Implications of product configurator applications: An empirical study

Product configurators have been widely applied in practice for delivering a right amount of product variety. Based on a survey, this study empirically investigates the implications of product configurator applications for companies´ business activities. The purpose is to help companies better plan actions and make changes to embrace the implementation of product configurators with an understanding of the application implications. The results indicate (i) how product configurator applications affect companies´ business activities, (ii) the difficulties in designing, developing, and using product configurators, and (iii) the potential barriers preventing companies from effectively applying product configurators in the future. With the results, we further highlight several improvement areas for companies to investigate in order to reap, to the largest extent, the benefits of implementing product configurators.