#visual cpq software

[prototechsolutionsblog]

From Inquiry to Invoice: How CPQ Configurators Accelerate the Furniture Sales Funnel

In today’s fast-paced, customer-centric marketplace, furniture businesses are under increasing pressure to deliver personalized products, accurate quotes, and streamlined transactions — all without compromising speed or accuracy. With complex product catalogs, customizable options, and variable pricing, the traditional furniture sales funnel can be slow, error-prone, and frustrating for both buyers and sellers. Enter CPQ configurators, the digital accelerators that are transforming the furniture industry from the first inquiry to the final invoice.

What is a CPQ Configurator?

CPQ stands for Configure, Price, Quote, a category of software tools designed to streamline the sales process for complex and customizable products. A CPQ configurator allows sales teams, and in many cases, customers themselves, to configure a product, calculate an accurate price based on selected options, and generate a formal quote instantly.

In the furniture industry, where every detail matters, from fabric and finish to size and add-ons, CPQ tools eliminate guesswork, reduce back-and-forth, and enable a seamless sales experience.

How CPQ Configurators Streamline the Furniture Sales Funnel

Let’s look at how a CPQ configurator streamlines and accelerates each phase of the sales funnel:

1. Inquiry & Product Discovery

Modern CPQ tools often come integrated with 3D visual configurators that allow buyers to explore products interactively. Instead of flipping through physical catalogs or static PDFs, customers can visualize a chair in walnut finish with a leather seat or a modular sofa in various layouts — all in real time.

This interactive experience increases engagement, shortens the discovery phase, and gives customers confidence in their choices.

2. Product Configuration with Accuracy

Furniture CPQs are built with business logic and product rules that ensure every configuration is manufacturable. If a particular leg design isn’t compatible with a certain tabletop or material, the system prevents the user from selecting it.

This rule-based intelligence reduces costly errors, speeds up approvals, and ensures consistency across the sales team. It also frees up sales reps to focus on closing rather than correcting.

3. Real-Time Pricing

Pricing in the furniture industry can be highly variable, influenced by raw material costs, regional taxes, volume discounts, and more. A CPQ system can automatically calculate the correct price based on the customer’s selections in real time.

Dynamic pricing not only ensures quote accuracy but also helps sales reps respond to pricing inquiries faster and more confidently.

4. Instant Quoting

With CPQ software, quotes are generated instantly, often complete with product visuals, specifications, and terms. This drastically reduces turnaround time from days to minutes.

A faster quote means a faster decision, especially important in B2B scenarios where budget approval windows are narrow and time-to-purchase is short.

5. Order Processing and Invoicing

Once a quote is accepted, CPQ tools can integrate directly with ERP and CRM systems to automatically generate orders and invoices. No need to re-enter data, no risk of clerical errors, and no delay in kicking off production or delivery schedules.

End-to-end integration ensures that from the moment a customer makes a selection to the final payment, every step is tracked, documented, and executed efficiently.

CPQ in Action: Real-World Example

Consider a commercial furniture manufacturer that deals with hundreds of SKUs and highly customized products for office and hospitality spaces. Before CPQ, their sales reps spent hours on manual configuration, pricing approvals, and quote documentation.

After implementing a CPQ solution with 3D configuration and ERP integration, they reduced their quote-to-order time by over 70%, increased average order value by 18%, and saw a 50% drop in errors related to product configuration. Most importantly, their customers reported a more streamlined and enjoyable buying experience.

From inquiry to invoice, CPQ configurators empower furniture companies to meet modern expectations and stay ahead in a digital-first marketplace.

If you’re looking to optimize your furniture sales funnel with a CPQ solution, now’s the time. Streamline your quoting process, reduce costly mistakes, and close deals faster than ever.

Ready to explore what a CPQ configurator could do for your business? 

Let’s talk - https://prototechsolutions.com/3d-services/3d-product-configurator/

[pepminn]

Why Do Businesses Need CRM Software Today?

Customer Relationship Management software is now the most important resource for companies to streamline processes, enhance the experience of customers, and generate top-line growth in revenues in the fast-paced, competitive corporate world of the present era.

Customer Relationship Management CRM Software has emerged as a vital utility for enterprises to automate processes, improve customer interactions, and push growth.

What is CRM & Sales?

Customer Relationship Management CRM Software is an omnipresent element of the contemporary sales landscape, offering organizations a structured way of doing business and optimizing contact with customers and prospects. 

Essentially, CRM selling software is employed to collect customer data from various points of contact between business and customer, from firm website and telephone to live chat, direct mail, marketing communications, and social networking sites. By aggregating information, sales organizations can track customer interaction, process optimization, and improve customer relationships.

Efficient CRM Software Trusted by Experts Around the World

Zilliant

Zilliant provides AI-powered price optimization and revenue intelligence software, allowing businesses to achieve maximum profitability. It uses predictive analytics to offer real-time prices and sales suggestions. Ideal for B2B companies, it allows for improved decision-making with insight-based information.

Cacheflow

Cacheflow streamlines the sales cycle through quote automation, contracts, and payment processing for SaaS businesses. It streamlines the closure of deals with embedded approvals, payment records, and renewal. It can scale up to accommodate businesses as they grow while reducing friction closing.

Epicor CPQ

Epicor CPQ supports product configuration and quoting with 3D visualization and workflow automation. It offers the ability for the manufacturers to deliver custom solutions at a quicker pace. The software comes with several ERP and CRM systems to function effectively.

