CPQ with Epicor A Killer Combo for Manufacturers of Configurable Products

1. CPQ with Epicor: A Killer Combo for Manufacturers of Configurable Products ============================================================== For manufacturers undergoing a digital transformation, integrating CPQ with Epicor provides several distinct advantages. Here are just a few of them: •Your sales cycle is shorter •Your sales reps win more deals •Your factory is more productive •Your revenue is higher •Your costs are lower Integrating CPQ with Epicor meshes your front- and back-end systems, ensuring your CPQ solution benefits your engineering department and shop floor as well as your sales team. Combining CPQ with Epicor creates a single source of truth that lets manufacturers see and oversee the entire engineer-to-order process (potentially from a single intuitive dashboard.) With data combined, cleaned, and stored securely, manufacturers of complex configurable products can make the data-driven decisions required to stay alive in fiercely competitive industries. This article examines the advantages of CPQ before demonstrating how combining CPQ with Epicor can lead to outsized returns. What Are the Benefits of CPQ and ERP for Manufacturers? CPQ's Advantages CPQ (which stands for configure, price, quote) is a tool that streamlines and automates three processes at the heart of many manufacturers’ operations: configuring complex products, calculating prices for them, and producing quotes for customers. For CPQ to operate effectively, manufacturers have to upload all of their product, pricing, and engineering data into the solution’s back-end in the form of “product rules.” These rules then form the logic that the CPQ uses to configure, price, and quote products. The Benefits of CPQ for Sales Reps Manufacturers with traditional sales teams entrust their reps to configure highly complex products, often with hundreds or thousands of different options from which to choose. Sales reps lacking experience find configuring these products incredibly challenging, and mistakes are inevitable. Even the most seasoned reps find it daunting and challenging to optimize outcomes for every customer while keeping engineering and margin maximization in mind.

2. With CPQ, all sales reps have to do is ask prospects a series of questions about their requirements and objectives and enter the information into the software. The CPQ then does all the heavy lifting, configuring the product, calculating the optimal price, and generating a quote in PDF or another format. CPQ makes selling complex products quick and easy. New hires can be brought up to speed in a matter of days and start providing outstanding customer service. At the same time, experienced reps can focus on active selling duties, generating more profit for their employers and commission for themselves. CPQ for Self-Service Customers In 2022, manufacturers are switching to a self-serve sales model, encouraging buyers to place online orders rather than contact a salesperson. Self-serve means less money spent on sales staff and automating and accelerating the sales process with CPQ. At the same time, buyers gain greater flexibility and convenience (order any time, any place, any device.) CPQ is the perfect self-serve solution. Manufacturers can remove the middle-man (the sales rep) by enabling end customers to interface with CPQ directly, either through an Amazon-like filtering system that pinpoints the optimal configuration or, more often, by embedding a visual product configurator into their eCommerce store. A visual product configurator lets visitors to a manufacturers’ website interact with configurable products on-screen, usually in 3D. By simply dragging and dropping, they can design products to their exact specifications, changing colors, parts, materials, and more until they are happy with the output. Pricing is displayed and updated in real-time to aid buyers in configuration and facilitate instant purchase decisions. CPQ for Engineer-to-Order Engineer-to-order manufacturers can use CPQ to connect sales, engineering, and the shop floor via a seamless digital thread, thus reducing sales-to-manufacturing complexity. Once a sales rep or an end customer has configured a product with CPQ, the software automates the production of a range of files and documents for the engineering department and the factory floor, eliminating back and forth, communication breakdowns, and inevitable delays. Standard outputs commonly include CAD files, technical drawings, 3D renderings, and BOMs. More advanced outputs include CNC cut sheets, additive manufacturing files, and assembly guidance that improves productivity while reducing waste. Kinetic’s (Epicor ERP) Advantages Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems help manufacturers manage, track, and store big data from a single database and interface. They improve data visibility, making it easier to pinpoint and fix problems and leverage data to forecast and plan more effectively. ERP systems connect your employees, wherever they’re situated around the world, to your customers, processes, projects, and one other. They make your data freely available and highly accessible, enabling your staff to be bold and strategic in their everyday working lives.

3. Choosing an ERP is tricky because there are so many vendors. The key is finding a vendor with a pedigree for your industry. For manufacturers of configurable products, that vendor is Epicor. Epicor’s ERP solution is Kinetic, with 70,000 manufacturing users. The Benefits of Kinetic include: •It’s cloud-based, which makes it scalable and accessible–ideal for distributed workforces •It’s optimized for use with Industry 4.0 technologies •Dashboards are easy-to-use and understand, enabling rapid communication of ideas and decision- making •It’s designed to simplify global supply chain management Why Would You Want to Integrate CPQ with ERP? Integrating CPQ with Epicor opens up a wealth of data covering everything from inventory management to competitors’ prices. When CPQ combines this additional data with your product rules, it becomes infinitely more “intelligent,” which means the products it configures are more likely to convert and at a higher margin. From an efficiency perspective, integrating CPQ with Epicor is a no-brainer. SKUs, customer data, bills of material, and routings are shared with your ERP, so they only need to be managed in one place. Sales reps interacting with CPQ have access to all the information they could require–there’s no need to reach out to another department to find out which materials are in stock or when certain parts are due from the supplier. Similarly, self-serve customers can see live inventory levels and lead times, contributing to a frictionless purchase path. 4 Other Useful Integrations Besides ERP CPQ The ERP is the backbone of most manufacturing businesses–the centralized data repository and the single source of truth. But ERP is not the only integration integral to the success of CPQ. To round things off, here is a quick rundown of some other essential CPQ integrations to consider. CRM Your CRM keeps track of interactions with prospects and customers. Integrating CRM and CPQ integration gives your sales staff a complete picture of the customer and the selling environment. B2B eCommerce Integrating CPQ with your eCommerce platform can create a highly immersive buying experience. You can embed your visual product configurator onto your website and enable visitors to configure products in 3D without any input from sales. CAD With CAD integration, your CPQ solution can start producing CAD files automatically. Once the user has configured a product, a CAD file is sent to the engineering department to tweak or approve. It saves time and frees up your engineering resources for innovation.

4. CNC In addition to CAD fils, CPQ can automate control of various machining tools, such as CNC machines and even 3D printers. With products becoming more complex and qualified shop floor employees impossible to find, the ability to automate some of the most difficult and error-prone operations gives you a killer competitive advantage.