CPQ meaning

In this article we'll talk about the CPQ Meaning and briefly explain "what is Configure, Price, Quote Software"?

If you're in the manufacturing industry, you know how important it is to provide accurate and competitive pricing to your customers. Whether you're selling products or services, getting the pricing right can be the difference between making a sale and losing a potential customer.

That's where CPQ software comes in.

But what does CPQ mean? And what does CPQ mean for your business?

CPQ stands for Configure, Price, Quote. It's a business software application that's designed to help sales teams provide accurate and competitive pricing to their customers.

By taking into account predetermined specifications for configurations, customizations, specializations, and discounts, CPQ software helps to eliminate many of the traditional "sticking points" that can arise between sales, engineering, manufacturing, and the supply chain.

The alternative to CPQ

Almost every manufacturing company has had the experience of making a sale only to later find out that too much was promised in the hopes of closing the deal. This can lead to the uncomfortable situation of having to go back to the customer to let them know that the options they've chosen aren't available, or that the discount they were promised is simply impossible.

Inaccurate quotes can be time-consuming and costly, and they can also damage your reputation with customers.

To avoid these problems, many companies have put specific rules in place to ensure accuracy in quoting. These might include a more stringent review process, engineering sign-off on every configuration, or checking to see if materials are in stock before an order can be approved.

However, these safeguards can also slow down the quote process, making it tedious for customers and decreasing the chances of making a sale.

CPQ makes it smooth

By providing accurate pricing across any given scenario, taking into consideration optional features, customizations, quantities, discounts, and rules, CPQ allows sales reps to quote prices with confidence. This eliminates the need to jump through various departments for approval, streamlining the quoting process and making it faster and more efficient for both the sales team and the customer.

While not all companies use CPQ in addition to their CRM (customer relationship management) and ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems the trend is growing. That's because when CPQ is deployed effectively, companies are seeing very successful results.

Here are a few ways that CPQ can lead to increased sales and improved customer satisfaction:

• CPQ helps to focus on the sales process: Most of the sales journey can be managed through CRM software, but many businesses don't take full advantage of the software's capabilities. By fully integrating CPQ and CRM, businesses can take a more comprehensive approach to sales. This helps to avoid common mistakes that can occur during the quoting process and delivers quotes faster than traditional methods like email.

• CPQ streamlines the quoting process: As mentioned above, one of the main benefits of CPQ software is that it streamlines the quoting process. By eliminating the need for approvals from various departments, sales reps can provide accurate and competitive pricing to their customers more quickly. This helps to improve customer satisfaction and can lead to increased sales.

• CPQ helps to increase accuracy: Inaccurate quotes can be costly and damaging to your reputation with customers. With CPQ software, you can be confident that the quotes you're providing are accurate and reflect the actual cost of the product or service being offered. This can help to reduce errors and avoid the need to go back to the customer with revised pricing.

• CPQ can improve forecasting and planning: By providing accurate pricing and sales data, CPQ can help businesses to better forecast and plan for the future. This can be especially useful for manufacturers who need to plan for production and for businesses that need to anticipate demand for certain products or services.
• CPQ improve collaboration: By streamlining the quoting process and providing a single source of truth for pricing, CPQ can help to improve collaboration between different departments within a company. This can be especially useful in organizations with complex products or services that require input from multiple teams.
  

If you are unsure of which CPQ vendor is the best fit for your business, consider working with a consultant such as cpq.se who are world class experts in this field and can help you make an informed decision. By partnering with a trusted CPQ consultant, you can take your business to the next level. Check out our success stories here (Swift) and here (HMF).

We're here to help and we'll get you live with CPQ in months, not years. Reach out by leaving a comment or book a meeting using the link below.