Building on CPQ: Sales, R&D, and Manufacturing

Increased operating and market variables bring increased complexity in managing products. The data kept on each product can be complex and wide-ranging, too, including marketing material, items and product structures, pricing, wiring diagrams, mechanical drawings, and end-user and maintenance instructions. All this means that product data management practices must be excellent to keep companies agile and competitive.

But personnel might have different ideas of what the product is, depending on which department they’re working in — for example, in sales, manufacturing or product development. This is the silo effect in action.

Siloed systems can result in delays, missed opportunities and inefficiency through:

• Quotations take a long time to create because the sales team needs support and information from other departments.
• Extended delivery times, when products are sold that the manufacturing department does not have in stock.
• Uncoordinated roll-outs of new products and product features.

CPQ connects the dots

Configure Price Quote systems provide a single source for product information between business departments and the IT systems they are utilising. Having the right CPQ product — and having it set up correctly — can revolutionise business operations: 

• Accurate quotes can be created without product experts — even junior sales personnel can confidently handle this task.
• The need for sales support is minimised.
• Factory orders are specific and clear — no uncertainty over how to build the product.
• Product quality is maintained with standardised solutions.
• Lead times for sales and manufacturing are reduced.
• Smooth control over roll-out and wind-down of products and product features.

Fluido is here to help

At Fluido, we’ve seen first-hand the benefits that CPQ can bring: it makes doing things the right way become the easy way. CPQ offers out-of-the-box comprehensive features, which can be further tailored to meet any company’s requirements.

Want to learn more about CPQ? View our “5 Considerations to Ensure a Successful CPQ project” webinar here.