In another insightful episode of the CLARITY Quote-to-Cash podcast, Sergey Jermakov is joined by Bill Butler, Global Solution Owner for Configure Price Quote Solution at SAP, who boasts over 15 years of experience in the software industry. Together, Sergey and Bill discussed how to Navigate Configure Price Quote Systems in the Face of Evolving Customer Requirements.

Our guest Bill Butler, Global Solution Owner for Configure Price Quote Solution at SAP, and the host of the podcast Sergey Jermakov, Senior Partner at CLARITY.

Companies Monetization Strategies Changing – Moving to Subscription Options

In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, CPQ have become increasingly vital for companies adapting to shifting customer needs. As subscription-based models and various monetization strategies gain popularity, CPQ provides a streamlined approach to managing and combining different product types – including physical, digital, and subscription-based offerings – in one quote. This allows sales teams to efficiently navigate diverse pricing and quoting models, ensuring customers receive appropriate solutions at accurate prices.

CPQ serves as information hubs, empowering sales teams to adapt to new monetization models while still supporting traditional ones. This helps businesses grow revenue and maintain competitiveness in a constantly evolving market.

E-Commerce Supporting Configurable Products

The consumerization of the B2B space has led customers to expect the same level of convenience and user experience from B2B companies as they receive from platforms like Amazon. This presents a challenge for businesses dealing with complex configurations and products. CPQ can be integrated with e-commerce platforms to address this issue, enabling users to configure products through the CPQ tool within the e-commerce experience, and then add the configured item back to their cart to complete the purchase.

CPQ acts as a hub for managing complexity and streamlining the sales process across various channels.

CPQ can also manage customer-specific pricing for B2B companies, ensuring that negotiated discounts are honored through e-commerce channels. This helps businesses handle the complexity of different pricing and product configurations while offering a seamless and convenient shopping experience for their customers. In essence, CPQ acts as a hub for managing complexity and streamlining the sales process across various channels in response to changing customer expectations.

Industrial Manufacturers Updating Their ERP System from On-Prem to Cloud – ECC to S/4HANA Private Cloud to S/4HANA Public Cloud

In the migration process from on-premises to cloud for B2B businesses, CPQ plays a vital role, acting as a bridge between front office applications like CRM and commerce, and back office systems like ERP. CPQ is designed to work seamlessly with multiple instances of the same ERP, both cloud-based and on-premises, and even with third-party ERPs. This flexibility allows companies to move individual divisions or the entire company across various systems without disrupting sales and other business processes.

As businesses transition to the cloud, CPQ provides a smooth and efficient path, ensuring salespeople have access to all necessary products, pricing, and information. By supporting various ERP configurations and systems, CPQ solutions enable businesses to adapt and evolve according to their specific needs and circumstances, ultimately streamlining the transition and positioning them for future success.

The value of CPQ lies in their ability to simplify the complexity of backend configurations and manufacturing processes for salespeople.

In today’s fast-paced world, customers expect rapid turnaround times for quotes, which can be challenging when dealing with complex configurable products in equipment manufacturing and other industries. CPQ addresses this issue by providing a layer of sales-specific configuration on top of manufacturing configuration. This allows salespeople to quickly generate quotes, apply customer-specific pricing, and bundle products as needed without becoming entangled in the intricacies of manufacturing processes. As a result, CPQ not only streamline sales operations but also bridge the gap between sales and manufacturing teams, enabling businesses to adapt and respond more effectively to customer needs and expectations.

Ensuring Pricing is Consistent Across All Channels – Direct B2B, eCommerce, Distributors and Resellers

CPQ plays a vital role in achieving pricing consistency across different sales channels, including direct sales, channel sales, distributors, and resellers. In today’s competitive market, it is essential for businesses to provide a consistent and reliable pricing experience to customers, regardless of the channel they choose to make a purchase.

The story mentioned earlier illustrates the challenges faced by businesses when dealing with multiple channels and independent pricing systems. Inconsistencies in pricing can lead to dissatisfied customers, slower sales cycles.

The Bottom Line

CPQ became an indispensable tool for businesses navigating the complexities of evolving customer requirements, diverse product offerings, and pricing models. They provide consistency across sales channels, streamline sales processes, and bridge the gap between sales and manufacturing teams. By enabling businesses to adapt to changing market conditions and customer expectations, CPQ plays a vital role in driving revenue growth and maintaining competitiveness in today’s fast-paced business landscape.