Configura Signs Sunon, China’s Largest Office Furniture Maker, as Its Newest Partner
Configura’s CET Designer software will help China’s largest office furniture manufacturer to grow its global brand
Configura, maker of CET Designer space-planning software, has signed Sunon – the largest office furniture manufacturer in China – as a partner. Sunon is investing in a CET Designer Extension in order to simplify its sales and order process and expand into new global markets.
Configura and Sunon began collaborating to develop Sunon’s CET Designer Extension last fall, and the Extension will launch at the end of March during CIFF (the China International Furniture Fair).
An Extension is an addition to CET Designer with functionality that incorporates all of the rules, parts and pricing of a given manufacturer’s products. Manufacturers partner with Configura by investing in their own Extension(s) in order to make selling their products easier and more accurate.
Sunon is Configura’s first customer in China.
Sunon leadership said they chose Configura’s CET Designer software because it’s the most advanced and complete solution for the sales and order process. The platform allows for quotations, quick renderings, VR visualization, bills of materials, installation documents and more.
Configura CEO Johan Lyreborn said the Sunon partnership affirms Configura’s vision to make Parametric Graphical Configuration (PGC) available worldwide. PGC is the technology and business philosophy on which CET Designer is based.
“Signing Sunon is proof that Configura’s vision is possible: to be the global leader and provider of PGC-based solutions for industries that make and sell configurable products,” Lyreborn said.
Sunon chose CET Designer after detailed study and comparison of other software companies and platforms. Configura’s longevity in the industry – in addition to its groundbreaking research and development through the years – influenced Sunon’s decision to partner with Configura.
Sunon also chose CET Designer because so many furniture dealers and designers around the globe now use the software. The company expects CET Designer to help build its global brand and sales activity.
Sunon (Zhejiang SUNON Furniture Manufacture Co., Ltd.) was established in 1991. With 2015 annual sales of 1.521 billion Chinese yuan ($220 million USD), the company has been one of China’s top commercial furniture manufacturers for years. Headquartered in the city of Hangzhou, Sunon has manufacturing facilities in the Xiaoshan district of Hangzhou and in the city of Haining. Both cities are in the Zhejiang Province of China.
Sunon clients in Asia include some big names: China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Alibaba.
“We’re looking at our collaboration with Sunon as a breakthrough for both companies – we’ll advance and grow together,” said Configura Chief Financial Officer Niels Madsen, who oversees Configura’s Asia operations from Configura’s Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, office. “As a leader in China, Sunon can help Configura to become the space-planning standard for the Chinese office furniture industry.”
Configura’s Kuala Lumpur office, which opened in 2012, played a key role in landing Sunon as a partner. To keep up with growth in Asia, Configura plans to open an office in China in 2017.
Configura for years has been the space-planning solution of choice in multiple industries in Europe, and the company has grown significantly in the Americas. In addition to the office furniture industry, Configura provides software solutions for the kitchen and bath, material handling, industrial machinery, and laboratory/healthcare industries. The Swedish company was named “Growth Company of the Year” at Linköpings Näringslivsgala, an awards program that promotes business growth in Linköping where Configura is headquartered. The company also has a Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA office.
“We’re about providing solutions that help companies simplify their processes, increase their revenues and make their clients really happy with a great sales experience,” Configura Business Development Manager Wanlin Chee said. “It’s because CET Designer helps at all levels of the sales and order process: Designers are more creative and efficient; salespersons provide faster customer service; and manufacturers have a better understanding of projects and their customers’ product needs.”
About Configura
Configura creates intelligent space-planning software for manufacturers, dealers and designers in the Contract Furniture, Kitchen and Bath, Material Handling, Industrial Machinery, and Laboratory and Healthcare industries. The company’s software products, including CET Designer, are used by more than 10,000 people around the world. Configura Sverige AB, the parent company, is headquartered in Linköping, Sweden, with commercial operations in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Founded in 1990, Configura is privately owned with more than 120 employees worldwide and annual sales of more than $13 million USD. More information at www.configura.com.
About CET Designer
Based on technology created by Configura, CET Designer is intelligent, highly visual and intuitive space-planning software that simplifies specifying and selling of products in a variety of industries. It’s a complete solution that quickly and accurately handles every step of the sales and order process. In CET Designer, components that represent manufacturers’ products look and behave like actual products. Users drag and drop components into 2D and 3D virtual environments; behind the scenes, the software tracks components, calculates pricing and prevents user errors. Users can create and generate layouts, quotes, photorealistic renderings, movies, installation drawings, reconfigurations and bills of materials – in other words, everything needed to propose on work and place orders. CET Designer is the future of space planning. More information at www.configura.com/cet.
About Sunon
Sunon (Zhejiang SUNON Furniture Manufacture Co., Ltd.) was established in 1991 and today is the largest office furniture supplier in China, with 2015 annual sales of 1.521 billion Chinese yuan ($220 million USD) and more than 3,000 employees. Headquartered in the city of Hangzhou, Sunon has manufacturing facilities in the Xiaoshan district of Hangzhou and in the city of Haining, with annual production capacity of more than 20 billion yuan. More at http://www.sunonfurniture.com/ and http://www.sunon-china.com/en/main.php.