Many manufacturing companies already have a private area or customer portal where dealers, installers and sales agents view price lists, download documentation and submit orders. When a CPQ configurator is added to this system, the challenge is often not building the configurator: it is preventing it from becoming a second system with a separate customer database, separate credentials and a parallel order workflow that needs to be reconciled manually.
This is why we developed an API for sharing authentication sessions. It allows users to access the configurator through the private area with the same identity already verified by the portal. No second login, no duplicate customer list to keep in sync, and orders generated in the configurator can automatically feed back into the existing workflow.
This shared identity can then support features specific to each use case, including those that distinguish an approved customer from an anonymous visitor.
When configurator access needs to be restricted to approved customers
Not all configurators should be public. In two sales models, unrestricted access to the configurator, or even just to prices, is incompatible with how the company operates. There are two main cases.
B2B sales to installers and businesses
Manufacturers of windows and doors, industrial lighting solutions, machinery, equipment and many other products sell to installers, businesses and engineering firms, not to end users. Prices therefore vary by customer and volume or reflect negotiated terms, and publishing them openly would expose the commercial pricing structure. The CPQ configurator allows installers to prepare quotes independently, but only after the portal has verified their identity and linked it to their customer code.
B2B2C sales through showrooms and multi-brand dealers
Furniture companies that distribute through multi-brand showrooms face a different constraint: the 3D configurator is a sales tool used by the dealer in front of the end customer, applying their own markup. Making list prices public would bypass the sales channel. Configuration and 3D visualization can therefore remain accessible, while prices, availability and quote generation are enabled only for users recognized as dealers.
Sharing authentication sessions between the portal and configurator
The session-sharing API allows the portal to open the configurator while passing the identity of the already authenticated user. The configurator does not manage credentials or maintain its own customer database: the portal, possibly together with the ERP, remains the single source of truth for identities, customer codes and permissions. For users, the configurator is a section of the portal; technically, it is a separate application that can be updated and scaled independently. This solution is compatible with custom portals, B2B platforms and ERP systems with an integrated customer area.
Orders that feed back into the existing workflow
Thanks to the shared identity, the completed configuration is already associated with the correct customer code and can be written directly to the cart, quote or order that the portal saves in the ERP.
Personalized price lists retrieved from the ERP
Sharing the identity can make the customer code available to the configurator, along with everything the ERP associates with that code. The displayed price can also come from a price list that includes discounts reserved for the specific dealer, incorporating terms based on volume, product category and individual commercial agreements.
Sectors where restricted access is a requirement
- Windows, doors and roller shutter systems: roller shutter boxes, shutters, shutter systems and motor drives, sold to installers with differentiated price lists
- Industrial lighting: project-based solutions, quoted to technical specifications and sold to businesses and engineering firms
- Machinery and equipment: complex configurations with technical constraints, where the price depends on the framework agreement
- Furniture and kitchens: distribution through multi-brand showrooms, with dealer-managed markups
- Components and technical supplies: extensive catalogs with visibility that varies by customer type
A real case
For a manufacturer of roller shutter boxes and motors, we at PARAMETRA developed a 3D CPQ configurator on a dedicated subdomain that inherits the authentication session from the existing private area. Installers access it from the B2B portal with their own identity, configure the complete system of boxes, rollers, guides, motors and accessories, and receive an automatically generated technical bill of materials and prices retrieved from Microsoft Business Central, with the cart saved in the existing order workflow.
CPQ and 3D configurator for roller shutter boxes and shutter systems