The world continues to face the challenges of climate change, and manufacturers will need to step up and find ways to operate sustainably. But at the same time, they will also need to adapt their sales models to stay competitive. Technology – especially AI, data analytics, and CPQ – will play a key role in helping manufacturers accelerate their sustainability agenda.   

According to CapGemini, over 80% of organizations improved their brand reputation through sustainability, and 50% improved their efficiency and productivity. Manufacturers are being pushed to find new ways of operation and production. CapGemini also concludes that only a few organizations are on track with sustainability. Buyers are also demanding more transparency on sustainability information. It is important to note that additional sustainability legislation will push manufacturers to find tools to meet some requirements.

CPQ is a vital tool for efficient business

Even though CPQ software can often be underestimated, it can help manufacturers configure sustainable solutions for their customers. This way, they can also reduce waste and improve energy efficiency. CPQ offers enhanced buying experiences through visual configuration and guides the selling and buying experience. 

Many manufacturers can achieve numerous benefits when Product Configuration Software, such as zipCPQ, is implemented. The sale process becomes almost fully digitalized, helping both the buyer and the seller achieve their goal. 

CPQ software offers plenty of advantages and has many functionalities. Several manufacturers with configurable products and services are recently showing great interest in CPQ solutions. The road to sustainability can be complex, especially when balancing production and customer service. On the road to sustainability, CPQ software can:

  • Help identify and recommend sustainable materials while considering customer’s needs – for example, a customer might need a durable and environmentally friendly product. CPQ can recommend a material that is both environmentally friendly and durable.
  • Reduce manual input – This minimizes human error and ensures better accuracy while the product is configured.
  • Recommend energy-sufficient and environmentally friendly products – CPQ can recommend products that are both energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. This can help reduce CO2 emissions from a customer’s product.
  • Improve customer service – CPQ guides the customers through the buying process.
  • Optimize quoting and pricing specifically for sustainable materials and products – CPQ considers the cost of sustainable materials and the potential savings that can be realized through increased energy efficiency.

By considering customers’ needs, CPQ software can recommend sustainable materials that meet those needs. Many sustainable materials require specific handling, and CPQ can automate the selection process for these materials. With data analytics, it can also recommend environmentally friendly and energy-sufficient products.

Offering environmentally friendly products can be a selling point for some customers. In a B2B world, customers may start their journey towards sustainability and will more likely choose a responsible manufacturer. CPQ puts manufacturers at a competitive advantage, and customers are likelier to choose a “green “seller over a non-sustainable company. 

Since sustainable materials require special handling, CPQ automates those customer solutions. During configuration, it’s essential to recommend the most sustainable options and products. CPQ can configure thousands of products and give variables that require highly technical calculations. This is possible through the configurator’s knowledge base, which contains information on the products and the life cycle properties of any product.

During configurations, the users can make their choice for a particular product. There are two ways CPQ can help:

  1. At the end of the configuration, the users can get a recommendation for a more sustainable product,
  2. CPQ can automatically generate a sustainable product.

But remember that CPQ solutions should in no way compromise the customer’s needs. 

CPQ will often solve mismatches in supply and demand by preventing oversizing a machine or a solution, thus preventing excessive waste in a value chain. Those configurations help reduce waste because there will be no more unnecessary and unsold parts in stock. CPQ ensures that only what customers actually need is sold and produced.

Start your journey to sustainability with zipCPQ

ZipCPQ is a powerful software designed for companies with configurable products and services. With zipCPQ, it is easy to specify every configuration, price, and discount, making the quoting process fast and user-friendly. Using zipCPQ, the company can provide accurate and highly configured quotes while making all the complex pricing, product, and business rules centralized, automatic, and available in real-time.

Using the software is beneficial not only for the customers but also for young sales reps. It helps less-experienced sales reps cope with a complex selling process and helps experienced representatives be more productive. zipCPQ can also be beneficial when choosing additional configurations, extended service contracts, offering complementary products, or suggesting suitable add-ons.

It will calculate different product discounts and find the one that meets the requirements. Ultimately, zipCPQ creates a customer-ready quote. These documents can include your branding and formats, tailored cover letters, cover pages, custom terms and conditions, marketing materials, and the quote itself.