Guides
How to Give Sales and Dealer Teams Always-Current 3D Visuals
Always-current 3D visuals reach reps and dealers through published links and QR codes. Require that a link survives a revision, and test it.
Mainstay Digital · · 5 min read
Short answer
Always-current 3D visuals come from one source file and one place to pull from: a published link or QR code. That link has to keep working when the asset behind it is revised, so require it from any vendor and test a saved link after the first revision. A revised STEP file goes back through the same intake.
Disclosure: This guide is published by Mainstay Digital, which sells the produced 3D described below. Threekit is described only as our Newsroom guide describes it. Confirm current details with the vendor.
Sales and dealer teams work from whatever they saved last. A dealer who saved a PDF last spring quotes a machine from last spring. Always-current 3D visuals fix that by giving every rep and dealer 1 place to pull from, and by sending each revision to that place instead of a new inbox.
How to give sales and dealer teams always-current 3D visuals for complex machinery configurations
The workflow has 4 moves:
- Build each configuration that matters from your CAD.
- Publish each asset to a link or QR code.
- Hand reps and dealers links to the 3D instead of files.
- Send engineering changes through the same intake, and test a saved link once the revision publishes.
Dealer enablement works when step 3 is the only thing a dealer has to remember. The other 3 happen on your side.
Give reps and dealers links, and keep the files at home
Assets publish through Brizo to links, QR codes, and embeds. Require that published links and QR codes keep working when the asset is revised. That is what lets a code printed on last year's placard open the current asset. Confirm how it works for your assets at intake, and test a saved link after the first revision.
A rep gets a link to send. A dealer gets a QR code for the showroom and a link for the quote email. Neither installs anything, because Web AR runs in a phone browser with no app.
Build the configurations that matter as separate outputs
Complex machinery configurations multiply fast. Mainstay produces the configurations that matter as separate outputs, such as 1 interactive build per product line, plus stills for the option packages dealers quote most. Mainstay's hotspot catalog shows the pattern: Pearson's CE15 (up to 15 cases per minute) and CE30 (up to 30) are separate case erectors, and each has its own hotspot walkthrough.
When buyers must select options and get a valid quote, a configurator is the better tool. Threekit pairs real-time configuration with quoting, and the Newsroom guide describes where it fits. A produced library covers the machines buyers need to understand before they configure anything.
What each role pulls from the same place
| Who | What they open | Output | Included from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rep on a call | A build they drive | Interactive 3D | Momentum |
| Rep after a call | A card the buyer scans | AR QR business card | Basic |
| Dealer showroom | A QR code at the unit's footprint | Web AR | Basic |
| Dealer quote | The shot that sells it | Product stills, unlimited | Basic |
| Dealer trainee | A guided walk through the mechanism | Hotspot experience | Immersive |
How an engineering change reaches the link
A person starts every update: someone submits the revised file, and the same steps run again.
- Engineering releases the revised STEP file.
- Product marketing submits it through the same process and answers 3 to 7 questions.
- Drafts get revised as many times as needed during review, and stills carry unlimited revisions.
- The asset publishes to the link dealers already have.
Until you've seen a revision through, budget it like a new asset: stills in 1 to 2 weeks, Web AR and hotspots in 3 to 4, video in 4 to 6, and interactive 3D up to 8. Basic and Immersive run 1 asset at a time and Momentum runs 3, so queue the configurations dealers sell most first, and expect review time to move the dates.
For the internal process behind a change, read our guide to 3D asset change management. For why a published asset beats a show demo, read persistent product visualization for dealers.
See what buyers actually open
AR analytics come with every plan, and hotspot analytics come with Immersive and up. They show what buyers open, which tells product marketing which configurations deserve the next slot in the queue. The configuration buyers open most can go first, and the one no one opens can wait.
If you'd like to compare the plans, they're in the pricing section.
Frequently asked questions
How do dealers get the current version when a product changes?
Product marketing sends the revised STEP file through the same intake. Dealers can keep using the link or QR code they already have, as long as the revised asset publishes to it, so ask for that at intake. Open a link saved before the revision to confirm it shows the current asset.
Do dealers need to install anything to open the 3D?
No. Dealers open links and scan QR codes, and Web AR runs in a phone browser with no app to download.
Does Mainstay offer a live configurator for complex configurations?
No. Mainstay builds produced assets, with separate outputs for the configurations that matter. When buyers must select options and get a valid quote, a configurator such as Threekit fits better, and a produced library can sit alongside it.
How many configurations can be updated at once?
On Basic and Immersive, 1 asset at a time. Momentum runs 3. Queue the configurations dealers sell most first.
What do the analytics show about the links reps and dealers share?
AR analytics, included on every plan, cover Web AR links. Hotspot analytics, included from Immersive up, show which callouts buyers open.
