1. Develop an archiving strategy around order records from Salesforce based on criteria that works with customers. This will help to reduce the load on the system by removing older order records that are not frequently accessed.
2. Enable reporting snapshots to store summarised information. This will allow users to access summarised data instead of running resource-intensive reports on large datasets.
According to 1, developing an archiving strategy around order records from Salesforce based on a criteria that works with customer can improve performance by reducing the amount of data stored in Salesforce and improving query efficiency. You can use tools like Data Loader or third-party apps to export and archive old order records that are no longer needed.
According to 2, enabling reporting snapshots to store summarised information can improve performance by reducing the need to run complex reports on large data sets. Reporting snapshots let you report on historical data by capturing data from report results and storing them as custom objects. You can then use these custom objects to create reports and dashboards.

https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=a0N3u00000MSk6gEAD Implement B2B Commerce on Experience Cloud to allow customers to purchase simple products with Add complex product configurations in a follow-up phase. This option would allow UC to quickly launch a self-service site for their customers to buy simple products online, while also leveraging the existing Sales Cloud data and processes for Opportunities, Quotes, and Orders. In a follow-up phase, UC can use the Salesforce CPQ and B2B Commerce for Lightning Experience Connector1 to enable customers to configure complex products on their site and sync them with Sales Cloud2.
Implement Salesforce CPQ internally first, then build "product configurator" functionality in a custom Experience Cloud site in a follow-up phase. This option would allow UC to streamline their internal sales process for complex products using Salesforce CPQ, while also maintaining their existing Sales Cloud data and processes for Opportunities, Quotes, and Orders. In a follow-up phase, UC can build custom "product configurator" functionality on their Experience Cloud site using Apex or Lightning Web Components and integrate it with Salesforce CPQ using APIs3.

CRM Analytics is a platform that provides advanced analytics and AI capabilities for Salesforce users. It allows users to create interactive dashboards and visualizations, explore data with natural language processing, and discover insights with predictive modeling.
https://www.salesforce.com/products/crm-analytics/overview/
CRM Analytics provides an enterprise-level, on-demand reporting solution that empowers users to access, analyze, and act upon critical business data in real-time. It includes pre-built dashboards, reporting tools, and data models to provide advanced analytics and insights. It can also be configured to allow non-Salesforce users to access the reports.

Leverage Shield Event Monitoring and MuleSoft to provide monitoring data to the third-party monitoring and alerting solution that's already in place at P&C Hardware2. This option can help P&C Hardware leverage their existing investment and expertise in their cloud-based monitoring tool, while integrating it with Shield Event Monitoring and MuleSoft to capture and analyze performance data from their Salesforce technology stack.
Leverage Shield Event Monitoring in combination with the CRM Analytics Event Monitoring app as a simple out-of-the-box solution3. This option can help P&C Hardware quickly set up a performance monitoring dashboard using pre-built reports and dashboards from the CRM Analytics Event Monitoring app, which can be installed from AppExchange. This app can provide insights into user activity, adoption, performance issues, security risks, and more.
https://trailhead.salesforce.com/credentials/architectoverview

This option addresses both the issues mentioned by the client, the tedious quoting process and product catalog management. A SKU optimization exercise would help simplify the product catalog, and implementing Salesforce CPQ product catalog and guided selling would enable sales representatives to quickly and accurately find the right products and generate quotes. This would also streamline product catalog management by allowing Product Management to easily add and maintain products in the Salesforce CPQ product catalog.
Option A would involve working alongside client stakeholders to perform a SKU optimisation; implementing Salesforce CPQ product catalog and guided selling. This would help AC Computers simplify its product catalog by reducing the number of SKUs and attributes, and streamlining its pricing logic. It would also help AC Computers move away from manual quoting processes by using Salesforce CPQ product catalog and guided selling features. These features allow sales representatives to easily find and select products based on predefined rules and criteria, and generate accurate quotes with dynamic pricing.