Cameleon Software & Lapeyre Celebrate 20 Years of Collaboration and Innovation

    CHICAGO, IL, June 08, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The first product configurators - today called "CPQ" (Configure Price Quote) by IT analysts-were born about two decades ago. At that time Cameleon Software, was a pioneer in this market. Today, Cameleon is a market leader whose solutions benefit from more than 20 years of R&D investments to be at the forefront of CPQ performance and innovation. This anniversary is the occasion for Cameleon to draw a portrait of an "early-adopter" who became a true business partner: the Lapeyre group, a French specialist in do-it-yourself home improvement for individuals and professionals.

1992: The beginnings of an ambitious partnership

Cameleon Software--then called Access Productique--was only five years old when the Lapeyre group, then a 60 year-old leader in the windows, doors and cabinetry market, elected to partner with Cameleon for a configuration software solution. Both a manufacturer and retailer, the Lapeyre Group was just beginning to penetrate the renovation market.

"Back in 1992, our vision was essentially focused on the value that product configurators could bring to manufacturers. Thanks to Lapeyre, we realized that we could deliver value far beyond the boundaries of manufacturing...starting with retailers," recalled Jacques Soumeillan, CEO of Cameleon Software.

A "copilot" of product innovation

Lapeyre has innovation and customization in its corporate DNA, making the company a desirable candidate for collaboration. Lapeyre is now long known for its ability to offer customers customized products for their unique home improvement and renovation needs. As that time, the company recognized that Cameleon Software held great potential in product configuration and decided to trust Cameleon to automate the quote-order-manufacture cycle of its customized products.

For this first project, Lapeyre wanted to deploy a unique tool in its stores, enabling its salespeople to:
- browse the product catalog (standard and tailor-made) for their particular market
- price all kinds of customized cabinetry directly with customers
- propose 100% manufacturable products
- provide related services such as installation, labor, etc...
- order products and raw materials

The Cameleon module made this all possible. With the Cameleon system, once the quote was validated by the customer, all the manufacturing data (bill of materials, ranges...) was automatically generated and then dispatched via the different ERP systems used by Lapeyre's manufacturing plants.

The success of this first project in the company's plants and stores galvanized the collaboration between Cameleon and Lapeyre. Since then, Lapeyre has continually been involved in Cameleon Software's product improvements. As a privileged adviser, Lapeyre is consulted on proposed product features and core technologies to standardize upon. Lapeyre is a visionary client who doesn't hesitate to invest in these product evolutions and demonstrate its success to the market.

Olivier Malvezin, CIO at Lapeyre, explains: "Founded over 80 years ago, Lapeyre has shifted from a family business trading building materials to a large group manufacturing and distributing products for the home improvement. The Lapeyre Group has always aimed at providing innovative solutions that are tailored to meet its customers' needs. In the early 90's, our ambition to offer tailored products became a reality as we have established our collaboration with Cameleon Software. Together we have devised a solution that could best meet our customers' requirements. Ever since, we have maintained a dynamic collaboration to continuously improve the solutions in accordance with the market's expectations."

Not just a commercial partnership... but also a human one

20 years after the first project, the initiators are still involved in this collaboration. At Lapeyre, Dominique Belard and Christophe Pace follow the evolution of Cameleon's solutions within their company. At Cameleon Software, Jacques Soumeillan, CEO and Sylvie Rouge, Product Marketing Director, still guide the roadmap of configuration solutions for this--and other--unique customers.

"Lapeyre has been trusting Cameleon Software for so many years because it has a trustworthy team of leaders who listen to customer needs," said Christophe Pace, Architecture Manager at Lapeyre. "For two decades, we have been working together to successfully improve Lapeyre's sales process."

And for two decades, Cameleon Software has enjoyed a direct line to the front lines of manufacturing and retail, which has translated into market leading product configuration and configure-price-quote software.

About Cameleon Software

Cameleon Software is the global leader in multichannel, multi-device product configurator, quotes, proposals and eCommerce software. Cameleon solutions empower customers' sales teams to streamline their quote-to-order process and increase sales across all channels, and marketing teams to define and launch new products faster. Cameleon's solutions integrate to leading CRM and ERP systems including Salesforce, SAP, Oracle and Microsoft and are available as both SaaS or On Premises. Rated as Positive in the Gartner Group Marketscope, Cameleon Software is a public company with strong references in industries such as insurance and financial services, telecom, hi-tech and manufacturing including ADT/Tyco, Clear Channel, Gras Savoye, SFR, IMS Health, Technip and ThyssenKrupp.
For more information, visit: www.cameleon-software.com and www.salesforce.com/appexchange.

About Lapeyre

The Lapeyre group is part of Saint-Gobain Distribution Bâtiment (SGDB), a wide network of building materials retailers, unique in Europe.

Since its foundation, Lapeyre's core business is the manufacturing and retail of home improvement products, both for construction and renovation.

As a retailer, the Lapeyre group benefits from a large ecosystem of retailers targeting individuals and professionals through its different brands:
- In France, Belgium, Switzerland and DOM-TOMs: Lapeyre
- In France: K par K, GIMM, Atlantique, Menuiseries Françaises and Wehr PVC
- In Brazil : Telhanorte, Telhanorte Pro, Telhanorte Bordignon, Telhanorte Conceito and Center Líder
- In Argentina: Barugel Azulay, Baño/Oferta
As a manufacturer, the Lapeyre group owns a powerful manufacturing network composed of a dozen manufacturing plants. These production facilities are able to produce large volumes of kitchens, windows, doors and staircases, in different materials (PVC, wood and aluminum), and some of these items are produced exclusively for the group's retail brands.

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