniture," Fritz said. "If we took it away today, our dealers and designers would have a fit. They wouldn't have a good way of presenting products to customers and generating orders."

Teknion Corporation, an international leader in the design and manufacture of office systems and related furniture products, selected TechniCon to develop custom online catalogs for its major accounts, such as CIBC, Citigroup and EnCana.

Using TechniCon's custom catalog tools, these catalogs include only those product lines, options and finishes approved by the customer. Facility managers and purchasing agents are assured that any online furniture procurement is "on contract."

Advanced product configuration tools help customers quickly specify products. Customers can visualize how different finishes, colors and accessories will look using interactive 3D images. Images can be rotated, tilted and magnified, allowing users to check their selections before products are purchased and installed.

For customers using e-procurement systems from suppliers such as Ariba and Oracle Exchange, TechniCon's E-Procurement Connector integrates their "buyer" applications with custom catalogs containing customer-specific pricing.

Once a customer has selected items to purchase, the E-Procurement Connector routes the quote through the established requisition and approval process. The resulting purchase order is then routed for order fulfillment.

"The key to selecting CustomCommerce was the product's e-procurement features and the ease of generating custom catalogs for our customers," said Jeff Kraus, Vice President of Sales Administration for Teknion. "We can now target industry sectors that demand e-commerce solutions for furniture procurement."

"The custom catalogs will offload many routines queries from our sales staff and allow us to make better use of our sales resources. Customers will find it easier to do their typical furniture orders and we can be more responsive to special requests," said Teknion's Jeff Kraus. "The online data we collect will also help us learn more about our customers' needs and industry trends."

In the US, more than a quarter of Teknion's orders are submitted via fax or email. The manual re-keying of these orders results in added costs, delays and order entry errors. These errors result in unhappy customers and costly product returns.

Teknion's US team requested that TechniCon create a catalog site to allow its dealers to submit orders on the Web. Two weeks later, TechniCon deployed a pilot system, matching the look and feel of Teknion's existing dealer portal.

Using TechniCon's Legacy-to-Web tools, product data was extracted from existing SIF (Standard Interchange Format) files to load over 86,000 products into the site's catalog. In addition, TechniCon automatically generated product images from Teknion's CAD data.

Being able to repurpose existing data was a key contributer to TechniCon's deploying the production system in just six weeks. Going forward, updated information can be extracted from Teknion's systems to facilitate catalog maintenance.

TechniCon designed the dealer order site to fit into Teknion's IT environment. Existing Web services for user login and checking order status were reused, while an integration mechanism was developed to export orders to Teknion's Baan order entry system.

"The response to the catalog site has been amazing. Our dealers were placing orders from day one and the number of users and orders keeps growing," observed Bill Flanders, Vice President of Information Technologies for Teknion.