A plumber has just picked up a new medium van and calls you from the job: he wants “shelving and drawers, the usual”. He does not know the dimensions of the load area, whether his ladder will fit on the roof, or how much weight you are going to add. And the quote has to be given anyway.
Mid-morning in a workshop that fits out vans for tradespeople. The phone rings: a self-employed plumber who has just picked up a new van. “A medium one, I want shelving and drawers, the usual. How much will it be?”. He does not know the length of the load area, has not thought about which side he wants the drawers on or whether he needs a reel holder. The workshop manager asks for photos and measurements, and the plumber promises to send them that evening, when he finishes on site.
At the same time, a different kind of request is waiting in the inbox: the fleet manager of a maintenance company wants to fit out 14 identical vans and needs a proposal to show his management. He asks how much weight each fit-out adds, because his technicians already run heavy, and whether they will all end up exactly the same. To answer, the workshop puts the quote together piece by piece and attaches photos of similar jobs, which are not his.
When the plumber finally comes by the workshop, he sees another customer's van and changes his mind: drawers on the right, anti-slip floor and a roof rack for the ladder. The quote is redone. Nobody has offered him the 230 V socket or the interior lighting, which he would have wanted if he had seen them fitted. He drives away with a more basic fit-out than he needed, and the workshop with less of a sale than it could have had.
On the phone there are no dimensions, no sides, no list of extras. The quote is built from what the customer remembers about their van and corrected when they bring it to the workshop. Every correction is another call and a price that changes, and the customer starts to distrust the figure.
What it costs youQuotes done twice and customers who try another workshop.
The installer thinks about their gear: the ladder, the cable reels, the toolboxes, the pipes. With a PDF catalogue of modules they cannot picture how their load area will look fitted out, or how much space will be left for the bulkiest items.
What it costs youDoubts that delay the order or cut it back to the bare minimum.
Drawer units, shelves, lining, bulkhead and roof rack add kilos that come off what the van can carry. The fleet manager asks about it, and it has to be added up piece by piece. If the figure is not in the proposal, the purchase stalls at management level until somebody works it out.
What it costs youFleet proposals that never get past the manager's desk.
The roof rack with a ladder holder, the interior LED lighting or the 230 V socket with an inverter are almost never asked for on the phone: the customer does not know they exist or cannot picture them in their van. If they do not appear in the quote with their price, they never get sold.
What it costs youAccessory margin that ends up at the workshop next door.
Fourteen vans with the same fit-out are fourteen orders that have to come out identical: same side for the drawers, same colour, same extras. Copying the configuration from one sheet to another by hand is exactly where the missing reel holder or the extra bulkhead creeps in.
What it costs youOne van different from the rest of the fleet and an unhappy business customer.
Think about the accessories that never get offered because the customer cannot see them. As an example, a workshop that fits out about twenty vans a month.
€ 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 choose the size (small, medium or large, each with its load length), what goes on each side, the drawer colour and the extras. The quote comes from a closed configuration, not from what they remember on the phone, and the workshop receives it as a PDF with its order sheet.
Configuration by sides and extrasThe van appears in 3D with the shelves, the drawers, the floor and the lining fitted, and it can be rotated and viewed from the back doors. With the load area dimensions in view, the installer works out how much room is left for the ladder or the reels.
Interior view in 3D with dimensions
Every configuration shows the approximate added weight of the chosen equipment. The fleet manager has it in the proposal, next to the dimensions and the certification data for each kit, and can compare up to three versions, with the differences highlighted, before taking it to management.
Added weight and comparison tool
Roof rack with ladder holder, interior LED lighting, 230 V socket with inverter, reel holder and cab bulkhead appear as options on the van, with their indicative price. The customer switches them on, sees them fitted and decides. What nobody used to offer now gets chosen.
Visible extras with labels
The approved configuration comes out as an order sheet with each kit and its reference. It is repeated identically for every van and, if we connect it, goes into your ERP. What management approved is what gets fitted in all fourteen.
Factory order sheetSwitch from a medium van to a small one with drawers on both sides and look at the new load area dimensions and the added weight; then switch on the roof rack and the 230 V socket.
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.
We show you the demo with a van like the ones you fit out every week and go through which kits, prices and combination rules would have to go in for it to be yours.
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.
So the tradesperson fits out their van before calling you: they choose the size, what goes on each side, the drawer colour, the floor, the lining, the bulkhead, the reel holder, the roof rack, the lighting and the 230 V socket. They see the interior in 3D, the approximate added weight and an indicative price, and send you their configuration along with the order sheet.
It shows whatever data you have for each kit — for example whether it is certified — as guidance alongside the added weight. The paperwork and the certificates are still yours and depend on each specific case. What the configurator adds is that the customer sees that information from the start, without having to ask on the phone.
The demo uses three generic sizes, with load areas 1.8, 2.6 and 3.4 metres long. In your version we work with your dimensions and with the kits you have for each size, so the customer can only combine what you actually fit and the order comes out with your references.
Yes. The fleet manager configures a typical van, compares up to three versions with the differences highlighted and takes a PDF to management with the equipment, the dimensions and the added weight. When it is approved, the order sheet is used to fit out every unit the same, without copying the list by hand again.
Yes. Each distributor or dealership has their own area, with their margin and their brand, and fits out the van with the customer in front of them, in the showroom or in their shop. The order reaches you with your references. And if the customer prefers to think about it at home, they open it on their phone with a QR code and see the van in augmented reality.
What weighs most is the number of sizes and kits, the fitting rules (what can be combined with what), the price list, the distributor area and the connection to your ERP. With your catalogue of kits in front of us, in a 20-minute call we give you the exact figure. Reference amount for the development: 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.
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Vertical, horizontal or IBC container
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See page →Split, multi-split or ducted
See page →A guide to fitting out a work van: what to measure in the load area, what goes on each side, floor, bulkhead, roof rack, added weight and mistakes when ordering.
Read the guide (in Spanish) →