Experlogix

Experlogix streamlines difficult product configurations through guided selling and automated quoting. It aids manufacturing, sales, and e-commerce organizations with accuracy and efficiency. The software is compatible with the leading CRM and ERP products to be used for streamlined workflows.

How to Select the Perfect CRM Software?

While choosing a CRM, take into consideration:

Ease of Use – The user interface is easy to use to enable rapid adoption and minimal training duration.

Customization Options – It is necessary to make the software adaptable according to your business requirements.

Integration Capabilities – Make sure that the CRM integrates with existing tools like email, social media, and accounting software.

Scalability – Choose a CRM that grows with your business and accommodates evolving needs.

Security and Compliance – Data security aspects and industry compliance are the most critical ways to protect customer data.

Final Thoughts

CRM software is now a necessity and no longer an expense for businesses willing to thrive in this age of competition. CRM solutions enhance customer interactions, make processes simple, and produce wise information that help businesses thrive successfully and forge lasting relationships.

With Zoftware, discovering the ideal CRM Software for your business has never been easier. Compare market leaders, learn about features, and find the ideal solution to optimize your customer management plan. Visit Zoftware today and drive your business forward!

[chloedecker0]

Optimizing Complex B2B Sales with Tacton CPQ

As an analyst at QKS Group, analysing the Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) market, I had a recent conversation with Per Rohdin, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Tacton, to understand how Tacton CPQ is addressing the challenges of complex B2B sales in manufacturing. With businesses increasingly moving towards configure-to-order (CTO) models, the ability to generate accurate quotes, ensure seamless product configurations, and integrate pricing strategies in real time has become crucial. Tacton CPQ is designed to simplify these processes by providing constraint-based configuration, automated pricing, and seamless integration across CRM and ERP systems, ultimately improving efficiency and customer experience.

One of the standout capabilities of Tacton CPQ is its constraint-based configurator, which ensures that every product configuration is both technically valid and commercially optimized. For manufacturers dealing with highly customizable machinery, industrial equipment, and capital goods, traditional sales processes often involve excessive back-and-forth between sales, engineering, and pricing teams. Tacton eliminates these inefficiencies by allowing sales representatives to input high-level customer requirements, while the system automatically determines viable product combinations that meet technical specifications, supply chain constraints, and pricing conditions. This shift from engineer-to-order (ETO) to configure-to-order (CTO) enables faster response times and ensures error-free sales processes.

To further enhance the buying experience, Tacton CPQ provides real-time 3D visualization and augmented reality (AR) integration. As sales representatives configure a product, a high-resolution 3D model updates dynamically to reflect the selected options. This feature helps customers visualize their customized machinery or industrial equipment before purchase, eliminating uncertainty. The AR functionality takes this a step further by allowing customers to place the configured product in their real-world environment through a smartphone or tablet. This capability is particularly beneficial for industries where space constraints, compliance requirements, or installation logistics play a crucial role in decision-making.

Become a Client - https://qksgroup.com/become-client 

Pricing complexity is another common challenge in B2B manufacturing, where businesses must deal with multi-tier pricing models, regional tax regulations, bulk discounts, and volatile raw material costs. Tacton CPQ simplifies this by automating pricing calculations in real time, ensuring that every quote remains aligned with the company's profitability goals. The automated margin control feature allows businesses to set pricing thresholds, ensuring that discounts remain within predefined limits. If a sales representative overrides pricing guideline, the system automatically triggers an approval workflow, ensuring adherence to business rules and profitability benchmarks.

Another essential feature of Tacton CPQ is its automated proposal generation, which allows sales teams to create customer-ready quotes, including detailed product specifications, pricing breakdowns, and CAD drawings. By integrating directly with CAD software, the platform ensures that sales teams can generate technical drawings and blueprints without relying on engineers, significantly reducing turnaround time. This is particularly valuable in industries where precise dimensions, compliance documentation, and product renderings are essential for securing approvals from procurement teams and regulatory bodies.

To ensure seamless enterprise-wide adoption, Tacton CPQ offers deep integration capabilities with CRM and ERP systems. Businesses using Salesforce can access Tacton CPQ’s full functionality within their existing CRM interface, eliminating the need for platform switching and ensuring that sales teams have a unified view of customer accounts, pricing structures, and order histories. Similarly, ERP integrations with platforms like SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft Dynamics ensure that approved quotes transition smoothly into production workflows, reducing manual data entry errors and ensuring that supply chain teams receive precise order details.

Beyond supporting direct sales teams, Tacton CPQ also enables self-service configuration through eCommerce and digital portals. Manufacturers can embed Tacton’s configurator into their online sales platforms, allowing customers to independently explore, customize, and price their desired solutions. Unlike static online catalog, this self-service functionality ensures that customers are always presented with valid configurations and accurate pricing tailored to their specific agreements. This not only speeds up the sales process but also reduces dependency on sales representatives for standard configurations, allowing them to focus on high-value consultative engagements.

My conversation with Tacton’s team provided a comprehensive understanding of how their CPQ solution streamlines sales operations, enhances customer engagement, and eliminates inefficiencies in complex B2B manufacturing sales. By integrating AI-driven configuration, dynamic pricing, automated approvals, and real-time visualization, Tacton CPQ empowers businesses to simplify sales, improve accuracy, and accelerate deal closures. The platform ensures that manufacturers can deliver tailored solutions to customers faster, all while maintaining profitability, compliance, and seamless integration with enterprise systems. For organizations looking to modernize their sales processes and improve operational efficiency, Tacton CPQ offers a robust, end-to-end solution that addresses the core challenges of complex manufacturing product sales.

