With consumers adapted to the digital world and a lot of available options, manufacturers are under immense pressure to meet the increasing demand for customized products while ensuring operational efficiency.

Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) software is an essential tool for industrial manufacturers looking to streamline their sales processes, optimize pricing strategies, and improve customer satisfaction. However, with many CPQ solutions available, selecting the right one can be daunting.

This guide aims to help you understand the key factors to consider when choosing CPQ software tailored to your industrial manufacturing needs.

 

1. What is CPQ Software? 

CPQ software is a sales tool designed to help companies accurately configure products, apply pricing rules, and generate detailed quotes quickly. This type of software is especially valuable for industries with complex product lines and customizable options—such as industrial manufacturing—where the sales process involves intricate configurations, variable pricing, and different quoting strategies. The right CPQ solution can significantly reduce lead times, minimize errors, and enhance the overall sales process.

 

2. Why Industrial Manufacturers Need CPQ

Industrial manufacturing often involves highly complex products, which can include custom machinery, heavy equipment, or a combination of various components. Each product might come with a wide range of configurable options, making manual pricing and quoting a challenge.

Here are some of the key reasons industrial manufacturers should invest in CPQ software:

Customization Complexity: Industrial manufacturers often offer multiple product variations, each with its own pricing and configuration options.

Faster Quoting Process: CPQ software automates the quote generation process, drastically reducing the time needed to produce accurate quotes.

Error Reduction: Human errors in pricing or configuration can be costly. CPQ helps eliminate these mistakes by enforcing rules and guidelines.

Increased Sales Efficiency: By streamlining the sales process, CPQ allows sales teams to focus more on selling and less on administrative tasks.

Improved Customer Experience: Faster, more accurate quotes lead to higher customer satisfaction, giving manufacturers a competitive edge.

CPQ benefits

3. Key Features to Look for in a CPQ Solution for Industrial Manufacturers

Choosing the right CPQ solution requires careful consideration of the unique needs of your business. Here are some essential features to look for:

Advanced Configuration Capabilities

Your CPQ solution must handle the complexity of industrial manufacturing, where configurations can vary significantly between products. Look for software that allows for:

Flexible Product Rules: The ability to define rules and logic for product configurations, ensuring that only valid combinations of components and options are presented to customers.

Multi-Level Configurations: Support for nested configurations where a product can have multiple sub-assemblies or components with their own configuration options.

Dynamic Pricing Engine

Pricing in industrial manufacturing is often dependent on a variety of factors, such as raw material costs, labor, market conditions, and customization requirements. Choose a CPQ solution with:

Rule-Based Pricing: A pricing engine that calculates prices based on predefined rules, such as volume discounts, regional pricing, and special customer agreements.

Real-Time Price Updates: The ability to adjust prices in real-time as market conditions or internal costs change.

Seamless ERP and CRM Integration

Your CPQ software should integrate smoothly with your existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to ensure a unified workflow across departments. This will allow for:

Synchronization of Data: A seamless flow of product, customer, and order information between your systems.

Automated Order Creation: When a quote is accepted, the system should automatically generate the order in your ERP without manual data entry.

Guided Selling

For manufacturers with complex product lines, guided selling is essential. This feature helps sales teams and customers through the product selection process, suggesting compatible options based on input, reducing the risk of configuration errors.

 

4. Factors to Consider When Choosing a CPQ Vendor

Not all CPQ solutions are created equal, so you’ll want to consider more than just features when choosing a vendor. Here are some important factors to consider:

Industry Expertise

Choose a vendor with proven experience in the industrial manufacturing sector. A vendor with a deep understanding of industry-specific challenges will be better equipped to provide tailored solutions and support for your unique needs.

Scalability

Your CPQ solution should grow with your business. Make sure the software can handle increasing numbers of product configurations, larger databases of customer and pricing information, and expanding sales teams.

Implementation and Support

CPQ software can be complex to implement, so you’ll want a vendor that offers excellent implementation services, training, and ongoing support.

Implementation Speed: How quickly the software can be integrated into your existing systems.

User Training: Whether they provide comprehensive training to ensure your team is fully equipped to use the tool.

Ongoing Support: Access to technical support when issues arise.

Customization and Flexibility

Every manufacturing business is different. Choose a CPQ vendor that offers flexible customization options so that the software can be tailored to your specific workflows and product configurations.

 

zipCPQ’s product configurator for Oleum Flex

5. Making the Right Choice: A Step-by-Step Approach

Here’s a step-by-step approach to help you choose the best CPQ solution for your industrial manufacturing business:

Identify Your Needs: Start by outlining the specific challenges you’re trying to solve with CPQ. Is it the complexity of configurations, slow quoting times, or pricing errors?

Request Demos: Engage vendors for product demos to see how the software handles your specific use cases. Get your sales and IT teams involved in the evaluation process to ensure the solution fits their needs.

Evaluate Integration Capabilities: Ensure the software can integrate with your ERP, CRM, and other critical systems.

Consider Total Cost: While cost is a factor, don’t just focus on upfront pricing. Consider the long-term value, including scalability, maintenance costs, and the potential ROI from improved efficiency and accuracy.

Test the Support System: Test out the vendor’s customer service during the evaluation process to ensure that their support team is responsive and knowledgeable.

 

Conclusion

Choosing the right CPQ software for industrial manufacturing can streamline your sales process, reduce errors, and ultimately drive more revenue. By focusing on the specific needs of your business and taking the time to evaluate vendors based on features, scalability, and support, you can find a solution that maximizes your operational efficiency and improves customer satisfaction. Investing in a tailored CPQ system is a critical step toward staying competitive.

 

Do you need help improving your sales process with a configure, price, quote tool? Reach out to us for zipCPQ Demo!