In the client-centered digital era, enterprises strive to get a step ahead of their competitors by expanding business and entering new markets. By leveraging Configure Price Quote (CPQ) solutions, manufacturers can streamline the workflow and boost overall sales performance.

What Is CPQ Software for Manufacturing?

Innovative CPQ software developed for the manufacturing sector goes beyond standard CPQ solutions designed for the automation of the quoting operations. As a rule, CPQ consists of three key stages: first, you set up the product option; then the software calculates the price based on the pre-set configuration and applies applicable discounts or promotions. Finally, the system generates a customized quote that contains all the details, including cost breakdown and terms.

CPQ instruments for manufacturers go a step forward and usually have built-in visual instruments to provide a graphical model of the product. Some vendors offer custom-tailored solutions that can automatically manage contracts, send invoices, collect e-signatures, or generate bills.  

CPQ for Manufacturers: Functionality

CPQ solutions help businesses to address challenges typical for the manufacturing sector, such as knowledge of the complex product configuration, multiple factors influencing product pricing, quoting and technical documentation, and slow approval management and order monitoring. Automation of CPQ stages helps enterprises accelerate the sales cycle, eliminate errors, and optimize overall sales efficiency.  

  • Centralized database for product varieties. Sales reps don’t need to spend hours looking through numerous spreadsheets for a specific configuration. The required details about the product are automatically processed within minutes.
  • Dynamic pricing updates. Automatic real-time updates improve customer experience as clients receive quotes and quote revisions almost immediately.
  • Visual product representation. Once configured, the software can auto-generate CAD files, engineering drawings, assembly instructions, etc. Visual representation helps customers better understand product options and minimize quote revisions.
  • Integration with ERM, CRM, and many other systems. Integrated into the existing IT ecosystem, the CPQ technology ensures seamless workflow, increased productivity, and higher ROI.
  • AI-driven real-time analytics. Built-in AI algorithms deliver real-time reports on customer demands and market trends facilitating strategic planning and decision making.

Enhanced with visual configuration, CPQ for manufacturers represents a powerful instrument that helps you to keep all details on orders, proposals, contracts, interactions, and quotes in one place. As a result, you can manage all orders and deals with ease and gain high-value insights into market trends and customer behavior for data-driven strategic planning.

What industries can benefit from CPQ tools?

While digitalization is beneficial for all industries, for enterprises involved in manufacturing multicomponent products, implementation of CPQ software is a crucial factor to get a competitive edge. For instance, companies involved in automobile, aircraft, electronics, machinery, plumbing equipment, and furniture manufacturing can take their businesses to an entirely new level with CPQ tools.

Implementation of CPQ for Manufacturing: Advantages

  • Accurate quoting and pricing. A manual quote preparation process is time-consuming and error-prone – implementation of the CPQ technology automates the workflow and ensures high accuracy of quoting/pricing even for products with multilevel configurations.
  • Fast quote generation. Automation of CPQ processes allows creating and editing customized quotes within minutes compared to hours of manual running over multiple spreadsheets.
  • Accelerated sales cycle. Automation of quote generation with preset configuration rules significantly shortens the sales cycle and helps to close deals faster.
  •  AI-driven analytics. The intelligent technology delivers real-time reports about the sales process and provides precious insights about customer behavior, trends, and up-selling opportunities.
  • Seamless integration. CPQ tools can be integrated with various systems to ensure uninterrupted workflow.
  • Scaled up operational efficiency and increased revenues. Automation of the quoting processes helps to boost sales and enhance customer experience. As a result, companies can close more deals and track sales trends to achieve higher ROI.

How to Choose the Right CPQ Solution?

While searching for the right CPQ instrument, look for solutions that:

  • Provide fast and accurate quotes
  • Scalable
  • Help to optimize the sales cycle
  • Offer data-based analysis
  • Customizable or address unique requirements of your business

Before choosing a solution and a vendor, thoroughly consider the following factors:

  • Business scale. Some CPQ tools are pretty complex and designed for large enterprises with diverse products. Look for a scalable solution with the required functionality that will address the challenges if your company grows.  
  • Product variety and complexity. Given the complexity of your products, try to find the best fit, particularly if you produce customizable goods.
  • Available budget. For many enterprises, budget is the key factor when it comes to software choice. Every so often, smaller businesses do not need sophisticated costly software with a tangle of secondary features they don’t plan to use.
  • Unique requirements. Given the industry, companies might have niche-specific requirements to meet, be it administrative regulations, security compliance, or graphic tools they need. Opt for a solution that addresses your needs.
  • Ease-of-use. Opt for a user-friendly option, so that sales reps could use the full potential of the software.

What aspects to consider while choosing a CPQ software vendor?

  • Make sure that a chosen CPQ provider is licensed and certified.
  • 24/7 customer service.
  • Experience in custom-tailored solution development.
  • Customer reviews and recommendations.

CLARITY helps to optimize the workflow with its manufacturing CPQ software. The fact is: with custom-tailored CPQ solutions, quoting is fully automated: error-free quoting seasoned with configuration visualization increases operational efficiency, shortens the entire sales cycle, enhances client loyalty, and boosts overall productivity. 

The CLARITY team ensures:

  • 24/7 superior customer support
  • Custom-tailored solutions to address niche-specific challenges
  • Professional guidance, comprehensive documentation, and training for the sales reps
  • Integration into the existing IT landscape
  • Free demo helps to reveal the full power of CLARITY’s solutions for manufacturers.