[expeditecommerce]

https://www.expeditecommerce.com/cpq-software

Expedite Commerce CPQ Solution helps sales reps generate accurate quotes fast and improve margins. Features for guided selling, 3D visualization, discount governance, and upsell-cross-sell, enhance the average deal size.

[kbmax-cpqsoftware]

KBMax: Integration of Kinetic With CPQ

KBMax visual setup software is the best answer for firms looking to streamline their sales process. Our application provides seamless integration of Kinetic with CPQ, making it easier than ever to configure, price, and quote items precisely and rapidly. Contact us today at kbmax.com to learn how we can help you take your business to the next level.

[cpqsoftware]

Beyond the Basics: Uncovering Hidden Advantages of Top CPQ Solutions

Top CPQ solutions hold the power to revolutionize manufacturing businesses by transforming them from digital laggards into industry leaders. 

While CPQ's primary function is to streamline and expedite the sales process through efficient product configuration, pricing, and quoting, numerous lesser-known benefits provide value across the organization, extending beyond the sales team. In this article, we'll delve into these unsung advantages and reveal their true potential.

You won’t get all the benefits we discuss from every CPQ solution. And these benefits might not be immediately apparent. But scratch beneath the surface of top CPQ solutions like Epicor CPQ, and you’ll find a treasure trove of untapped potential that can revolutionize your manufacturing operations and drive tremendous business growth.

Here are the benefits we’ll cover:

Improved ROI from Back-Office Systems

Localization and Globalization Support

Increased Collaboration and Efficiency

Accelerated Data-Driven Decision-Making

Increased Deal Size

Strengthened Compliance and Governance

Effortless Scalability

Greater Environmental Sustainability

Boosted Engineering Efficiency

Higher Employee Satisfaction and Retention

Faster Onboarding of New Hires

Streamlined Product Lifecycle Management

Simplified Adoption of Industry 4.0 Technologies

Optimized Pricing for Maximum Margins

The Modern CPQ Process

Before diving into the benefits, here’s a quick recap of how market-leading CPQ tools work these days. Today’s top CPQ solutions take a visual approach to the configure price quote cpq process and drive automation across the whole engineer-to-order cycle. Below are the key steps. 

1. Visual Product Configuration  

Users configure products with a visual product configurator–an interactive tool that lets sales reps and customers design and visualize products in real time using 3D models. 

Manufacturers program their engineering and pricing rules into these configurators. These rules constrain the configuration and pricing process, eliminating errors.

Manufacturers have complete control over how their configurators work and who can use them. They can be for sales reps only or embedded into websites for customers to operate remotely in a self-serve experience. The latter is becoming the norm across many sectors. 

2. Dynamic Pricing 

As users configure products, top CPQ solutions calculate prices in real time. This automation provides greater pricing clarity, control, and immediate feedback, enabling rapid decision-making that boosts conversion rates. 

3. Instant Quoting 

Instead of waiting for weeks for quotes and the necessary approvals, users can download quotes instantly, slashing sales cycles to a fraction of their former duration. 

4. CAD and Design Automation 

Top CPQ solutions also auto-generate CAD files, BOMs, CNC cut sheets, additive manufacturing files, and more in real-time, sending them to engineers for sign-off or routing them directly to the shop floor. 

5. Customer Satisfaction 

The customer’s product is configured to their unique requirements and shipped faster than expected. Everyone’s happy!

X Game-Changing Benefits of Implementing a Top CPQ Tool

Here are some enormous CPQ benefits that some manufacturers don’t think about.

1. Improved ROI from Back-Office Systems 

Top CPQ solutions integrate with other enterprise systems, such as ERP, CRM, CAD, and B2B eCommerce. They use APIs (application programming interfaces) to connect quickly and seamlessly without the risk of destabilizing the rest of the tech stack. 

Once integrated, data flows freely, and manufacturers can leverage the full capabilities of their digital resources. 

For instance, manufacturers who seamlessly integrate CRM with CPQ systems can tailor the visual product configuration experience by utilizing customer data. In turn, they can track user interactions with products within the configurator and incorporate this behavioral data back into the CRM. 

Consequently, when a representative wishes to make contact, they can easily access information about the prospect's product and option preferences, providing them with a valuable head start.

2. Localization and Globalization Support 

CPQ solutions empower manufacturers to tailor product rules, pricing, and customer experiences according to specific user groups. These groups may encompass diverse sales channels, such as distributors, who may access different pricing structures compared to online customers. Furthermore, CPQ solutions facilitate customization for distinct markets or geographic territories, ensuring optimal experiences for each segment.

Manufacturers can localize their operations by adapting product offerings and pricing strategies to different markets, accommodating regional variations in currencies, languages, regulations, preferences, and social norms. Somewhat counterintuitively, this ability to localize helps manufacturers globalize, expanding into new markets and competing from Day One.

3. Increased Collaboration and Efficiency

Top CPQ solutions promote collaboration between sales, engineering, and the shop floor by breaking down silos and providing a single source of truth. Teams have access to the same information, enabling seamless coordination and communication. 

Sales get visibility over the end-to-end engineering process. So if a customer reaches out for an update on their order, reps don’t have to call through to the shop floor. This seamless digital thread improves efficiency, reduces lead times, and enhances customer satisfaction.

