You asked so we put together a quick and helpful CPQ Software FAQ that can help you learn more about Tacton CPQ and much more!
At Tacton we’re here to help with all your questions. Below you’ll find answers to the questions we get asked most about Tacton, CPQ, visualization and Smart Commerce. Check out our quick CPQ Software FAQ:
What is Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ)?
Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ Software) is a sales tool that helps companies produce 100% accurate pricing and quotes for highly configurable products. CPQ helps drive revenue growth by making it simpler, and faster to sell complex products. Improve efficiency with CPQ by automating processes and eliminating errors.
How does CPQ help my manufacturing business?
CPQ enables 100% accurate quotes ensuring delivery of the right product, at the right price, at the right time, every time, accelerating your sales and enhancing the customer experience.
What is visual configuration?
Visual configuration is a way to interactively showcase your products to customers. The smallest product option can be customized to your customer’s unique needs. Through self-service, your customer can begin the process on their own or work side-by-side with your sales rep.
How does visual configuration improve my sales?
Display your entire product portfolio in an attractive, intuitive format with Visual Configuration. ‘Seeing is believing’ make your products come to life in front of your customers. Visual Configuration also creates a mutual understanding between you and your valued customer. Costly miscommunications are significantly reduced by providing more accurate expectations.
How does CPQ and Visual Configuration work together?
Visual configuration creates detailed products that react to configuration changes from CPQ in real-time. This gives a visual understanding of the product to customers who may. Real-time visuals allow your buyer to understand how different features change the configuration of their product. With visuals, your customer, even non-technical, can get a better understanding of your products.
What is Design Automation?
Design Automation lets you configure, design, and deliver custom products faster than ever before. Automatically create detailed production and assembly drawings from within your CAD tool.
How can design automation help my engineers?
Design automation radically reduces the time from design to fulfillment, freeing up engineering teams and improving operational efficiency. By automating routine and repetitive CAD tasks, you can design more in less time, freeing up resources for innovation. Minimize disruptive change orders and delays. The configurator-powered tool will always propose an optimal solution.
What is CAD automation?
CAD automation is the use of tools and technology to automate manual, administrative tasks. This adds value by promoting innovation for your engineers while helping your sales team provide accurate product drawings.
What are Tacton’s CPQ integrations?
Tacton’s CPQ integrates into Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics and SAP. In addition to Tacton CPQ integrates seamlessly into any CRM or ERP system
How does Salesforce CPQ compare to Tacton CPQ for Salesforce?
Salesforce CPQ and Tacton CPQ are different platforms when evaluating CPQ platforms for manufacturing, there are several considerations that must be taken into account.
First, Tacton Smart Commerce CPQ solution for Manufacturers extends Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud (CRM) with powerful capabilities that make selling custom manufactured products easy. Developed specifically for the manufacturing industry, Tacton helps the sales organization configure and price even the most complex products and generate accurate quotations.
Tacton is uniquely positioned to solve configuration challenges for highly customizable products due to our 20+ years of manufacturing expertise. Our solution uses a constraints-based rule engine combined with AI to ensure that anyone can configure a buildable product—no matter the complexity. This unique capability enables Tacton to stand out as the best solution for manufacturers.
What is CPQ Analytics?
CPQ gives a wealth of data that is often overlooked by customers. This data can change how your operation does business by utilizing CPQ analytics. Analyzing how your product portfolio sells and how customers buy can make a world of difference when selling your product.
How does CPQ analytics me understand my customer better?
Customers are as unique as the parameters of the products you sell. Analytics can give you a better understanding of the evolving needs of your customers that can help you create a competitive product portfolio based on facts, not assumptions.
How does CPQ analytics help optimize pricing and discounting structures?
Maximizing profit is an important aspect of any business, and analytics can help do exactly that. Discounting should be your last option; analytics enables you to see which option is most likely to win and why it won. Being able to see these trends will help you offer discounts sparingly.
What is an omnichannel experience?
An omnichannel sales experience offers your customers a seamless way to interact and buy your products across multiple channels at any time, this allows for your business to be in touch with them throughout the buying journey.
What does an omnichannel manufacturing experience look like?
