CHATSWORTH, Calif., January 13, 2003—Chatsworth Products, Inc. (CPI), a 100% employee-owned leading manufacturer of structural support systems for technology equipment, announces the debut of the Intelligent Catalog. An innovation in Web-based cabinet, rack and cable pathway product information and system configuration, the Intelligent Catalog (available at www.chatsworth.com ) gives consultants, designers and installers the ability to design and specify network infrastructure products online.
In addition to providing in-depth product specifications, the Intelligent Catalog includes links to data sheets, installation instructions, drawings and other information resources. Additionally, the Intelligent Catalog is the first online product information and design tool with the ability to automatically suggest required or optional add-ons, ensuring the development of a complete system that includes all necessary components.
Upon using the Intelligent Catalog, pilot tests and evaluations conducted by leading distributors and cable installation companies found a 25% increase in sales productivity, a 10% increase in contract win rates and a 25% increase in add-on sales. Furthermore, product return rates declined 25% and customer support costs dropped 15%.
Utilizing a suite of tools based on industry standard technology (XML), CPI’s Intelligent Catalog was developed by eXalt Solutions of Cambridge, Mass., provider of sales chain automation software for manufacturers of complex technical products. The Catalog (which currently contains more than 12,000 products and 500,000 configuration rules) is available to all who visit the CPI Website. "We saw an opportunity to provide enhanced value to our customers by dramatically streamlining the product selection process” explains CPI president, Joseph Cabral.
Consultants, designers and installers will benefit from using the following system capabilities:
- Guided selling – As an engineer or installer designs a wire closet or data center using the Intelligent Catalog, automatic alerts notify the user to include required add-ons and optional components. Pilot users estimated that this feature would increase their add-on sales by 25%.
- Faster training – The easy-to-access Website user interface and graphics engine allows sales and marketing personnel, in addition to designers, the ability to understand and sell new products, reducing product introduction time by 25%.
- Faster specification – The parametric search capabilities of the catalog enable designers and installers to find the right part quickly without having to navigate through screens of irrelevant data. In addition, drawings and other background information are instantly accessible, resulting in a 25% increase in productivity.
Collaboration is another key benefit of the system. The ability of distributors, contractors and suppliers to work simultaneously on the same spec list and drawing saves time and reduces error rates.
“The Intelligent Catalog takes the entire network infrastructure design and assembly process to a new level of productivity” explains CPI’s Cabral. "The eXalt Product Suite that powers the CPI Intelligent Catalog benefits users in ways that will fundamentally improve their business processes. We’ve only begun to learn how the Catalog's capabilities can be utilized in the marketplace.”