4. Accelerated Data-Driven Decision-Making 

A single source of truth for manufacturing and related data provides a wealth of information for informed decision-making. Manufacturers can analyze how customers interact with visual product configurators, which options are best-sellers, and what messaging is most effective. They can use this data to spot trends, design better products, and give sales reps the information they need to increase win rates.

5. Increased Deal Size 

CPQ and CRM integration helps manufacturers identify upselling and cross-selling opportunities by analyzing customer preferences, purchase history, and user interaction with the configurator. This analysis enables manufacturers to offer targeted recommendations, increasing deal sizes and improving customer satisfaction.

6. Strengthened Compliance and Governance 

Manufacturers can code industry regulations and internal policies into their configurators through product rules, ensuring all products and quotes adhere to guidelines. This reduces the risk of non-compliance, which can result in penalties and reputational damage. It can also avoid rework costs and minimize warranty claims.

7 . Effortless Scalability  

The manufacturing industry has been disrupted recently with fluctuating demand, soaring costs, and supply chain disturbance. The modern manufacturer has to be agile. They must ramp up production rapidly without compromising quality and protect themselves in downtime by reducing fixed costs.

Top CPQ solutions automate the most time-consuming steps in the engineer-to-order process, allowing manufacturers to expand their operations when times are good and scale back when times are bad–all without having to hire or lay off staff or invest in new software or infrastructure is unnecessary.

8. Greater Environmental Sustainability 

CPQ’s automation abilities drive greater consistency and accuracy, which reduces errors and waste. Poor configurations (often the fault of new hires) lead to wasted materials, energy, and carbon emissions. 

Top CPQ solutions help manufacturers reduce their environmental impact, leading to a more sustainable future. But it’s not just the environment that benefits. The business does too. Here’s how:

Governments are imposing stricter environmental regulations, especially around emissions. Failure to adhere can lead to fines and additional tax liabilities. By reducing their carbon footprint, manufacturers can get ahead of the game.

Attracting exceptional manufacturing talent has become increasingly challenging. The industry needs more qualified candidates, as younger generations are less drawn to manufacturing careers while the Baby Boomer majority approaches retirement. To stand out in this competitive labor market, manufacturers must prioritize sustainability. Working for a company committed to sustainability is paramount for the younger generation.

If you want to work with your industry's forward-thinking companies, you must prioritize sustainability. Companies want to partner with manufacturers that share their environmental values and can strengthen their reputation as sustainable businesses. 

Customers are prioritizing sustainability as well. As end customers turn away from unsustainable products, your green credentials could be a significant selling point and differentiator.

9. Boosted Engineering Efficiency 

Engineers are bogged down in transactional work. This is especially true of companies selling complex configurable products. The engineering team must produce drawings and CAD files whenever a sales rep needs a quote. This is incredibly dull, time-consuming, and frustrating because the configurations they receive from the sales team are often littered with errors and inconsistencies.

Fewer people talk about how top CPQ solutions make life easier for under-pressure engineering teams. Much of the focus on CPQ is on how these solutions improve sales performance and efficiency. For many manufacturers, however, the engineering impact is often their biggest win, leading to faster launches of higher quality, more innovative products.

Top CPQ solutions supercharge engineering efficiency in two ways:

The configurations that come down the pike from sales are guaranteed to be error-free–they’ve already been validated by the configurator using the engineering knowledge programmed into the system in the form of product rules. 

CPQ auto-generates CAD files for every configuration, saving a tremendous amount of time.

Freed from the drudgery of endless CAD creation, engineers can focus on more valuable tasks like designing better products that make their company more competitive and drive customer loyalty.

10. Higher Employee Satisfaction and Retention 

Eliminating repetitive work, letting employees focus on higher-value tasks, and empowering them to achieve their full potential is the only way to keep hold of your best and brightest employees in a fiercely competitive labor market.

The streamlining and automation of CPQ software make engineers more creative and sales reps more productive and engaged. Reps can focus on building customer relationships instead of struggling through complex configurations and pricing calculations. 

Connecting CPQ with your other back-office systems eliminates much of the mind-numbing back-and-forth that slows everything down and drives everyone nuts!

11. Faster Onboarding of New Hires 

Onboarding new hires is more complex and time-consuming than ever. Customers demand greater customization possibilities, which puts pressure on the sales and engineering teams. Moreover, products are becoming more technical, further steepening the learning curve.

Top CPQ solutions automate sales, getting new hires up to speed fast. They also have guided selling capabilities, which help sales reps or customers navigate the complex sales process by providing prompts and scripts that guide them through.

12. Streamlined Product Lifecycle Management 

Cutting-edge CPQ solutions enable manufacturers to introduce new products and retire obsolete ones seamlessly. The product catalog can be updated centrally, disseminating updates throughout the organization using configurators. 

Adding new product options is a breeze, facilitated by immersive 3D visuals that eliminate the need for cumbersome explanations and lengthy product descriptions. Manufacturers can swiftly adapt to evolving customer preferences, competitor dynamics, and changes in the broader economic landscape, ensuring maximum agility and competitiveness.

13. Simplified Adoption of Industry 4.0 Technologies 

Manufacturers with actual digital capabilities are incorporating multiple Industry 4.0 technologies into their tech stacks. Top CPQ solutions can ease the implementation and adoption of the most impactful of these technologies. Below are some examples.

