Manufacturers and their customers both benefit from configure, price, and quote (CPQ) software. It plays a big role in the sales process, while also providing a seamless purchase experience that’s visually immersive, error-free, and accurate.
However, that’s not to say that CPQ solutions can do it all independently.
Manufacturers must integrate their CPQ software with the rest of their tech stack, which also includes ERP, CRM, CAD, and eCommerce tools, to name just a few.
Let’s analyze why CPQ integration is essential before going into the most valuable integrations for the latest manufacturers.
CPQ
With CPQ software, manufacturers can easily create different product and pricing rules that provide entire control over how their products get configured, priced and sold. Then, all they need to do is build a configurator based on these rules.
CPQ solutions allow manufacturers to blend the best of both worlds, offering customers loads of customization options while avoiding error-prone, huge manual configuration processes.
So how does CPQ software work?
It leverages in-product configurators to pass critical data right from the shopping cart to the shop floor. No longer do reps have to deal with complex, never-ending spreadsheets or even navigate their way through thousands of SKUs. By implementing CPQ, they can easily depend on automation to take control of this process. CPQ solutions eliminate different errors and increase efficiency. Sales reps can then focus their energy on what they do best: selling.
However, this is just a side of the coin — CPQ software also serves end consumers. They can even customize products with a lot of ease and accuracy, and also benefit from an enhanced customer experience (thanks to 2D and 3D visual configurators), and see pricing updates in real-time.
CPQ solutions generate key manufacturing documents (BOMs, cut sheets, inventory status, shipping, assembly documentation, and more) as soon as a customer gets converted. These are then sent over straight from the product configurator — ensuring that nothing is lost in the process.
Why Best CPQ Vendors Prioritize CPQ Integration
CPQ software makes manufacturing organizations more efficient and accurate, powering a superior customer experience. That said, they’re not the only tools modern manufacturers depend upon.
Manufacturing organizations use CRM, ERP, CAD, and eCommerce tools — and that’s just the start. Therefore, there is a need to integrate their CPQ solutions with the rest of their tech stack.
Take inventory systems, for instance. Manufacturers that don’t integrate their CPQ with an inventory system might sell a product they don’t have enough inventory to build. This mistake would be unprofessional, cause a lot of undue trouble, and then also ruin the overall customer experience. They might even lose those customers.
Conversely, manufacturers integrating their CPQ software with the rest of their tech stack create a single source of truth — eliminating multiple silos, fueling interdepartmental collaboration, as well as providing a single stop for all critical data. They connect their engineer-to-order process through automation-powered digital threads, making it quicker and lesser prone to errors.
Let’s look at the most common types of CPQ integrations that manufacturing organizations need to use within their businesses.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
With CRMs, companies can easily understand their customers in-depth: their demographics, preferences, order history, and so on. Therefore, they deliver a more personalized customer experience, increasing brand loyalty and also bringing increased retention rates.
When manufacturers integrate their CPQ with CRM, they can instantly watch if a customer has previously interacted with a product configurator — and, if yes, which product(s) they bought in the past. Reps can then easily use this information to deliver a customized customer experience the next time.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
ERP tools are the binding force that holds modern manufacturing organizations together, managing all inventory, purchasing, sales, pricing, marketing, finance, HR, service, and supply chain data. CPQ and EPR integrations unite organizations’ front and back offices, meaning customers can then self-serve, making their purchase journey quicker and easier. By integrating CPQ and ERP software, customers can easily check their inventory and prices without contacting reps.
Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
CAD tools are more effective than your traditional pen-and-paper drafting processes. That said, they are even more valuable when integrated with the CPQ solutions.
Integrations allow CPQ solutions to auto-generate CAD files based on configuration data and instantly send these files straight over to companies’ engineering departments. Engineering can then make any final modifications before signing off on the design.
With Epicor CPQ, sales reps, as well as engineering teams, are on the same tune at all times, even with incredibly complex, highly configurable products. Once a customer settles on their design, reps can then create the right technical drawings in just a single click. There are no more bottlenecks, no more disputes between engineering and sales, and no more errors.
eCommerce
In the age of eCommerce, companies need to do all they can to stand out from the crowd. This is where manufacturers can benefit from integrating their CPQ solutions with their eCommerce tools. By doing so, they can embed visual product configurators into their website — meaning customers can seamlessly configure complex products in 3D.
Advanced rules engines govern CPQ software. This rules-based approach means that customers will only be able to create configurations that manufacturers can create (in other words, that are actually viable). Prospects can handle this process without needing to enlist the help of sales reps, unlocking greater efficiency for both parties.
Third-Party CPQ for SAP
SAP customers derive a ton of benefits from SAP’s CPQ software. The CPQ for SAP allows prospects to self-serve complex product configurations, offers real-time pricing updates, makes the lead-to-quote process as straightforward as possible, and eliminates rogue discounting.
That said, there are also a few areas where it faces shortcomings.
For starters, it lacks advanced product rules. It doesn’t support advanced 3D, augmented reality (AR), or virtual reality (VR) visual product configurations. It, therefore, cannot serve a top-tier customer experience powered by various 3D visual product configurations. 3D product configurations allow consumers to interact with their proposed products as if they were right there in front of them, with renderings instantly updated in real-time.
Manufacturing organizations can surely derive tangible benefits by implementing the CPQ for SAP. However, if they want to make the most out of all that CPQ solutions offer, they should turn elsewhere and implement third-party visual CPQ software.
Final Words
Organizations need to prioritize integrations and make the most out of their tech stacks. By integrating CPQ solutions with ERP, CRM, CAD, and eCommerce software, manufacturers increase efficiency, wow their customers, and also increase the ROI from all tools.
Looking to learn more about some of the best CPQ integrations? Check this out.