From the first search of your product to the final purchase, all channels must be in sync. Creating a seamless opportunity to move from one channel to another can make all the difference. Your partners, dealers and resellers won’t need to adapt to one blueprint through an omnichannel approach.
What is eCommerce for manufacturers?
Manufacturing is quickly changing, from typical in-person meetings with sales reps and engineers to an omnichannel online experience for customers. With so much change, highlighted by the ongoing pandemic shift to remote selling, manufacturers are looking for answers to questions they should have been asking years ago. How to provide an online, B2C buying experience as retail stores and Amazon do. eCommerce for manufacturers is an untapped chance to work with new solutions that enable a truly customer-centric operation.
B2B vs. B2C for manufacturers, what’s the difference?
B2B
Manufacturers who rely on in-person meetings, calls, and emails will quickly lose business to the competition who enable items such as self-service for their customers, where they can configure, price, quote, (CPQ) and get product info at any time. These customers want to have every piece of information they can, product details, discounting info, and much more. Manufacturers have long created a B2B experience for their customers, focusing on product logic and its features. While this has worked in the past with the analytical buyer focusing on the core competencies of the product. This leads to a long, slow buying journey that would take time to complete a purchase.
B2C
The rise of companies like Amazon has made customers less likely to wait for satisfaction, they want to know the benefits of your products in seconds, not days or weeks. B2B customers are behaving like B2C customers meaning they want products fast, accurate, visually, and across channels. They refuse to wait for your long sales pitch. Even after the purchase, to keep customers coming back manufacturers must give an excellent omnichannel eCommerce experience. With 74% of customers researching half of their purchases online (Accenture) it’s critical to be able to showcase products directly to them without direct contact.
What makes Tacton CPQ stand out against the competition?
Tacton has unparalleled expertise in manufacturing from working with the most advanced manufacturers in the world for over 20 years.
Who are some of Tacton’s manufacturing customers?
Visual Configuration at MAN Truck and Bus SE, Husky Hot Runners and Controllers, Siemens, Yaskawa Robotics and many more.
What does the Gartner Magic Quadrant say about Tacton CPQ?
Tacton was Named a Visionary by Gartner® in Magic Quadrant for Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) Application Suites in 2019 and 2020!
This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request from Tacton. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Configure, Price, Quote Application Suites, Mark Lewis, Dayna Ford, 28 September 2020. Gartner Critical Abilities for Configure, Price, and Quote Application Suites, Mark Lewis, Dayna Ford, 28, September 2020. Gartner is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, and is used herein with permission, all rights reserved.
Why is the Gartner Magic Quadrant important for selecting a CPQ solution?
The Gartner Magic Quadrant research methodology provides a graphical competitive positioning of four types of technology providers in fast-growing markets: Leaders, Visionaries, Niche Players and Challengers in the CPQ space. In the latest Magic Quadrant, Gartner recognized Tacton as a Visionary in its 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Configure, Price, and Quote Applications Suites. This is the third time running that Tacton was named in Gartner Magic Quadrant.
Why is this important for manufacturers?
The last year has taught us all that we need to be nimble, and adaptable to any situation. Manufacturing customers are not different. These customers demand fast, scalable buying experiences. With this demand, innovation is needed for the seller of highly-configurable manufacturing products. Manufacturers across the globe are searching for ways to transform their operations to engage with customers when and where they want. With Tacton’s omnichannel approach to reaching the manufacturing customer, it is easier than ever to enable self-service for your customers to buy from anywhere.
In addition to our solutions, we believe making the Magic Quadrant affirms the great relationships and learnings we’ve had with the top manufacturers in the world. Manufacturing is changing rapidly, customers demand a B2B buying journey that mirrors their daily purchases.
What do real Tacton users have to say?
Check out a sample of real-life answers from our customers!
- “Tacton is not only software but will optimize the workflow for sales processes and order execution.”
- “Especially on the sales side, my company has seen such efficiency improvements since using Tacton, that working without it would no longer be acceptable. The time required for a sales representative to create a complicated technical offer has been reduced from days to minutes.”
- “It is a powerful rule-based configurator for solving simple to complex problems.”
Learn more about what real users have to say (or leave your own review of Tacton) on G2’s CPQ Software review page.
Anything you don’t see in the CPQ Software FAQ you’d like to have us answer? Drop us a line and we’ll get right back to you!