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality has dramatically impacted the manufacturing industry with various use cases, including assembly, maintenance, training, QC, and compliance. Top CPQ solutions can easily incorporate augmented reality capabilities, enhancing customer engagement by providing interactive product demonstrations and enabling customers to visualize configurations in real-world situations.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality has had less of an impact on the manufacturing industry to date, but it's currently undergoing a renaissance, with the necessary VR headsets becoming more accessible and affordable. VR configurators let customers configure and experience products in a virtual environment, identifying potential issues before production begins and changes become expensive. 

Mixed Reality

Mixed reality–a technology combining VR and AR elements–is set to be the next big wave in immersive tech. Apple CEO, Tim Cook, wants to build his legacy on his mixed-reality headset, with other B2B and B2C’s sure to follow suit. Cloud-based CPQs like Epicor CPQ can integrate seamlessly with upcoming mixed reality platforms using APIs, letting you get ahead of the competition.

Cloud Computing

Top CPQ solutions operate in the cloud, utilizing a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) model to offer numerous advantages. These include:

Lower Up-Front Costs: You don’t need to invest in expensive hardware to run cloud-based CPQ solutions, which means they have lower up-front costs. The pay-as-you-go pricing model keeps costs more manageable and predictable.

Lower TCO: The total cost of ownership (TCO) of cloud CPQ is considerably lower than on-prem. The vendor manages and maintains your solution, updating and fixing bugs. For smaller companies with limited IT resources, this is a huge benefit.

Rapid Implementation: With no need for hardware installation, your business can be up and running instantly, reducing time to value.

Improved Scalability: Cloud CPQ solutions are easily scalable. You can expand or contract usage on demand and pay as you go.

Enhanced Security: Cloud CPQ solutions tend to be more secure as vendors invest in the latest and most advanced security measures, including data encryption and strict access controls. Automatic backups and disaster recovery protect your business in case of system failures, guaranteeing business continuity.

Accessibility: Cloud-based CPQ solutions are available in your browser, enabling employees to access the solution on-the-go through any internet-connected device.

Future-proof: Cloud-based CPQ solutions constantly evolve with new updates and features rolling out automatically. This helps you adapt to technology trends and provide your customers with cutting-edge digital experiences. Better integration with other cloud applications allows you to implement and integrate new solutions when they launch.

Additive Manufacturing

Top CPQ solutions can auto-generate additive manufacturing files and route them directly to 3D printers on the shop floor. This enables true end-to-end automation, whereby the customer configures a product remotely, places their order, and their product is manufactured immediately, all without a human touch.

14. Optimized Pricing for Maximum Margins 

CPQ solutions calculate prices in real-time (dynamic pricing), providing instant pricing feedback so buyers can make well-informed on-the-spot purchase decisions. But top CPQ solutions do more than calculate prices fast; they price them intelligently. 

Leading CPQ software can access material costs, shipping costs, labor rates, and competitor behavior into their quoted prices. This lets manufacturers adjust to market fluctuations, provide timely promotions, and maximize margins from every deal without sacrificing sales volume. 

The Bottom Line: CPQ Companies Provide So Much More

We all know CPQ for streamlining product configuration, pricing, and quotes. Only some people are aware of the benefits that lie beyond these core functions. These hidden advantages are equally powerful, from increasing environmental sustainability to boosting employee retention, product lifecycle management, and more. 

[cpqsolution]

Using A Visual Configuration Tool To Design Complex Products

Designing complex products can benefit greatly from visual configuration, which enhances adaptability, flexibility, and design efficiency. Designers and engineers can provide a graphical interface for customers to customize a product by choosing different choices and features using visual configuration. 

Designers can design highly complex products suited to specific consumer demands and preferences using CPQ software for product configuration. Users will be able to develop a product that satisfies their particular needs, which can assist in boosting customer satisfaction.

What Is Visual Configuration

Using a graphical user interface to build a product or service, a process known as "visual configuration" allows users to choose and arrange product features, choices, and components graphically. Customers can design a unique product by choosing different options or characteristics from a preset list of possibilities, including colors, materials, sizes, forms, and functionality.

Visual CPQ tools are frequently used in manufacturing to create complicated goods with several variations or alternatives. Customers can now customize the product to meet their unique demands without advanced technical knowledge or design experience.

Visual CPQ tool is frequently employed in industries where clients desire individualized and customizable items, such as automobiles, furniture, home appliances, and electronics. It can also be used in software programs like website builders, which let users visually design and manage their websites by selecting various page layouts, fonts, graphics, and colors.

Benefits Of Visual CPQ Tool

Visual CPQ tools can offer several benefits to businesses, including:

The sales process can be automated using CPQ resources, making it more rapid and effective. Salespeople can rapidly and accurately provide quotations based on customer needs without laborious manual data input. This can lower mistakes, speed up sales, and boost client happiness.

Customers' purchasing experiences can be enhanced by using CPQ software, which enables consumers to view and personalize their items in real-time. Before deciding to buy, customers can experiment with various product settings and choices to see how the changes would appear. Increased engagement, contentment, and loyalty can result from this.

Rules-based setup is used by visual CPQ resources to guarantee the accuracy and completeness of quotations and orders. This can improve the accuracy of the sales process by lowering mistakes and preventing misunderstandings between sales representatives and clients.

By automating the design and quotation processes, CPQ software can assist organizations in bringing new goods to market more quickly. As a result, firms can adapt to customer wants and market trends more rapidly. This can shorten the time needed to develop new goods and get them to market.

