CPQ configurator: Benefits, solutions, providers, implementation

A purchase decision should be as simple and smooth as possible for customers in order to avoid lengthy sales processes and unnecessary waiting times. However, complex products with many variants make the process of creating a quotation time-consuming for sales and customers. With CPQ software, this process can be digitally structured - with a wide range of benefits for companies and customers.
 

What is a CPQ configurator?

A Configure-Price-Quote configurator (CPQ configurator or also called CPQ software) is a software solution for the structured creation of personalized and targeted offers. To this end, CPQ solutions combine price, product and customer data in a common platform and make it directly accessible to sales staff or customers via an interface that allows them to create precise offers with just a few clicks. A CPQ configurator is therefore a digital tool for the efficient sale of configurable products and can thus offer the following advantages, among others:

• Guided sales processes: With CPQ software, you can easily create different configurations, prices, discounts and scenarios for each product and create a structured process for quoting. CPQ configurators thus relieve the sales department of the burden of creating quotes and create resources for increasing sales.
• Fewer incorrect quotes: By following rules and constraints based on technical requirements, availability, and other factors, you can always create only valid quotes with a CPQ configurator.
• Reduce standard queries: With a CPQ configurator, customers are able to configure the right product without help from customer service and can answer simple compatibility questions virtually by themselves.  This not only significantly improves the customer experience, but also relieves your sales staff of repetitive inquiries, allowing them to focus on strategic sales activities.
• Increase conversion rate: Modern customers expect consistent and personalized interaction with a brand across all channels. CPQ software minimizes potential friction with customers by standardizing configuration. Employees can respond more quickly to customer inquiries and close more deals in the same amount of time. A CPQ platform also makes it easy to offer customized additional services to increase revenue per customer.

CPQ software: How to get the best match

Companies today choose from a variety of CPQ solutions from different vendors. When comparing different solutions, both the technical requirements, the underlying sales process and the intended experience for the end user play an important role:

Step 1: Determine initial situation

Together with all stakeholders, identify the specific challenges your sales force faces in terms of proposal generation.  Depending on the business model, these take a different form, such as:

• You have a large product portfolio, so sales people spend a lot of time selecting products for potential customers before closing the deal. 
• You carry complex products that have traditionally been configured manually by employees.  As a result, both scalability and consistency for the customer suffer.
• Two employees perform different configurations at different prices, or quotes sent out are incorrectly calculated.
• Quotations are created in Excel and are stored on the computer of the respective sales employee, where they are not accessible to the entire team in case of doubt.

Step 2: Determine goals

A CPQ configurator can fulfill various functions within sales, so an analysis of the existing process is the prerequisite for selecting a CPQ software.  By clearly defining your requirements and goals and actively involving the users in the process, you lay the foundation for the successful use of a CPQ configurator in your company.

Step 3: Involve users

Another key to success is the early involvement of future users in the selection process. In this way, companies receive valuable feedback from the experts in their processes as early as possible and can tailor the user interface and the functions precisely to the real needs of the users.

Step 4: Clarify technical requirements

The application area and the existing technical infrastructure result in technical requirements for the CPQ software. Clarify whether the configurator will be used on your website or intranet and how data maintenance will be carried out - manually or automated by connecting to PIM/ERP systems.

CPQ configurator: Which provider has the right solution?

The market for CPQ software is large and offers a wide range of solutions for different use cases. For the DACH region, you can find an overview of important CPQ software solutions at https://cpq-select.org/produktkonfiguratoren/.

Important: Each provider sets its own priorities with its CPQ software, which define the possibilities and limits for the implementation of your CPQ configurator. Some CPQ providers focus, for example, on the configuration of complex products based on 3D CAD models, while others offer a direct interface to the ERP and focus on providing real-time information about stock levels and other relevant aspects.

Similar to Combeenation, many of these vendors rely on platforms that already provide a solid basis for mapping rules, implementing visualizations, and maintaining and connecting data. This enables efficient development and implementation of your CPQ configurator.
 

