Change is a constant in manufacturing, from new employees to new products and operations. To stay ahead of your competition, it’s important to capitalize on new technology and trends. With Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) technology it’s possible to take your manufacturing operations to the next level. CPQ system trends will continue to add new value to manufacturing, capitalizing on these can make all the difference.
Taking advantage of these new CPQ trends can afford your company a competitive advantage. So, what are the latest trends that can influence your customers to buy your product? Let’s take a deep dive
Partner and Self-Service Enablement
For the last decade, CPQ tools were mostly used internally to produce products for customers. However, recently companies have seen success by using their CPQ tools outside of their business. How are they doing this? By extending CPQ to your sales partners it’s possible to enable them to quote do so much more.
Quickly creating quotes and proposals and eliminating order errors are just two of many benefits. Enabling your partners can go beyond CPQ as well, allow them to find out the latest product updates or marketing materials to extend the reach of your CPQ even further.
Self-service is another trend that will dominate how companies use their CPQ. It’s 2020, most purchases are made online, so why would manufacturing be any different? 67% of buyers prefer doing their own research over speaking to your company’s reps (Gartner). This shift from in-person meetings must be addressed by manufacturers.
It may seem impossible to buy complex products online, but the landscape is changing. More and more manufacturing companies are offering self-service options that enable the customer to configure, price and quote products online.
Effective Sales Tools
Your old sales tools aren’t cutting it anymore. With Tacton CPQ it’s possible to increase your net revenue by 20%. How is that possible? It starts with improving workflows, the faster you can configure the product the faster it can get to the customer. This speed and accuracy will lead to you being able to sell your product at the optimal price, not at a discount. Providing the price, you want to sell at is a simple way to add revenue to your business.
Your customers won’t be the only ones thanking you for using a CPQ system. 59% of sales teams said they use too many tools (Accenture), it’s time to use one product. With CPQ it’s possible to have the flexibility to configure products faster than before when more than one sales tool was involved.
Streamlined Operations
Before a new order for your product comes in your operations must be in order to properly create products. Inefficient processes such as silos in communication and engineering harm your business before you even speak with a potential customer. Addressing these issues can make it easier to manufacture your products.
Once an order comes in for your product it’s important to get the perfect order to your customer. This can be done using integrations to software such as CPQ. Using integrations takes away manual processes by connecting to your CRM and cuts out the back and forth between sales and engineering. Reducing the time to get an order out to your customers can make all the difference between winning and losing deals.
Making the move to CPQ doesn’t need to be complicated. Tacton CPQ for manufacturing makes it easy with integrations to leading platforms including SAP, Salesforce.com Sales and Manufacturing Clouds, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle Sales Cloud, and other ecosystems with an open and flexible API:
What systems can CPQ extend?
- Tacton Smart Commerce extends Salesforce with capabilities that make configuring and selling custom products easier than ever. Offered through AppExchange, Tacton CPQ for Salesforce integrates your customers’ data into Salesforce. Developed specifically for the manufacturing industry.
- Tacton Smart Commerce CPQ integrates with Microsoft Dynamics and simplifies manufacturers’ unique workflows. Enable a frictionless buying experience for your customers by allowing your sales team to deliver the optimal quote every time.
- Tacton integrates with the tools you use to run your business, whether it’s SAP C4C or Oracle Sales Cloud, we integrate seamlessly into any CRM or ERP system. Tacton’s CPQ integrations make it easy for you to connect your digital business initiatives with the tools you already use.
- Tacton Smart Commerce for SAP ECC and VC integrates your data by eliminating manual maintenance, syncing data across your systems, automatically aligning configurations and quotes, creating a simplified, personalized buying experience for your customers, closing complex deals faster. Tacton offers out of the box integrations to SAP ECC and VC. Additionally, our open API enables integrations into any SAP system.
Visualization
The traditional sales pitch has changed for your sales team. It’s no longer enough to show them CAD drawings of your products. Potential customers want to see your products in their environment. With AR and Visualization, it’s possible. Showing them whatever their product is can take your sales pitch to the next level. Customers don’t want things left to their imagination which makes giving them what they want visually can help you go miles about your competition.
Easy to use and easy to understand, visualization can go beyond just your sales pitch. Embedding a visual configurator on your website can make your marketing efforts easier as well. Leads won’t have to look around to see how your product looks and feels, because it will be directly on your site. Check out how we did it with Scania.
CPQ Analytics
In the past CPQ users have struggled with the wealth of data that comes from a complex configurator. That doesn’t need to be the case in 2020 with CPQ analytics. Using an API for analytics can save time and money while also providing learnings about your customer and product. Without this data your employees may have to do double the work, leading to a higher operating cost. Losing time and money isn’t a trend you want to experience is it?
Learning how your customers purchase your products with analytics is also a vital insight. Where are they coming from? How often are they ordering? All these questions and much more can be done by using data to improve your operations.
A Connected System
From self-service to analytics it’s important to have all your software working in harmony together. With Tacton Smart Commerce it’s possible to bridge your systems together for improved operations and enhanced customer experience. From lead generation using visualization to the final configuration of the product on the assembly line, Tacton Smart Commerce can change how you do business.
Check out our eBook on Smart Commerce or schedule your demo with us today.