By giving customers a more exciting and dynamic shopping experience, visual CPQ technologies can assist businesses in growing their sales. Products that satisfy customers' requirements and preferences are more likely to be bought. Sales representatives can find and recommend suitable product alternatives and configurations that consumers might not have considered using CPQ resources.

Functionalities Of Visual Configuration

Visual configuration tools can offer a range of functionalities depending on the specific product or service being configured. Some of the key functionalities of visual configuration tools include:

Visual CPQ software allows users to select and configure products visually, using 3D models or other graphical representations. 

Visual configuration tools use rules-based configuration to ensure that product configurations are valid and consistent. 

Visual configuration tools can calculate the price of a configured product in real-time based on the selected options and features. 

Visual configuration tools can validate product configurations against predefined rules and requirements, ensuring that the final product will meet the required standards and specifications. 

Visual configuration tools can integrate with other systems, such as CRM, ERP, and CAD, to streamline the design and production process. 

Visual configuration tools can provide realistic visualizations and renderings of the configured product, enabling users to see how it will look. 

Summing Up

The visual configuration enables users to develop distinctive and customized goods that match their particular requirements, streamlining the product creation process, shortening lead times, and boosting customer satisfaction.

CPQ software can speed up a company's sales process, improve customer satisfaction, increase accuracy, shorten time-to-market, and boost revenue.

Users can configure and personalize items quickly using visual configuration tools, which can provide various features. By streamlining design and manufacturing procedures, firms can improve accuracy, decrease mistakes, and boost customer satisfaction. Contact KBMax for the successful implementation of CPQ software.

[productvisualizationsoftware]

Visual Configuration: Experience Reality Before Buying

A visual configurator for CPQ provides customers with a complete product experience to ensure that their customization meets their needs. The visual configurator for CPQ guarantees the customers that what they see is what they get. If you want to know how a visual configurator works and how it gives customers an easy way to customize their products, this guide is the best place for it.

[epicorcpq]

Visual Product Configuration Revamping Manufacturing

Ordering becomes complicated and tedious for customers and sales representatives when it includes customized products, room layout designs, or specialized equipment.

What can considerably lower such complications is- visual product configuration. Many companies discover that their CPQ tools lack ease of use and functionality.

Several times, CPQ unnecessarily complicates the ordering process with extra input fields, questions, and quotes. But the same can not be said for visual product configurators.

Whether it is a 2D or 3D product configurator or a Virtual Reality configurator, there is a guarantee that customers will be satisfied by the end of the day. Besides, the precision of order handling, sales performance, and the clarity of understanding a product after visualizing it gives an incomparable experience.

If you're looking for a CPQ configurator, we would recommend you to select one with powerful visualization by its side. Let's learn how the visual CPQ software is turning around the manufacturing domain on its heels.

How is a Visual Product Configurator revamping the manufacturing industry?

Improved customer experience

The interaction of end-users and customers to any online store is slowly dominating the digital shopping industry and, therefore, becomes crucial to your sales reps' marketing strategy.

With time, customer experience became a defining factor in the success of manufacturing businesses. Texts and product descriptions can go so long in conveying the look and features of a product in an e-commerce store. Powerful customization and real-time pricing win the game in engaging customers during the buying process supported by the visual CPQ tool.

Seeing is better than imagination

Humans process images better than texts; therefore, visual product configuration leads the sales to the end of the funnel using more than imagination. More than buying, learning about what the customers are buying sets the final purchase decision in motion.

Real-time product customization can help them decide on the relevant features and observe the price changes with each customization added to the basic product.

The customers are less likely to return the products and feel more confident as they browse several features and read about them themselves. The precision and accuracy of orders also save more work on the production department's hands since the customized product can't be returned to inventory without bearing hefty costs.

Unique differentiator

Imagine showcasing your products in real-time with visual CPQ software integration using well-planned details and customizations. It is not difficult to imagine the difference in your sales figures compared to your competitors with traditional catalogs all over the internet.

The edge from innovation and creativity granted to the customer buying journey acts as a significant differentiator and gives you a heads up even without saying.

Leave behind the world of texts

Customized products have a huge market and require consistent guidance throughout the buying journey. What might seem easy to you can not be as easily understood by your customers. Here's where a visual CPQ configurator comes into action.

The guided selling approach works well with rules restricting customization per the manufacturer's capabilities. With the manual for customization up to the visual CPQ tool, your sales team is free to build better customer relationships in other forms.

Closing Words-

Epicor offers state-of-art and innovative solutions for your manufacturing business using the support of visual CPQ software. It helps your customers flow through the buying decision with better information and comprehension of your offerings.

You can place, arrange and rearrange your orders, mimicking how they will look in reality. Saving your overhead costs, shelf space, and inventory costs to store products beforehand, Epicor can be your visual CPQ partner, building key relationships with present and prospective customers.

Make the suitable investment and experience the whooping sales figure with our avant-garde sales stimulation. Lead generation was never this easy.

With Epicor, help your customers create and customize what they want on your terms. Reach us to know more about our visual product configuration.

[darkswanevent]

Infor Configure Price Quote (CPQ) is a visual, rules-based configurator software that integrates with Infor CRM to accelerate product configuration, pricing, and quoting. Infor CPQ Training captures your engineering and pricing knowledge to enable your sales reps and/or dealers to quickly become product experts.

