Configuration manager: describing an emerging professional figure

Abstract

The implementation and management of product configurators in enterprises are accompanied by several challenges and it is widely recognized that the organizational ones are among the biggest. In order to overcome such challenges, companies need people with adequate competencies. What are the required individual competencies to successfully implement and use product configurators (both sales and technical ones)? Which are the characteristics of an ideal professional figure that can have all these competencies? How could the needed competencies be developed through training? This paper brings these questions to the scientific discussion on product and sales configurators. However, these questions have a wider scope since they also relate to the enquiry on mass customization and on product variety management: they deepen the perspective on organizational design related to these issues.