The Configurans: The 2016 Configura CET Designer User Conference

A few weeks ago, Swedish furniture design software company Configura hosted its 9th annual CET Designer User Conference and Developer Conference in Grand Rapids, its home in the U.S. Nearly 350 contract furniture companies, dealers, designers and IT leaders attended.

As in previous years, the two-day conference was filled with casual, intimate sessions where both CET Designer users and software developers could connect with the Configura team to learn more about how best to use and develop the software.

The last few years have been big ones at Configura. At the conference’s partner meeting, Johan Lyreborn, CEO of Configura, announced sales growth of 30% during the first three quarters of 2016. One of Configura’s newer products, CET Developer – which makes it easy for external developers to create CET Designer Extensions – saw 70% sales growth since the beginning of the year. External developers now include those within some of Configura’s manufacturer-partners as well as software development companies.

In addition to expanding its partnerships and building more furniture manufacturers into its software (partners who have invested in Configura’s solution include Steelcase, Herman Miller, Haworth, Teknion, KI, Inscape, OFS Brands and others), the company has also incorporated VR technology and plenty of other new features to keep its customer base happy and guessing about what will come next.

Attendees could preview the upcoming release of CET Designer 7.5, set for November 21. With 7.5, users will be able to produce 360-degree renderings that can be viewed on various kinds of devices, including smart phones and Google Cardboard. Users will see more accessory options with 7.5, enhancements to CET Designer’s Movie Studio and virtual reality technologies, and an added dimension tool on the 2D toolbar (a feature requested by users).

And in addition to countless sessions on how to use specific design tools in the software, there was a great session on hardware; Configura does a really great job of telling dealers and design firms exactly what you need in hardware to be able to successfully run their software.

“We are programmers – everything comes from our ambition to create, said Mr. Lyreborn. “And the problem that often occurs in programming is the distance between the programmers and the users. To overcome that challenge and to create better software, we need to be close to our users and remove the barriers between programmers and users.”

The conference featured two excellent keynotes, and both presentations were powerful, fascinating sessions. On day one, renowned designer Laura Guido-Clark spoke about how design can be a catalyst for change. Ms. Guido-Clark is founder of an eponymous design firm based in Berkeley, CA, founder of a nonprofit called Project Color Corps, and specializes in the skin of products – their colors, materials and finishes. She’s designed for such clients as Toyota, Hewlett-Packard, FLOR, American Seating and Herman Miller.

On day two, Cheryl Durst, executive vice president and CEO of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), spoke about how design grounds humans.

“Design is important because chaos is so hard. Without design, we live in a world of chaos,” said Ms. Durst. “Why we design used to be about making a living, client satisfaction, building a project. Today, it’s about making a contribution, dream fulfillment, building a better world.”

The most exciting aspect of Configura is where it’s heading in the future and the limitless opportunities it sees for itself.

In addition to expanding to Asia with a plan to open a China subsidiary, the company is fast exploring avenues for expanding its software to other industries as well as other functions in furniture and interior design, such as sales, material handling/storage, and healthcare/laboratory processes.

“Our platform is going to take different shapes depending on what role the end user has,” said Mr. Lyreborn.

Configura is looking at ways the program can be customized depending on the user, and it’s already in the prototyping phase for one such venture. In 2017 the company will launch a beta version of CET Designer specifically for salespersons, with the user interface simplified and functionality geared specifically toward the sales end user.

“Every company is dependent on their sales team, but we’ve found that there’s very little attention being paid to the sales and order process in most companies,” said Mr. Lyreborn. “And there’s been very little investment in real software tools to help them do their jobs.”

Getting people to sign onto a new, all-inclusive type of software platform that incorporates many legacy systems of a company’s process into one solution will be a tough sell, and Configura acknowledges this.

“It will take time to break through the resistance to this type of solution,” Mr. Lyreborn conceded. But, we believe in the huge benefits the Parametric Manufacturing, and the flexibility and simplicity that it will offer once it gains traction.”

“Parametric manufacturing” is an end strategy of combining customized solutions with economies of scale; in essence, it’s about providing mass customization to companies by offering “products and services that are tailor-made to each customer’s demands and wishes, while keeping the manufacturing, distribution costs and delivery times at levels comparable to mass production.”

Configura also fiercely believes in the quality of its software, called Parametric Graphical Configuration (PGC); to the team, there’s no room for doubt that its PGC software can help companies achieve parametric manufacturing.

In one breakout session, Configura’s “PGC prophet” and VP of research and development – Göran Rydqvist – spoke to designers and developers on the absolute importance of quality.

“Quality needs to be driven all the way through – even where you’re never supposed to look – and especially in programming code,” said Mr. Rydqvist. “We must program for the user.

“Quality is a mindset. It requires technical excellence, an artistic mind, and a constant search for beauty and excellence in all things big and small, visible and invisible. Our challenge is to get our partner companies to understand the importance of having quality software is just as important as having quality furniture. It’s a paradigm shift.”

Every Configura conference wouldn’t be complete without its annual Halloween party – an event that channels the goofy spirit that Configura continues to hold onto as it grows into a bigger organization with new, bigger goals. Each year at the party, the Configura team does a performance of some kind; this year they dressed in super hero costumes – as “Configurans” – and danced to a choreographed song.

In 2017, Configura is heading to Las Vegas on November 8-9 for its 10th annual CET Designer User Conference. If you happen to fall into the Configura orbit in the next year, sign up for the conference and prepare to have a good time!