B2B Product Configurator
Configurable products for manufacturers: multiple configurations in one cart, each one checked before checkout.
Virto Commerce handles ecommerce product configuration for B2B: buyers configure several variants of a product in one order. Options, text inputs, and file uploads are validated at the storefront and API, and each configuration is checked when it is added to the cart, so mistakes surface before checkout instead of on the production floor.
How Product Configuration Works in Virto Commerce
A catalog manager turns configuration on for a product in the admin and describes it as sections, and buyers fill those sections in on the storefront.
- Three kinds of sections: A section can offer other catalog products as options, ask for predefined or custom text, or take a file upload such as artwork or a drawing.
- Required or optional: A required section must be filled in. An optional one gets a None choice, so buyers can skip it.
- Defaults and order: Mark the most common option as the default and drag sections into the order buyers should follow.
- Conditional sections: A section can stay hidden until the section it depends on is filled in, so buyers only see choices that apply.
- Checks at add-to-cart: Allowed options, quantity, text length, and files are validated when the configuration goes into the cart, through the storefront or the API.
- Readable on the order: Each order line names the section every chosen option came from, so sales and warehouse staff can read the configuration without a call to the buyer.
On the storefront, a configurable product shows a Customize button in place of Add to cart. Simple choices such as size or color stay with product variations.
A Product Configurator for Complex B2B Orders
B2B buyers rarely order one configuration: a single purchase order can hold five versions of the same product, each with its own options, text, and quantity.
- One line per configuration: Every configuration of a product becomes its own cart line with its own quantity.
- Edit in the cart: Buyers change a line's options, text, or files from the cart without starting the configurator again.
- Files you can open from the cart: A file a buyer attached to a configuration, such as artwork or a drawing, shows in the cart as a link they can click to download.
- Same rules on every channel: The checks that run on the storefront also run on API orders from a partner system or an ERP.
- A checklist beside Add to cart: The Price widget lists every option by state, done, required or optional, so a buyer sees exactly why Add to cart is still disabled.
When a configured order needs a negotiated price, sales can quote a configured order from the same data.
Configuration Requirements for Manufacturing and B2B
Manufacturers and B2B sellers with customizable offerings need configuration that checks the order, records every choice, and fits several variants into one purchase.
Equipment built from modules. A manufacturer sells machines with a choice of motor, control unit, and accessories, and some modules only make sense once a base unit is chosen. Conditional sections show those modules after the base is selected, required sections make sure nothing essential is left out, and the order line carries every choice to production.
Custom printing and apparel. A decorator takes orders for garments in many sizes, colors, and print methods, each with customer artwork. Buyers pick the garment and method, upload the artwork file, and add the text for each version, all as separate lines of one order. See how this works for custom printing and apparel ecommerce.
Repeat orders of the same build. A distributor's customers order the same configured product every month with small changes. Defaults preselect the usual choices, and buyers adjust a line in the cart instead of configuring from scratch.
Orders placed for the customer. A customer calls a sales rep with a configuration they cannot finish alone. The rep logs in on the customer's behalf, builds the configuration in the customer's own account, and places the order there, with every action logged.
What Configurable Products Change for Your Team
Moving configuration onto the ordering platform changes three things.
- Fewer order corrections: Each configuration is checked at add-to-cart, so incomplete orders do not reach sales or production.
- Self-service for custom orders: Buyers build and edit their own configurations instead of emailing specifications to a sales rep.
- One record from order to production: Every choice sits on the order line, so sales, warehouse, and production read the same configuration.
Watch Our Interactive Demo for More Information
See a configurable product set up and ordered in the interactive demo.
What Is Built In and What Connects Through Integrations
Configuration, validation, and multi-configuration orders are built into Virto Commerce; 3D visualization and quoting come from other tools.
| Capability | How it works | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Product, text, and file sections | Options from the catalog, predefined or custom text, file uploads | Product configuration in the catalog |
| Required and conditional sections | Required sections must be filled; conditional ones appear after their parent | Product configuration in the catalog |
| Validation at add-to-cart | Options, quantity, text length, and files checked on storefront and API orders | Built in |
| Several configurations per order | Each configuration is a separate, editable cart line | Built in |
| Rules that exclude option combinations | Not available; use conditional and required sections instead | Not built in |
| 3D visualization | A visual configurator connected to the product page | Through integration |
| Pricing and quotes | Price calculation and commercial offers for configured products | Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) |
Configurable Products in Production
Flokk, a workplace furniture manufacturer with nine brands, runs a product configurator on Virto Commerce that its sales team, dealers, and end customers use. Configurations are built on the platform's PIM, and the setup is integrated with Flokk's ERP. Read the Flokk case study.
A US wholesale apparel decorator, also a Virto Commerce customer, moved from manual selection across hundreds of product parameters to one guided product card, which shortened the time to build a custom order.
For the wider picture of selling to manufacturers, see B2B ecommerce for manufacturers.
Your Questions, Answered
Yes. Virto Commerce lets you make any catalog product configurable with sections for options, text, and file uploads. Buyers can add several configurations of the same product to one order, each validated when it goes into the cart, and every choice is recorded on the order line.
Yes. Each configuration becomes its own cart line with its own options and quantity. A buyer can add one configured unit, create more versions with different choices, and manage each line separately within one purchase order, which suits manufacturing, custom apparel, and distribution.
Yes. Each configured line shows its chosen options, attached files, and price in the cart, and buyers can change any of them there. They do not need to reopen the configurator or start the order again, even when several configurations of the same product sit in one cart.
Required sections, allowed options, quantities, text length limits, and file inputs are checked when a configuration is added to the cart. The same checks run on the storefront and on API orders, so an order from a partner system or ERP is validated the same way as one placed by a buyer.
In Virto Commerce, you switch configuration on for a product in the catalog, add sections and options, and mark which are required or set as defaults. The storefront then shows a Customize button for that product. For ideas on what to configure, browse these product configurator examples.
Yes. A configured line is part of the order, with its sections and options attached, so it reaches your ERP through the same order integration as any other line. Price calculation and commercial offers for configured products are handled through CPQ.
