Digital sales with SAP CPQ

The predecessors of CPQ are simple product and variant configurators that lead people through the product selection process. Anyone who has bought a car is familiar with automatic configurators. They help find the right product quickly and combine the right product and service options with one another. With the help of the configurator, the customer’s requirements for the product are identified precisely. The sales employee is practically led through the quotation process. A combination logic that shows which options fit together or exclude each other runs in the background. On this basis, suitable product variants are suggested to the salesperson. The configurator specifies which selection is possible or forbidden in which context. With the plausibility check, configuration errors and contradictions are indicated immediately; if necessary, components are harmonized or alternatives suggested. Products can be stored as bundles – product combinations – in the configurator. For salespeople, this means that they don’t have to have all the possible combinations and product features in their heads; instead, the system clearly specifies what belongs together and how things can be combined. This guarantees error-free product selection even in case of highly complex products such as machines. In addition to the right product selection, the associated prices are also relevant for the quotation. Depending on the product combination and bundles, these can vary a great deal. Here too, SAP CPQ provides help automatically.

Prices in quotations do not always correspond to list prices. Depending on the framework contract, discounts, scaled prices or partner discounts, they can vary a great deal. Pricing in quotation configuration is just this dynamic. Frequently, without an automatic solution, it is difficult for sales employees to determine the right price and remain up-to-date. With SAP CPQ, prices are easy to determine. Components such as discounts, restrictions, product bundles, and scaled prices are considered. Usually SAP CPQ is incorporated into the ERP system. Basic prices, costs, etc. then come directly from the ERP and are adjusted (sliders for margins, discounts, etc.). Prices can also be maintained directly in SAP CPQ if the solution is running stand-alone. Before sending a quotation, you can check in the system whether the discounts granted are correct, whether release specifications were heeded, and whether there are legal or credit checks and export controls. This ensures that customers always receive the right quotation.

Quotations are created directly after product configuration and pricing, also from SAP CPQ. The process runs automatically, dynamic templates create help quotations at the touch of a button. SAP CPQ does justice to the customer’s different purchasing or procurement processes, which require a great deal of flexibility. SAP CPQ produces a document that can be sent via e-mail or DocuSign or printed out for checking and signature. Via PDF, product data sheets or general terms and conditions can be attached or the quotation can be adjusted manually. With SAP CPQ, depending on the customer, you can select the right template and adjust sections. This is how to ensure a uniform quotation format at the company.

With SAP CPQ, the quotation process is faster and internal coordination simplified. Special requests from customers are checked and calculated automatically. Internal coordination, approvals, and response times are eliminated. Pricing considers customer data and individual conditions, so that the customer receives a perfectly correct quotation in the shortest possible time. Quotations are structured clearly and contain correct customer data and conditions. Complex products can also be configured error-free. Employees can react quickly to customer requests and adjust quotations. Quick quotation creation, complex configuration, and the right prices ensure that customers are impressed by the services even during the quotation process.

If a quotation presents a big challenge for the whole team, then it’s time to change something. With SAP CPQ, sales employees can configure and calculate products without a lot of specialized technical knowledge and create quotes easily. New sales colleagues will also soon be in a position to create valid quotations. Product knowledge is stored centrally and knowledge transfer is increased. Similarly, long internal coordination and approval processes are eliminated or speeded up, and yet the quality of the quotations and thus the likelihood of their turning into orders increases. With SAP CPQ, end-to-end sales processes are guaranteed and the process from lead generation to conclusion (lead-to-order) is speeded up. Overall, efficiency in sales increases, so that more sales can be made in less time. When it’s easier for sales to create quotations, in the end there’s more time for customers.

The quality of the quotations is another argument for working with SAP CPQ. The number of incorrectly configured quotations with incorrect prices, discounts that are too high or incorrect product combinations drops. Thanks to increased standardization and automation, sales processes move faster, which reduces costs.

Both customers and the sales team can be sure at all times that they can find the right product for the need at hand and sell it at the right price. Quotations include fewer errors, with regard both to price and product configuration.

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