For over two decades, Experlogix’s Master Product Configurator (MPC) product has been a dependable tool for engineering teams using VISUAL Manufacturing ERP. But what once felt “good enough” is now a clear blocker for growth.

MPC may still function for internal use cases, but it simply can’t support modern quoting needs—especially for manufacturers looking to enable dealers, distributors, or external sales teams. With no new features on the roadmap and only maintenance-level support, it’s effectively on life support.

Infor CPQ offers a future-ready alternative: a modern, cloud-capable platform that doesn’t just replace MPC—it expands far beyond it. If you’re serious about scaling quoting, improving customer experience, or entering new sales channels, the choice is clear.

No Straightforward Migration—But Strategic Elements Can Transfer

There’s no direct, push-button migration from MPC to Infor CPQ. MPC uses a proprietary programming language, meaning that the rules logic itself does not directly transfer over.

However, many foundational elements—such as option lists and matrices—can be reused or adapted to ease the transition. These pieces of configuration logic often live in spreadsheets or Access databases and can be exported and mapped into the CPQ environment, reducing the amount of rework required.

From Niche Code to Team-Friendly Tools

One of MPC’s biggest challenges is its reliance on a niche programming language—one that few people know and even fewer are learning. This makes it hard to scale configuration work, onboard new team members, or tap into external resources for help. It also creates long-term dependency on individuals who have mastered this niche system.

Infor CPQ removes that bottleneck. Its configuration logic is built using structured, readable syntax—often similar to what someone might use in Excel formulas. Combined with its drag-and-drop Design Studio and guided rule-building interface, CPQ empowers a much wider range of users to contribute.

The result? Faster onboarding, easier updates, and less reliance on hard-to-replace experts.

Risks of Holding On to MPC

MPC is no longer receiving new features and is limited to maintenance-only updates. This means no innovation, no roadmap, and increasingly limited technical assistance. Over time, bugs have emerged that impact critical functionality—often requiring backend workarounds that only experienced users can implement.​

Additionally, MPC relies on legacy technologies that are becoming increasingly difficult to support. Maintaining such an environment brings real security and stability concerns. If future updates to underlying systems break compatibility, businesses running MPC could be left vulnerable—or worse, inoperable.​

The longer businesses stay on MPC, the more they expose themselves to risk, one that compounds as time goes on and as fewer people remain who know how to maintain or troubleshoot the platform.

The CPQ Advantage: Modern, Intuitive, and Cloud-Ready

Infor CPQ for VISUAL Manufacturing is a modern solution that goes far beyond basic product configuration. When used as part of Infor CloudSuite, CPQ becomes a central part of your digital operations. It supports:

  • Enterprise Quoting to enable internal and external sales teams
  • Mingle collaboration, workflow, and role-based homepages
  • Robust APIs and plugins for ERP, CRM (e.g., Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics), HR, and other enterprise platforms
  • 2D and 3D visualization toolsfor enhanced sales and engineering use cases
  • IDM (Infor Document Management) integrationfor storing and generating spec sheets, drawings, and quotes

This cloud-native platform enables true connectivity across your systems—whether you’re working with multiple ERP instances, managing distributed teams, or supporting acquisitions.

Infor CPQ is more than a configurator. It becomes a strategic component in a connected, digital business strategy.

Leverage What You Know, Modernize Where You Must

While MPC doesn’t provide a direct upgrade path, there is still value in the institutional knowledge that teams have built over the years. Organizations should look to reuse what they can—data tables, configuration logic structures, option lists—while embracing the opportunity to modernize how configuration rules are structured and maintained.

The key is not to start from scratch, but to migrate strategically by leveraging the past while building for the future.

 


Conclusion: Waiting Comes at a Cost

The longer a business waits to move off MPC, the more difficult and costly that transition becomes. As support fades and the technical risks increase, organizations find themselves investing more just to keep outdated systems afloat. Worse, they’re limiting their ability to scale, integrate, and innovate.

Infor CPQ offers a clear path forward. It brings together modern architecture, easy rule building, deep ERP/CRM integration, and strong visualization—all within a cloud-first framework. For businesses still running on MPC, now is the time to plan a move—not just for operational efficiency, but to future-proof your business.

As the leading implementer of CPQ for VISUAL Manufacturing, RenaissanceTech has helped dozens of VISUAL manufacturers make the move to CPQ successfully. We don’t just implement CPQ—we also own and actively maintain the integration to on-premise VISUAL ERP, giving you a smoother, lower-risk path forward, supported by an in house team of developers who specialize in CPQ to VISUAL integration.

MPC may have served its purpose. But today’s manufacturers need something that can evolve with them. Infor CPQ delivers exactly that.