3D Configurator for Dealer Networks: One Tool, One Price List

In short: When dealers, distributors and independent reps quote with the same 3D configurator as the manufacturer, each with their own login, everyone uses the same up-to-date price list, the same product rules and the same quote format, and the manufacturer sees what's being quoted in each territory.

A dealer network works better when everyone quotes with the same tool the manufacturer uses: the same 3D configurator, with the same up-to-date price list, the same product rules and the same quote format, each dealer with their own login. That way a buyer three states away gets exactly what they'd get at the plant, the dealer doesn't have to call in for every inquiry, and you can see what's being sold in each territory.

How a dealer network quotes today

Plenty of companies that build sheds, metal buildings, prefab homes or horse barns sell outside their area through third parties: a lumberyard that offers buildings, a lot that displays sheds, a rep who works the farm shows, a distributor in another region. Each one quotes however they can:

• With a PDF price list sent out a couple of months ago that's no longer valid.
• By calling the factory for every inquiry that falls outside the catalog, and waiting.
• With their own spreadsheet, with their own rounding and their own mistakes.
• By sending the buyer photos of other jobs, because they have no way to show what the buyer is actually asking for.

The result: different quotes for the same product depending on who wrote it, old prices you then have to honor or walk back, and a manufacturer that has no idea what's being quoted in its name until the order shows up.

What changes with one tool for everyone

When your network uses the same quoting tool you do, four things fall into place.

One price, always current. The price table lives in one place and the manufacturer controls it. If steel or sheeting goes up, you change it once and everyone —your own reps, dealers, independent reps— quotes with the new number from that moment on. No old lists floating around. I explain it in updating prices with inflation.

The same product rules. A dealer can't offer a door that doesn't fit or a combination you don't build, because the tool won't allow it. The rules that used to live in the owner's head now live in the system. See turning the owner's know-how into rules.

The same quote. The buyer gets the same PDF with a render of what was quoted, the same layout and the same terms, no matter who sent it. Your brand looks the same everywhere.

The dealer can show the product. Instead of photos of someone else's job, they design the buyer's building or home in 3D together, on a phone or tablet, and send them the link.

Each dealer with a login and the right access

A dealer network isn't an in-house sales team, and the tool has to reflect that. The public Estructuras 3D configurators don't show prices: pricing comes in the custom build, behind a user login. In the system I built for EQUIBOX, a horse barn manufacturer in Berazategui, Buenos Aires, there are already admin and sales rep roles, and prices only show up when a rep is logged in.

For a dealer network, whatever each manufacturer needs can be built on top of that, for example:

• Pricing by channel. The distributor sees the dealer price and the suggested retail price; the end buyer, if you want, sees a reference price.
• Capped margins and discounts. Each dealer can apply a discount up to a limit you set. More in controlling sales rep discounts.
• Their own book of business. Each dealer sees their own customers and quotes, not everyone else's. You see all of it.
• Territories. Inquiries coming in through your website can be routed to the dealer for that area.
• The tool under the dealer's brand, if you want that, or always under yours.

None of these comes prebuilt: they get defined with each company, based on how its network works. If pricing is a sensitive topic for you, there's more in keeping prices private in a configurator.

What the manufacturer gets

• Visibility without calling anyone. The dashboard shows what each dealer is quoting, in which territory, and which products get asked for most.
• Fewer calls to the owner. The rep handles on their own what used to take a phone call. Same idea as sales team autonomy, taken outside your four walls.
• Orders that arrive right. What the dealer sold reaches production with every dimension and option, same as an in-house sale.
• A network that's easier to grow. Bringing on a new dealer doesn't mean they have to memorize your catalog: the tool tells them what's possible and what isn't.

What the dealer gets

Dealers come out ahead too, and that matters, because a tool your network doesn't use is worthless:

• They quote on the spot, with the buyer right there.
• They have a 3D model to show, which is often exactly what they're missing against the competition.
• They don't lose sales waiting to hear back from the factory.
• They don't get stuck with the fallout of an outdated price list.

On how the tool gets used out in the field, I wrote about the 3D quoting tool for sales reps.

Getting started

I'm Facundo Campo, a software developer based in Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and I build 3D quoting tools and sales systems for manufacturers that sell made-to-order products. If you have dealers, distributors or reps and each of them quotes their own way, start by looking at how a product comes together in the metal buildings or horse stalls configurators. To talk about your network, message me on WhatsApp at +54 9 11 6193-3176 or email facundocampo100@gmail.com, in English or Spanish, or see how custom 3D quoting software development works.

Frequently asked questions

Do dealers see the same prices as the manufacturer?

That's your call. With logins and roles, each dealer can see their dealer price, the suggested retail price or both, and you see everything. It's part of the custom build.

What happens when prices change?

You change them once in the table you control, and every new quote, from any rep or dealer, goes out with the updated number.

Can a dealer give discounts?

Each dealer can be given a maximum discount you set. If they need more, they request it and someone at the factory approves it. That gets built for you.

Does the dealer need to install anything?

No. The quoting tool runs in the browser on a computer, phone or tablet. If they work trade shows or rural areas, it can be made installable so it works with no signal, like the EQUIBOX one.