The assistant clearly guides users throughout the interactive configuration process, displaying available options at each step. Choices are presented in text or graphic-based formats. Throughout the configuration process, the assistant manages consistency and provides real-time pricing. While guided, the user is still free to choose the order in which questions are answered and can modify any selection at any time. The assistant refreshes in real-time and uses visual indicators to highlight option incompatibilities, and identify unanswered and optional questions. Nested configuration provides support for configured sub-assemblies or networks. Partial configurations can be saved for completion at a later time. Completed configurations can be copied and modified for reuse. Powerful yet intuitive, the configurator assistant lets users create customized solutions that perfectly match requirements, without errors and with no prior training.

Cameleon eConfigurator employs a set of advanced computing engines that instantly interpret user selections and apply conditions, constraints, requirements and compatibility rules. Constraint propagation techniques and sophisticated algorithms allow a non-deterministic, interactive approach to all configuration problems. Constraints describe the complex relationships between product attributes and can be used to express the set of prohibited or possible choices. A powerful scripting language enables execution of complex business rules and equations, user-defined functions or calls to external third-party applications.

Dedicated engines have been designed to optimize the configuration process and simplify the creation of configuration models. The pricing engine employs powerful pricing matrices that are applied at various levels in the configured product. These represent the configuration attributes used in the price calculation and include price grids, value-add or calculation formulas required to calculate the price by feature. As a result, pricing is automatically updated during the configuration process with each user selection.

Cameleon eConfigurator comes with multiple out-of-the-box user interfaces that significantly reduce implementation time and maintenance costs. It can be quickly and easily tailored to match company branding. The user interface is dynamically generated based on the objects, rules and constraints contained in the configuration model. Product updates, new configuration models and new products can be rapidly deployed to every sales channel without programming.

Cameleon eCatalog is a robust electronic catalog that provides intuitive navigation, advanced search and guided selling to power today's advanced sales processes. Integration with Cameleon eConfigurator allows products to be configured from the catalog. Cameleon ePricer is a pricing optimization engine that automates the calculation of pricing logic from the simplest to the most complex. Integration with Cameleon eConfigurator provides dynamic calculation of pricing, promotion and discount logic based on the options selected. Out-of-the-box integration between these Cameleon offerings provides a consistent user experience that can be rapidly deployed across the entire spectrum of products and sales channels.

Material and labor costs are calculated using APICS compliant or company-specific costing methods that can automatically execute at the end of the configuration process or upon generation of manufacturing data. With precise costs available immediately after the configuration dialogs, actual cost-plus pricing can be implemented. A critical tool in an engineer-to-order environment, it saves a significant amount of time that the engineering team can use to answer customer-specific requests more rapidly.

Graphical representations of the product can be presented in various formats (SVG, WMF, JPG, PNG) throughout the configuration process. Drawings are generated and instantly updated after each user selection. Upon completion, drawings can be transferred to Microsoft Visio or popular CAD applications for further refinement. A key point in selling custom-made products, drawings help convert quotes into firm orders.

Cameleon eConfigurator generates the top-level item and sub-line breakdown. This includes item code, product description, price, and a list of sub-line items with individual quantity and pricing. These details, along with technical data and drawings, are available to generate quotes and sales proposals of the highest quality.

For to-order products, Cameleon eGenerator provides a set of intelligent engines that are automatically activated to generate multi-level Bill-Of-Materials (BOMs) and routings. Generic product structure models that include calculation rules for setup, run-time and available capacity, plus corresponding tables for materials, standard sub-assemblies and work centers, enable dynamic creation of an infinite number of BOMs and routings from a single configurable product model. Engineers are no longer required to spend countless hours creating and managing pre-defined Bills. Generated engineering or manufacturing BOMs can be transferred to PLM or ERP systems, eliminating errors and reducing order-to-production cycle times.

Cameleon eConfigurator blends seamlessly into existing information architectures and systems. Communication is managed via XML messaging and can be called through web services or directly through Java or C++ APIs. Cameleon eConfigurator adheres to a multi-tier J2EE architecture, ensuring reliable data access, supporting a secured high volume of simultaneous connections, and optimum management of traffic surges.