[epicorcpqsoftware]

CPQ in Salesforce- A Review

Configure, price, quote software (CPQ) assists manufacturers to reduce errors, boost productivity, and also streamline sales operations. It also enhances the customer experience (CX), which impacts their overall objective. Consider that 96% of customers will leave for poor customer experience, while it’s anywhere from 5 - 25 times more expensive to get new customers than retain the existing ones.

Hence, several CPQ solutions have come to the fore in recent years—including the CPQ in Salesforce. Let’s take a look at the CPQ in Salesforce in better detail, delving into its pros, and cons, as well as a few important considerations for companies looking to implement the Salesforce CPQ.

CPQ Software Solutions

CPQ software solutions provide various benefits to both manufacturers as well as their customers, with the market expected to be worth $3.9 billion by 2026.

But what are these benefits exactly?

Manufacturers can easily dictate how their products are configured, priced, and then sold. By leveraging an advanced rules engine, such as the Epicor CPQ Snap rules engine, they can then build an automatic configurator u[on their organization’s specific rules for manufacturing.

Customers can self-serve, taking the benefits of countless customization options without enlisting the help of a rep. Reps can bid farewell to dealing with dense spreadsheets and also battling through thousands of SKUs. Instead, they can then focus on sales, leaving automation to handle the customers’ requests.

CPQ software leverages 2D and 3D visual configurators to demonstrate to customers what the final product will look like—reducing the chances of returns. The price then updates in real-time while automation takes away errors throughout the complete buying journey.

Once they convert, the CPQ’s in-built configurators will pass on crucial data instantly from the shopping cart to the shop floor. All critical documents, including BOMs, cut sheets, inventory status, as well as assembly documentation, get automatically generated without any rep lifting a single finger.

Internally, this leads to a smoother and more seamless purchase process. As Jeff Smith, Engineering & Design CAD Specialist at Timberlane, Inc., comments, “We have a simple product with numerous and sometimes complex and unlimited option catalog. KBMax [Epicor CPQ] allows us to handle 95% of the custom requests without needing to use outside drawing programs to meet the customer’s needs.”

A Typical CPQ Implementation Process

Manufacturers are required to derive value from their CPQ solutions as soon as possible. Long implementation processes are not just a time-consuming distraction, but they can also damage the organization’s overall productivity.

Fortunately, the CPQ implementation process is simpler than you may think. Follow these five steps to get your CPQ software solutions up and running:

Create a genuine cross-functional team

Point your business drivers before designing a project brief

Create a rich business case to secure buy-in as soon as possible

Execute your CPQ project

Systematically tackle the company culture to tackle change resistance

By taking care of these five steps, you can make sure your CPQ implementation process is highly seamless and successful.

CPQ in Salesforce

Housed in the Sales Cloud platform, Salesforce in CPQ (previously Steelbrick) is a tool that assists manufacturers to close more deals in less time, satisfying more customers while also  reducing errors to a bare minimum. It’s a CPQ software designed for Salesforce users, meaning that organizations can easily pull in their CRM data to personalize the customer experience better.

The Pros of CPQ in Salesforce

It’s time to go into things a little deeper. Let’s analyze the benefits that Salesforce CPQ provides customers.

Rapid & Error-Free Quoting

78% of customers make their purchase from the company that responds first. Salesforce CPQ offers 10x faster quote generation, resulting in a 95% reduction in approval time.

A One-Stop Reporting Shop

Users can achieve an almost 200% quicker quote-to-cash process by invoice management, orders, as well as reports within the Salesforce CPQ.

Guided-Selling

Salesforce CPQ’s guided selling capabilities get new hires up to 30% quicker speed.

Boost Subscriptions

The CPQ in Salesforce allows manufacturers to actively engage in multi-dimensional quoting for subscription products, maximizing their lifetime value by getting repeat orders.  

The Cons of CPQ in Salesforce

However, there are a few areas where the CPQ in Salesforce falls short:

It Isn’t Easy to Understand

Before they can get value from the CPQ in Salesforce, reps need to first undergo rigorous training. This time could be better spent on serving customers and closing deals. Sluggish System

Salesforce CPQ users frequently report the system as being too unresponsive and loaded with lags. CPQ solutions have the potential to speed up the sales process by 38%, so this sluggishness is particularly disappointing.

As the adage goes, ‘time kills all deals.’ The slower a CPQ system tends to be, the more likely it is that prospects will get frustrated during their purchase journey and also choose to go somewhere else.

Not Customer-Focused

The best, most customer-centric CPQ solutions provide ample consumer benefits. Unfortunately, it isn’t easy to embed the Salesforce CPQ’s configurators into customer-facing websites.

Too Simplistic

Manufacturers offer multiple complex and technical products. They need a CPQ software that can keep up with one that will easily handle advanced product rules. Unfortunately, the CPQ in Salesforce is notoriously poor at handling complicated technical requests.

The Absence of a 3D Configurator

3D or VR/AR-based configurators set the best CPQ solutions apart. They allow customers to interact with products as if they were right there, ensuring that the customers buy the perfect product for their specific requirements. 3D configurators reduce lead times and improve design accuracy. But, Salesforce CPQ lacks 3D configurators, significantly hampering the customer experience. Doesn’t Integrate with Others

The best CPQ solutions seamlessly integrate with manufacturers’ tech stacks. However, Salesforce CPQ offers a limited number of integrations, meaning it can only provide its users with minimal productivity and better efficiency.

