INTEGRATION OF CPQ AND ERP- WHY IT HAS TO BE DONE TODAY!

We are no genie, but we would still like to ask you a few questions-

Are you worried about how dismal your recent quotations have backfired?

Is your team finding it difficult to achieve proper sales due to getting trapped in mundane tasks?

Do you know we can help you reduce your errors and deliver more visibility than you presently think of?

Are you still not aware of what a CPQ tool is?

If such are the thoughts that occupy a lot of that grey matter in your brains, you are then at the right place.

CPQ refers to Configure, Price, Quote- a sophisticated business software that makes the lives of sales reps easier with multiple product and pricing options, for multiple product configuration scenarios.

More and more manufacturers are opting for digital transformation because there has been a constant need for speedy processes that make them sound enough to tackle competition head-on. With Configure, Price, and Quote solutions, sales reps are provided with the feature to create highly customized sales quotes for their customers.

Configure, Price, Quote tools are similar to any other software systems you have usually come across. The better their efficiency of data processing, the better will be the results churned out in the end. A CPQ system works superbly with information and data that are reliable and accurate. This is because CPQ requires on-point product information.

Now, this is where things become interesting. This on-point product information that we just mentioned gets stored in a company’s ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system. For a CPQ tool to function properly, the exchange of information between CPQ and ERP relies on perfect data integration, and that’s without a doubt, a highly essential element.

How Does CPQ Fit into All This?

Configure, Price, Quote(CPQ) is presently a rage between businesses that have to sell as a core process. This new digital world has completely changed businesses, where competition is at an all-time high, posing a lot of pressure on multiple sales teams as a whole.

Thanks to this competition, anything to set sales reps apart is an opportunity that needs to be grabbed with both hands and align things in such a way that both cross-selling and upselling opportunities are suitably met. Customers have become more informed and demanding than ever before, and reps with complete product information quickly resolve customer issues, enhancing overall satisfaction. Through CPQ, companies get to guide their sales team to facilitate the quick generation of quotes for complex product orders. A CPQ tool covers the entire process, from creating quotes to bringing and recording the cash. This is why they are often known as quote-to-cash tools.

Understand that every CPQ tool relies on information regarding product, customer, and price. As a result, these tools work in sync with other data resources like CRM and ERP solutions.

CPQ and ERP Integration- How It Works?

To figure out how the integration between CPQ and ERP, it won’t hurt to first know a little bit about what a quote-to-cash process is.

A typical quote-to-cash process can be divided into two areas where- 

• the first one resides within a CRM system(this is where opportunities, leads, and quotes are determined), wherein lies several CPQ processes as well.
• the remaining steps(dealing with invoices and production) all are managed within an ERP system. 

Thanks to the integration between these two, the moment an opportunity gets closed in a CRM system, it gets pushed through the ERP to proceed further with the invoicing. Subsequently, the CRM is automatically updated with all the available invoicing information in real-time once in the ERP.

With this CPQ/CRM integration, the lives of sales reps become free of hassle, where they just need to have a look in the CRM and fetch all the required details, without logging into any separate system or connecting with any other team or department.

CPQ tools for Salesforce prove to be highly effective in such situations.

It’s Not All Breezy- A Few Things to Look Out for

Integrating your CPQ and CRP systems provide a plethora of benefits, but there are a couple of things that tend to reduce the positive impact. They are-

• Lack of clarity in defining rules

For every category of data, there needs to be proper clarity of the pre-defined system. Customer accounts and contact details are two big data sets, and they can be created in two ways- right in the CRM, or the other way round. 

The pricing too, usually takes its first breath in an ERP system, getting further synced with the CRM for use by sales reps. Ensure that your design is nicely defined and follows current trends, which will bode well for your enterprise.

• DIY- Just Don’t!

However smart or skilled your team might be, certain practices need to be followed for a smooth project execution, which ultimately paves way for immense future growth. Internal builds can prove to be cost-effective in the short-run, but suffer a lot of issues that simply are not the best advocates for system stability.
 

The Benefits of CPQ and ERP Integration

Here are some of the biggest benefits of integrating your CPQ and ERP systems-

• Saving Time

The integration can save a lot of time for employees as they don’t need to grind themselves in manual and repetitive tasks. Not just clock time, the calendar time also gets optimized as the gap between closed sales and order fulfillment gets free from more steps in between.

• A Complete Customer Understanding

Sales reps always find it difficult to understand where the customer orders they closed are in the fulfillment process. Payments and other details are also there in the mix. Through this CPQ integration, reps get a complete view of their customers and what all they are showing preferences to.

• Human Errors Get Eliminated

With the number of features that a CPQ tool has, companies are closer than ever to ensure that there is as a minimum a gap as possible between customer expectations and customer delivery. To enter the recorded data once again in an ERP system manually, errors can increase manifold, where it can be eliminated through integration.

• Better Team Alignment

Regular updates are a part and parcel of any technology system. Updating one while the other one remains vintage is not an optimal situation in any case. This is where CPQ and ERP integration saves the day and delivers better and quicker results.