The Importance of CPQ Integration For Manufacturers

1. The Importance of CPQ Integration For Manufacturers ============================================================== Both manufacturers and their customers benefit from configure, price, quote (CPQ) software. It plays an essential role in the sales process, providing a seamless buying experience that’s visually appealing, free from errors, 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, including ERP, CRM, CAD, and eCommerce tools, to name just a few. Let’s analyze why CPQ integrations are essential before delving into the most valuable integrations for modern manufacturing organizations. Essential Points: •What is CPQ? •Why the Best CPQ Vendors Prioritize CPQ Integration •Why You Need a Third-Party CPQ for SAP What is CPQ? With CPQ, manufacturers can create product and pricing rules that provide complete control over how their products are configured, priced, and sold. Then, all they need to do is build a configurator based on these rules. CPQ allows manufacturing organizations to blend the best of both worlds, offering customers hundreds (or even thousands) of customization options while avoiding error-prone, lengthy manual configuration processes. So how exactly does CPQ software work? In short, it leverages in-product configurators that pass critical data straight from the shopping cart to the shop floor. No longer will reps have to deal with complex, never-ending spreadsheets or navigate their way through thousands of SKUs. By implementing a CPQ, they can rely on automation to take control of this process. CPQ solutions eliminate errors and increase efficiency. Sales reps can focus their energy on what they do best: selling. However, this is just one side of the coin—CPQ software also serves end-consumers. They can customize products with ease and accuracy, benefit from an enhanced customer experience (thanks to 2D and 3D visual configurators), and see pricing updates in real-time. CPQ solutions automatically generate key manufacturing documents (BOMs, cut sheets, inventory status, shipping, assembly documentation, and more) as soon as a customer converts. These are sent over straight from the product configurator—ensuring nothing gets lost in the process. Why the Best CPQ Vendors Prioritize CPQ Integration

2. CPQ software makes manufacturing organizations more efficient and accurate and powers a superior customer experience. That said, they’re not the only tools modern manufacturers rely on. Manufacturing organizations use CRM, ERP, CAD, and eCommerce tools—and that’s just scratching the surface. Therefore, they need to integrate their CPQ solution with the rest of their tech stack. Take inventory systems, for example. Manufacturers that don’t integrate their CPQ with their inventory system might sell a product they don’t have enough inventory to build. This mistake would be unprofessional, cause undue hassle, and ruin the customer experience. They might even lose that customer for good. Conversely, manufacturers that integrate their CPQ software with the rest of their tech stack create a single source of truth—eliminating silos, fueling interdepartmental collaboration, and providing a one- stop-shop for all critical data. They connect their engineer-to-order process via automation-powered digital threads, making it quicker and less error-prone. Let’s dive into the most common types of CPQ integrations that manufacturing organizations must use within their businesses. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) With CRMs, companies can understand each of their customers in-depth: their demographics, preferences, order history, and so on. Therefore, they can provide a more personalized customer experience, which increases brand loyalty and fuels increased retention rates. So, where do CPQ integrations come in? When manufacturers integrate their CPQ with CRM, they can instantly see if a customer has previously interacted with a product configurator—and, if so, which product(s) they bought in the past. Reps can use this information to provide a tailored customer experience the next time around. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) ERP tools are the glue 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 self-serve, making their buying journey quicker and easier. By integrating CPQ and ERP software, customers can check inventory and prices without contacting reps. Computer-Aided Design (CAD) CAD tools are considerably more effective than traditional pen-and-paper drafting processes. That said, they are even more valuable when integrated with a CPQ software solution. 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.

3. With CPQ, sales reps and engineering teams are on the same wavelength at all times, even with incredibly complex, highly configurable products. Once a customer settles on their design, reps can create the appropriate technical drawings in just one click. There are no more bottlenecks, no more disputes between engineering and sales, and no more errors. eCommerce In the age of eCommerce, companies must do all they can to stand out from the crowd. This is where manufacturers can benefit from integrating their CPQ solution 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 produce (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. Why You Need a 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 a few areas where it falls short. 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 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 certainly 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. The integration imperative Organizations must prioritize integrations to 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 increase the ROI from all tools. Want to learn more about the best CPQ integrations? Check this out.