Introducing the CPQ Configurator: This is how the implementation succeeds

Poorly planned configurator solutions can result in high costs and fail to achieve the desired effect on the company's sales processes. To ensure that the CPQ configurator does not miss the realities in the company and the needs of the users, companies should hold a workshop with all stakeholders as early as possible:

In a planning workshop, the necessary functions of the CPQ solution are derived on the basis of personas. A jointly created product tree visualizes the characteristics, rules and dependencies in the product portfolio and, in our experience, often provides important insights for the successful planning of the configurator.

The next step is to develop a design concept that gives all stakeholders a clear idea of the user experience and user interface at this early stage.

The findings of the workshop form the basis for the specifications and requirements to be drawn up.
 

Implementation time of a CPQ configurator

Depending on the scope of the planned solution, you should plan sufficient time and resources for the implementation. Calculate with at least 2-3 months and up to 6-12 months for comprehensive CPQ integrations with data connections, dealer versions, production drawings or also for internationalization.
 

CPQ software: Planning costs for the configurator

Like the implementation time, the cost of integrating a CPQ solution also depends on the scope of the configurator. The more complex the required functions and the deeper the integration into the existing infrastructure, the more expensive the CPQ software usually is. You can read more details about the costs here.

CPQ Configurator: From Consumer to B2B Sales

Digitalization offers not only consumers but also companies access to an almost unlimited number of options and makes it easy to compare different offers. The following two advantages of a CPQ configurator are therefore increasingly applicable to B2B sales processes as well:

• Strengthen brand loyalty: In the digitalized world, purchasing in the B2B sector also almost always begins with an online search. By providing a CPQ configurator, a brand or manufacturer can positively influence the buyer's perception and secure a place on their preliminary shortlist.
• Facilitate purchase decisions: CPQ software enables customers to quickly gain an overview of the various product configurators without having to study complicated contracts or manuals.  By giving the buyer a clear understanding of the product, his or her confidence in the decision-making process and the product itself is strengthened. This is essential for a successful purchase decision. By using technologies such as 3D visualization, augmented reality, or guided selling, this user experience can be further enhanced and the customer's confidence further strengthened.

CPQ configurator as consultant: Guided Selling 

An effective configurator acts as a trusted advisor. It supports the customer in the decision-making process and makes it easier for them to select a product, such as the purchase of a new car, where the customer first uses the manufacturer's online site. A guided selling process of this kind offers various advantages for customers as well as for the marketing and sales teams:

• Teach the Customer: Customers get to know the product better, fostering product loyalty and trust.
• Teach the Sales: Young sales representatives often require time to gain product-specific expertise. A guided selling process assists them in asking the right questions to customers and making appropriate selections
• Get to Know Your Customer: By providing a digital platform for product configurations, companies learn more about their customers' preferences for specific product features. Targeted inquiries enable a better understanding of customer desires, aiding in product development and the overall sales process.

Combeenation und CPQ

As developers and operators of a cloud-based configurator platform, we offer tailored solutions for various requirements in the CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) domain. Our focus is on customer experience, 3D visualization, as well as maintainability and expandability. Additionally, we support integrations with e-commerce platforms (Shopware, Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.) as well as ERP and PIM systems. Combeenation provides options for custom programming to accommodate special requests. If you are interested in a CPQ solution, a configurator, or a 3D visualization of your product, please feel free to reach out to us. We would be happy to work together to find the right solution for your needs.

Why use Combeenation as CPQ and not one of the numerous other providers?

• The focus at Combeenation is on the users. Many traditional CPQ solutions are not visually guided and appear complicated and not user-friendly as a result. This poses the risk that neither the internal sales team nor the customers will use the CPQ solution.
• Vendor Lock-in: Many CPQ providers focus on a specific ERP or third-party system such as SAP. This makes it more challenging to switch systems in the future, tying users to these specific systems. In contrast, Combeenation is versatile and can be seamlessly used with various systems.