Configurator Maintenance After Launch: Who Updates Prices, Variants and Series

Most questions about a 3D configurator are about the launch: the 3D models, the rules and the date it goes live. A second set comes up before the contract, often in a buyer's first email or halfway through a demo. When we add a fabric next spring, who puts it in? When a price changes in the shop, does someone have to change it in the configurator too? What happens when a series is retired? A furniture range keeps changing after launch, and the configurator has to change with it. This article describes how that work is split on the Planner Studio platform, what each kind of change involves and how long it takes.

Who does what after launch

A configurator draws on four kinds of data, and each has an owner.

• Product data in your shop. SKUs, prices, variant names and product status live in your e-commerce platform, for example Shopify. Your team maintains them there, as it does for the rest of the webshop.
• Option values and codes. The colours and fabrics that exist for each module, and what they are called. They sit in your store or product feed. We set them up for new options, and when an existing code is wrong, your team corrects it at the source and we re-import.
• 3D models, thumbnails and silhouettes. Our 3D designers produce them. A change here is asset work: the file is re-exported in the same size and format and uploaded again.
• Rules and setup. Which option maps to which code, which modules fit together, spacing and visibility. Our developers maintain this layer.

The admin panel is where your team follows the configurator after launch. It shows usage, every saved configuration, which product families and modules are used, and the markets the traffic comes from. Your own Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics IDs are set there as well. The same numbers are described on the Business Insights feature page.

How price changes reach the configurator

On a Shopify setup, every variant carries its price in Shopify, and the configurator reads it from there. When your team changes a price in the shop, the configurator picks up the change automatically. Add to cart sends the configuration into your own checkout, so the basket shows the prices your shop holds. The Shopify integration is the standard route for brands whose prices already live in the webshop.

Prices held in an ERP or a separate price system are a different setup. Connecting the configurator to an ERP or PIM is scoped and quoted as its own integration.

Adding new fabrics, colours and variants

New fabrics and colours on modules that are already live are included in the subscription. You send the change, and it is added. On a Shopify setup, a new fabric is a new product variant, and the work is shared:

1. You tell us which fabrics or colours are coming and on which modules.
2. We create the new option values and send you the Planner ID for each module.
3. Your team adds the variants in Shopify with SKU, price and the Planner ID and Planner Features metafields filled in, and the product set to Active.
4. The PLANNER tag goes on last. It tells the importer that the product belongs in the configurator.

When the module already exists in the live configurator, tagged variants are imported straight to the live site. Brands that want to review a new fabric first contact us before tagging. We pause the live import, the variants are imported to the test environment, and they go live after review.

The checklist matters because the importer handles the catalogue as one unit. A tagged product with a missing SKU or price stops the import for every product until it is fixed. We send the checklist at onboarding and again whenever new products are on the way. A new colour also appears in the PDF and the order summary, which is covered in our article on the configurator bill of materials.

Discontinued variants, changed SKUs and retired series

Discontinued variants are removed by our team. Send a list of the variant names or IDs, and they are taken out of the configurator, typically within one to two business days. Until then the variant stays selectable, so the list is best sent on the day the decision is made.

Replacing SKUs needs the most planning. The configurator treats a product with a new SKU as a new product: the old one is removed and a new one is created. Saved configurations, share links and presets built on the old products stop working, and they are lost with them. Add to cart keeps working, because it uses the ID Shopify assigns to each product, and that ID stays the same when the SKU changes. The order that works is:

1. You tell us before the SKUs change, and we pause the live integration.
2. Your team changes the SKUs in Shopify.
3. The import runs on the test environment and is checked.
4. The same import is applied to live.

When a whole series leaves the range, there are two options. A new series takes its place, and only the 3D and setup for the new series is paid. Or the subscription goes down by that series, following the per-series model on the pricing page.

How long changes take, and what is priced separately

The time a change takes depends on the layer it sits in.

A batch of naming corrections typically takes 15 to 30 minutes of work. Setup and rule fixes are edited directly by developers, often straight on the live configurator. Anything that touches a 3D file goes through a 3D designer and is measured in days.

The subscription covers fabric and colour changes, hosting, maintenance, platform updates and support. Two kinds of change are priced before work starts. A new module needs a new 3D model, and it gets a fixed price first. An ERP or PIM integration is quoted as its own project.

For a brand comparing platforms, these answers belong in the evaluation next to the 3D quality and the launch date. The configurator on launch day shows the range as it is that week, and the split above decides how closely it follows the webshop a year later.