What Businesses and Industries Benefit from CPQ?

In our last post, we talked about the process of quoting and how much CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) software can benefit your sales organization. This follow-up will discuss what sort of businesses and industries use CPQ.

CPQ apps work with your other business technology, such as CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). Preprogram a set of rules to account for varying quantities, special discounts, optional features or customizations, currencies, payment types, etc. The automation and synchronization help ensure accuracy and efficiency.

CPQ software can be used by a great number of organizations and industries offering various products. Often those products will vary in configuration and cost. Businesses need a tool that is broad in options and highly nimble to meet precise and changing needs.

Some of the sectors that benefit from CPQ

• Manufacturing, heavy equipment, and construction

  : This is a broad category and can involve a great deal of customization and product variation. The quoting process must consider various measurements, requisite materials, and estimated production times. CPQ allows companies to generate complex quotes quickly and accurately according to varied requirements.

• High Tech

  : Offerings in the technology industry are highly configurable. There are options and variations in electronic components, instruments, machines, etc. CPQ is particularly valuable in this industry. Its versatility allows technology providers to deliver accurate estimates regardless of an order’s complexity quickly.

• Fashion and apparel

  Another industry in which you’ll find a high degree of variation is fashion and apparel. These companies must offer customers a wide range of color, style, and size choices. It can be a challenge to generate accurate and competitive quotes. CPQ software saves time and ensures accuracy.

Many other industries benefit from CPQ software, such as automotive, food and beverage, and medical technology. Really, any businesses offering configurable products are good candidates for a modern, integrated CPQ software solution.

The truth is, if your business offers products that can be customized or configured in any way, your operational efficiency can be challenged. CPQ software can help you meet the challenge by centralizing and streamlining your entire sales process.

CRM and ERP Integrations

CPQ software connects with enterprise core systems, such as your CRM and ERP solutions. The various departments involved in the quoting process can access centralized customer data, price lists, product specs, inventory, etc.

Integrations with CRM and ERP platforms make workflows between operations and sales much more accurate and efficient, with consistent data flowing from one system to the others.

Guided selling functions

As your sales team configures a product, CPQ software will verify the accuracy of each selection in real-time and provide intelligent feedback. Guided selling functions alert your team to up-sell and cross-sell opportunities and recommendations based on specific configurations.

Pre-configured pricing

CPQ software is often equipped with pre-configured, logic-based pricing and discounting features. It can handle sophisticated rules and formulas. Are your prices based on cost+markup, complex formulas and tables, territory considerations, lease calculations, or any other configuration? CPQ software can handle it. With pre-configured pricing, your sales team can quickly deliver an accurate price at the highest possible margin every time.

CPQ collaboration tools

Sales reps aren’t the only ones involved in quoting. Engineering, legal, and finance teams also play a role. Your teams can collaborate efficiently and eliminate bottlenecks between departments with automated review and approval workflows. Your CPQ system will prevent unauthorized discounting by setting thresholds for maximum discounts. Product change requests can route to appropriate team members for fast action and pricing.

Sales reps using a traditional quoting process tend to spend more time on administrative tasks rather than connecting with their customers. CPQ software automates and streamlines the admin work so your sales reps can do what they do best: sell your product and satisfy your customers.

Because CPQ software saves time, it also saves money and resources. With CPQ tools managing the quoting process, sales reps and managers can apportion more time and resources to other areas of their operations.

Businesses that implement CPQ software can benefit from faster response times, higher close rates, better ROI, and more quotes created accurately and efficiently.

The benefit of CPQ software for a variety of businesses and industries is clear. If you are interested in improving your company’s quoting process, contact our CPQ experts at Experlogix.

By Experlogix, experlogix.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post What Businesses and Industries Benefit from CPQ? appeared first on CRM Software Blog | Dynamics 365.