TDCI, Inc., a leading provider of configurator-based software solutions, has announced immediate availability of a new BuyDesign iSeries Adapter along with BuyDesign release 5.2. Built on a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) framework. The BuyDesign iSeries Adapter makes it easy to incorporate the Microsoft Windows-based BuyDesign product configurator into order entry and other functions of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems or other software applications running on System i/iSeries/AS/400 mid-range servers, the company announced. Popular iSeries ERP systems include BPCS, MAPICS, and PRMS from Infor; JD Edwards World from Oracle, Frontier from Friedman Corp., MAC-PAC XE from TDCI, and others.

BuyDesign is a comprehensive guided selling and configuration solution developed to streamline the sales process for customized products. BuyDesign helps companies that manufacture products with a wide range of features, options, and dimensions increase sales by becoming "easy to do business with" while at the same time helping them improve profitability by reducing order processing time, cost, and errors. Using the BuyDesign iSeries Adapter, manufacturers can utilize BuyDesign Configurator to provide intuitive, graphical product configuration capabilities within their existing iSeries applications and can add Web-based or distributed desktop/laptop-based applications for guided selling, quoting, consumer interest generation, AutoCAD product catalogs, and more-all built around a common product configuration and visualization engine.

One of the companies that have already used the BuyDesign iSeries Adapter is VT Industries, Inc., a manufacturer of architectural wood doors, fine laminate countertops, and Thermofoil cabinet doors. VT Industries has integrated BuyDesign Configurator with the company's Infor XA ERP system, previously known as MAPICS XA. Having previously incorporated BuyDesign Configurator into the company's Web-based quoting and ordering system, VT Industries is now able to use BuyDesign as a common product configurator across multiple applications and platforms.

"The BuyDesign iSeries Adapter made it very straightforward to integrate BuyDesign Configurator into Infor XA for our Thermofoil Cabinet Door division." says Vince Kolb, VT Industries systems analyst. "It's now a seamless process for order entry people to use the BuyDesign Configurator when keying an order, and all of the proper Infor XA manufacturing information is automatically generated on the back end." Just as importantly, VT Industries now has a single graphical rules development environment and configurator engine for multiple product lines and for multiple ordering and quoting systems. Besides streamlining everyday sales activities, a single configurator makes product changes and new product introductions easier as well.

Using an SOA framework, the BuyDesign iSeries Adapter combines an iSeries module and Windows-based Web services to integrate BuyDesign running on a Microsoft Windows server with the ERP system or other application running on an iSeries server to support a seamless end-user process on desktop PCs. At the conclusion of a configuration session, all configuration outputs are delivered directly to the native iSeries DB2 database. A standard terminal emulator is required on PCs. Once integrated, all BuyDesign capabilities are available for use within the iSeries application, including graphical configuration and reconfiguration; dynamic 2D and 3D product visualization; and generation of bills of materials, routings, drawings, and other manufacturing information.

In addition to the BuyDesign iSeries Adapter, BuyDesign 5.2 contains a number of enhancements to both BuyDesign Configurator and BuyDesign Channel Sales, including new dynamic fields within configuration rules that enable "loops" for multiple similar components in a configuration, expanded support for manufacturing data generation, and expanded ship-to address support.

About TDCI and BuyDesign

TDCI ( www.tdci.com ) is an enterprise solution provider that specializes in helping manufacturers and their distributors streamline the buying process for customized products. TDCI's BuyDesign software is a comprehensive guided selling and configuration solution developed to help companies increase sales by becoming "easy to do business with" while improving profitability by reducing order processing time, cost, and errors. BuyDesign provides modular components for guided product selection and configuration, product visualization, quoting and ordering, drawing generation, and status inquiry. It also includes applications for front-end specification capture from within popular design products such as AutoCAD and others.