The order arrives as a message on a phone: a photo of a biro sketch, two dimensions, “cut-out for the pillar” and not a word about the waste. You cut the tray, it goes out on the lorry and on site the outlet ends up on the wrong side. A made-to-measure tray that is badly defined is no use to anyone.
The first photo of the day reaches the orders phone at twelve minutes past eight: a biro sketch on a piece of plasterboard. It says 1583 by 792, there is an arrow pointing at a rectangle with the word “pillar” and, underneath, “dark grey, slate”. It does not say whether the cut-out goes next to the wall or on the screen side, or where the waste outlet is, or whether the tray is flush with the floor. The plumber who sent it is on site and will not pick up the phone until midday.
The person in the technical office spends the morning like this: asking for the missing dimension, explaining the difference between pearl grey and cement, working out a price with a cut-out so the installer can pass it on to their customer, and working it out again because the customer now prefers anthracite. Forty made-to-measure orders a week, each with its own conversation. Meanwhile, three plumbing merchants are waiting for prices on trays they may never actually order.
And then there is the tray that comes back. It was made with a centred waste when the outlet was on the short side, or the cut-out came out mirrored because nobody said which way the drawing was being read. With seven to ten days of manufacturing ahead, the installer has a job at a standstill, the customer a bathroom with no shower and you a 1.28 m² tray cut to a size that fits no other bathroom.
The installer does not carry your cutting price list in their head and their customer wants the price before deciding. So they call, send a voice note or write at eleven at night. Every made-to-measure tray takes a conversation to give a price that often does not even become an order. And if the customer changes colour or size, it starts again.
What it costs youA technical office turned into a price switchboard.
A 250 × 200 cut-out in the wrong corner, a waste on the long side when the outlet is on the short one, a linear grate where the customer wanted the same-colour cover. It is all explained with words and hand drawings, and each person pictures the tray from a different side.
What it costs youA cut tray that cannot be reused and another one that has to be made again.
Slate, smooth or sand; white, cream, pearl grey, cement, anthracite, black or terracotta. In the catalogue photo several of them look the same, and a ten-centimetre sample does not explain a tray a metre sixty long. The customer hesitates, asks for samples or chooses white to play safe.
What it costs youSamples sent by courier and orders delayed by days.
Flush or surface installation, anti-slip, installation kit with trap and sealant: details the installer takes for granted and which never appear on any piece of paper at the factory. They get decided on the fly, sometimes when the tray is already packed and on its way to site.
What it costs youWastes and kits sent separately, with their own carriage.
A plumbing merchant finds it hard to sell a made-to-measure tray: they do not know how to work it out, they do not want to get the cut-out wrong and there is no time at the counter for sketches. They sell the nearest standard size and the installer makes do on site with cuts, trims and tiling.
What it costs youYour highest-value product goes unsold at the counter.
Count only the time that goes on giving prices and clarifying measurements by phone and message. The trays made twice, with their material, their carriage and their job at a standstill, are separate.
€ a month
The values are an example: replace them with yours. The calculation is a simple multiplication and does not come from any study.
They enter the length and width of the opening in millimetres, the texture, the colour and the extras, and see the indicative price from your price list straight away. They can do it on site, from their phone and in front of their customer. The technical office receives the order once it is already decided.
The exact size with an indicative price straight away
The cut-out for a pillar or a wall is defined with its width and its depth and is shown in 3D on the tray; the waste is placed centred, on the short side or on the long side, with its grate. The labels on the 3D point it all out and everything goes onto the order sheet with dimensions and references.
Cut-out and waste position in 3DSlate, smooth or sand in seven colours, on the complete tray and in bathroom light. The customer turns it round, compares it with two other versions with the differences highlighted and, if they want, sees it at real size on their bathroom floor in augmented reality from their phone.
Textures and colours in 3D, a comparison tool and augmented reality
Flush or surface installation, class 3 anti-slip, grate and installation kit are part of the flow, so they are not forgotten. The order sheet carries the size, the area, the approximate weight, the waste with its diameter, the colour and the manufacturing lead time. With your rules, what you do not make cannot be ordered.
A factory order sheet with your rules
Each plumbing merchant can log in with their own access, their margin and their logo, and show the configurator at the counter or pass it to the customer's phone with a QR code. Selling a made-to-measure tray stops being a risk for the counter staff, because the order goes out complete and drawn.
A distributor area and opening on a phone with a QR codeSet an opening of 1600 × 800 mm, switch on the cut-out for the pillar and move the waste to the short side: see how it looks in 3D and how it appears on the order sheet.
An open demo, with no registration, with example products and prices. It is designed for manufacturers, dealers and installers: private customers are welcome to try it, but we do not sell the product.
With your size table, cut-out surcharges, textures and colours we prepare a 20-minute demo so you can see how orders would reach your technical office.
Most projects for manufacturers fall between €14,500 and €35,000, depending on the catalogue, the manufacturing rules and the integrations. Maintenance and hosting from €190 a month. We start from a base that already works: you are not paying for development from scratch.
Would you rather talk it through? Call 662 061 421 or write to grup3d@grup3d.es.
There are more short answers in frequently asked questions about 3D configurators and who we are in 3D configurator company.
Yes. The length and width are entered in millimetres within the limits you manufacture; in the demo, from 700 to 2,200 mm long and from 700 to 1,200 mm wide. In your development your own maximums, minimums and size surcharges are set, and the configurator will not allow a size outside the range.
The cut-out is switched on and its width and depth are entered; in the demo, between 100 and 500 mm. The tray appears in 3D with the cut-out, so the installer checks it matches their pillar before confirming. The order sheet carries those dimensions, with no interpretation and no hand drawings.
It is chosen centred, on the short side or on the long side, together with the type of grate: square stainless steel, linear or a cover in the same colour as the tray. The position is seen on the tray in 3D and goes onto the order sheet with the diameter of the waste. If you make other positions or wastes, they are added.
The development starts here: developments start from €6,500 for a visual configurator of one product family; most projects for manufacturers fall between €14,500 and €35,000, depending on the catalogue, the rules and the integrations, plus maintenance from €190 a month. What raises that base is how many textures, colours and cutting rules you have, and whether you want plumbing merchants to log in with their own price list or orders to go straight into your ERP. With your cutting table in front of us we tell you what is included and what would stay out.
Yes. It runs in the browser on a phone, with nothing to install. The installer measures the opening, configures the tray in front of their customer, shows them the colour in augmented reality on the floor and saves the PDF with the indicative price. With a trade login they see their price and their margin, not the retail price.
Yes. The same configurator can be on your website for private customers, with retail prices, and in a login for installers and merchants with their own price list. Contacts coming from private customers can be assigned to the installer or the merchant for their area, so the tray is fitted by someone from your network.
See all the bathroom configurators → · See all the 3D configurators by sector →
Sliding, fixed, corner or hinged
See page →Wall-hung or floor-standing, with basin and mirror
See page →Kitchen and bathroom, to the millimetre
See page →How to order a made-to-measure shower tray without mistakes: measuring the space, cut-out for a pillar, waste position, grate, texture, colour, flush with or on top of the floor.
Read the guide (in Spanish) →