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CPQ stands for ‘Configure, Price, Quote’. CPQ software is used by medium-sized industrial companies to determine product prices, taking into account costs, competition and local economic factors. CPQ software therefore supports companies in automating and optimising the entire quotation process.
With the help of CPQ software, companies can create complex product quotations and configurations, calculate prices automatically and thus generate quotations in a simple manner. CPQ software also automates the checking of rules and specifications to ensure that quotations are as accurate, consistent and complete as possible. The use of CPQ software can not only help to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the quotation process, but also shorten the quote-to-cash time.
With VlexPlus, manufacturers and producers get a complete ERP solution that already includes the functionality of CPQ software as standard: from the enquiry to the quotation to the sales order. In addition to CPQ functions, VlexPlus offers a wide range of other features such as an integrated, 3D-capable product configurator, end-to-end variant management, e-commerce connectivity and a smart configuration rule set. These help manufacturing companies minimise the effort required for data management throughout the order process and make customised manufacturing more profitable for production companies.
CPQ software, which is usually connected to ERP software via an interface, and ERP systems with CPQ functions are becoming increasingly important, especially for manufacturing companies with a wide range of products. With the growing demand for customised products and items that can be flexibly adapted to the requirements of distribution partners and customers, the effort involved in configuration, calculation and quotation preparation in sales is also increasing. To counteract this and automate the quotation process, more and more companies are now turning to CPQ software or ERP systems such as VlexPlus, which already offer native CPQ functions.
The use of CPQ software is particularly suitable for companies with manual quotation processes that offer a wide range of products and variants in different configurations (e.g. colours, shapes, properties, accessories or materials) and prices, such as manufacturers of furniture, electrical engineering, construction components, the wood industry or the metalworking and processing industry. Without automated CPQ software, it can be difficult to create configurations and price calculations quickly and accurately, which can lead to delays and errors in the quotation process. By using CPQ software, companies can significantly speed up their sales processes, minimise errors and also improve the accuracy of their quotations.
With the VlexPlus ERP software, producers and manufacturers receive a complete ERP solution with integrated CPQ functionality that is consistently geared towards the requirements of customer-specific manufacturing. The core functions of CPQ software – product configuration, price determination and creation of quotation documents – are already included in the standard VlexPlus ERP solution, ensuring an efficient, fast and customer-oriented sales process.
VlexPlus digitises the entire sales process: from the enquiry to the quotation to the sales order. The ERP software already supports medium-sized manufacturing companies in the quotation process – thanks to centrally available product knowledge.
Among other things, VlexPlus features a flexible configuration engine that enables companies to configure complex products with ease. The VlexPlus product configurator offers the option of automating product configuration via material characteristics and material characteristic values based on rules and conditions, thereby minimising errors and inefficiencies in the quotation process. The appropriate products are selected and configured accordingly for each customer quotation. The set of rules integrated into VlexPlus ERP thus ensures at this early stage of the sales process that the product configuration is producible and deliverable. VlexPlus enables manufacturers to calculate prices quickly and accurately, seamlessly taking into account existing price and discount structures. Manufacturers can also create various calculation models to optimise the profitability of their products or product groups.
In the VlexPlus ERP software, the products specified in the quotation process are transferred directly to sales orders with their material characteristics. This results in the creation of production and procurement orders. The specified products with their specific material characteristics pass through the entire value-added process seamlessly and without interfaces/consistently in VlexPlus ERP. The complete rule-based product and relationship knowledge, as well as the resulting control of the entire value chain, is centrally located in an ERP system.
Manufacturers and producers in medium-sized industries achieve a significant speed advantage in their end-to-end process. The higher the product complexity and product variance, the more effective the set of rules and relationship knowledge mapped centrally in the ERP system. Not only because the proportion of configuration errors is drastically reduced, but also because pricing, configuration, material planning and scheduling can be implemented in a self-contained environment with significantly less effort.
In order to simulate and effectively manage the resulting changes of different variants, for example in costing and resource planning, underlying algorithms and dependencies in VlexPlus ERP must be freely definable and stored in a central configuration rule set. This is where the greatest potential lies in practice for reducing effort and errors in the sales and order process along the entire value chain.
With its functional rules and relationship knowledge, VlexPlus ERP maps the sales perspective on the product. The product is defined by functional parameters (surface structure, colour, dimensions, optional accessories, etc.). The functional structure allows sales staff or customers to create a configuration even without technical product knowledge. Complex and highly varied products can thus be configured without the need for further enquiries.
The production-related and technical structure of the product (e.g. derived control units, country-specific power supply, gross requirements before cutting, etc.) is automatically derived from the functional product view by the integrated set of rules in VlexPlus ERP without the need for interfaces.
The sales-oriented functionality allows the CPQ functionality to be used directly for end customers in dealer portals or on the Internet. Guided selling and graphical visualisation tools for product configuration enable convenient operation. The configuration process in the ERP can be adapted to different target groups.
ERP systems with CPQ functions and integrated variant management offer manufacturing companies a number of advantages, including:
With the VlexPlus ERP software, producers and manufacturers receive a complete ERP solution with integrated CPQ functionality – for an efficient, fast and customer-oriented sales process. End-to-end automation of the entire order process in one system becomes a reality. The all-in-one ERP solution thus takes on an extremely important role in securing the future of a company.
