Configure Price Quote Software

CPQ is normally a cloud-based software that helps sales teams to automate their quotation routines and manage interactions with clients.

Configuration

The C in CPQ stands for configuration. This means keeping track of all the logic that goes into a complex product. Certain options are required, others can not be combined.

The number of permutations is normally enormous. Even simple products often have millions of possible ways of combining a product. This means that the maintenance-effort required to keep the product logic up to date is one of the most important factors when evaluating the configuration engine.

Pricing

The P in CPQ stands for pricing. The next set of logic to master is the rules and constraints regarding prices and discounts. Certain items come cheaper as a bundle, some item are alliable for bigger discount while other can not be discounted at all.

This means that workflow and organizational hierarchies are needed to do pricing effectively. Keeping track of prices and the possibility to escalate the sales opportunities to management is all part of pricing.

Support for different pricing models, pricelists and purchasing agreements are essential in pricing.

Quotation

The Q in CPQ stands for quotation. Texts, specifications and images all come together in an advanced template that dynamically adjusts the quotation for each customer.

The ease of use and flexibility of the document generation is a very important factor when evaluating how the quotation can meet your business needs.

For a global company it’s often a requirement that both configuration and quotation must natively support multiple languages.

Vendors

According to analysts the leading vendors in CPQ are Apttus, Oracle, Salesforce and SAP. Niche players in manufacturing are PROS, FPX and Tacton.