Users Cannot Drag And Drop Specific Line Items

For over two years, Salesforce CPQ users have demanded one thing: to be able to drag and drop specific line items. Yet, their requests are still to be taken care of. This issue overcomplicates the fulfillment of large orders that can run into the tens of thousands. It also shows a troubling and uncharacteristic lack of customer focus from Salesforce.

Solid, But Far From a Superstar

The CPQ in Salesforce handles the basics with a lot of ease, boosting the sales cycles, reducing manual effort, and also providing customers with a seamless, error-free buying experience. However, it’s far from the complete package. It struggles with more complex requests, lacks immersive visualizations, and integrates poorly with other systems.

If you’re looking to implement CPQ software, consider researching other, more well-rounded (and customer-friendly) solutions.

[hamzaaslam]

Epicor Delivers the Power of the Cloud with Latest Release of Epicor Kinetic ERP for Manufacturers

Epicor Delivers the Power of the Cloud with Latest Release of Epicor Kinetic ERP for Manufacturers

Enterprise Cloud, Visual CPQ and eCommerce capabilities help manufacturers streamline operations and boost profitability AUSTIN, TX – Media OutReach – 28 October 2021 – Epicor, a global leader of industry-specific enterprise software designed to promote business growth, today announced the latest release of Epicor Kinetic, its cloud-based ERP platform for manufacturers. The new updates deliver…

[vanessaforest]

Trying to get innovation and increasing the return on investment? Get top-level Salesforce implementation services for every type of business.

Salesforce Implementation Services - Expand Your Possibilities with Ergonized

Salesforce is the most innovatory and complex cloud-based CRM platform in the digital industry. And this will not change currently, as it introduces several improvements a year. That's why you need skilled professionals that are familiar with the newest software.

In the report of Salesforce.com, clients who use Sales Cloud, one of the best solutions in the Salesforce family, note an average of 37% rise in income, an increase in customer satisfaction by 45%, and a rise in return on investment from their marketing actions on 43%.

If you considering the right assistant, you have two variants: to find an independent Salesforce consultant or a certified Salesforce consultant partner. External specialists offer cost-efficient alternatives, but they may not able to process a large-scale like a Salesforce implementation, and they will spend more time to finish the implementation than one cohesive consulting company.

By comparison, a certified Salesforce Consulting Partner has confirmed, Salesforce-certified knowledge.

The Registered Consultant Partner connects a diverse team of skilled professionals who can solve any problem you may be faced at the implementation stage. You pay more to a company with certified Salesforce consultants, but you end up with success.

Ergonized offers customized decisions to incorporate data and analytic content, upgrade workflow, and expand the utility of Salesforce cloud apps. Looking to move your data to the cloud space, apply a CRM Platform, and build a program to introduce automation in your company's management?

Ergonized, a proficient and credible provider, can turn any of your organization's ideas into a solution.

Our developers will competently study your company's strategy and goals to identify commerce demands and help you to hire the correct solution for business and improve the present. Whatever it is - improving sales performance, reducing long-term sales cycles, or drafting a customer 360 truth, we have all the options to meet your needs.

Ergonized IT specialists have high levels of skill to create unique solutions on the Salesforce platform and will proffer your organization a personalized customer configuration.

Our experts tailor that Salesforce solution by a pair of alternative methods which differ in complexness, outgoings, and alteration level. At first, is the standard configuration by point and click instruments. Another is to optimize the solution through code-based tools when you need large-scale changes. For small-sized and medium business consumers, we proffer fast implementation for fixed costs.

We have experience in consolidating Salesforce with actual tools, third-party functionality, direct database connection, and also other processes. Our IT specialists conflate apps with different commercial software such as Zendesk, Google Drive.

After conducting Salesforce implementation of Financial Services, our IT specialists sync theirs with Enterprise resource planning systems, web interfaces, sales support software, e-commerce websites, online groups, update each of the company’s tools, and group complete commercial data in one operating environment.

Whereas every organization has individual requirements and processes, the timing for implementing Salesforce differ. There are no several analogous Salesforce realizations. This may take up to 30 to 300 hours of work for a few weeks or months. You can get to know how fast to implement in your organization by requesting advice from Ergonized consultants.

Ergonized can reinvent the marketing approach to your users, build a better brand experience. Be it's B2B or B2C, our specialists use top intelligent marketing platforms and approaches to model the source of data, assess the effectiveness of any campaign, and customize each channel. Our services include retrieval of data from various sources, data cleansing for consistency, eliminating duplicate copies of repeating data, calibration of information entry, and import data into CRM.

We come in useful to the implementation:

Sales Cloud

To attract leads, terminate deals quickly, speed up sales, and make better personnel efficiency.

Service Cloud

To provide quality service to our customers and create a 360-degree view of every customer interaction.

Financial Services Cloud

To promptly transmit essential financial details to asset managers.

Community Cloud

To get customers, associates, and personnel together in one place and give them the details they demand to get the job done.

Einstein Analytics

To accumulate and analyze info from different sources and design high-quality visualizations to make wise decisions.

Health Cloud

To create trust of clients, provide the right assistance, and get commercial gains.

Marketing Cloud

To keep in touch with consumers through all channels, raise customer service levels employing a robust marketing automation tool.

Pardot

To create top-quality leads and speed up the conveyor to transform them into consumers in B2B sales.

CPQ & Billing

To rationalize your quotation procedure with Salesforce CPQ, that requires an extensive understanding of pre-paying pricing procedures.

Non-profit organizations (NPSP)

To organize volunteers, donate, connect with voters, and improve donor conversion rates.

MuleSoft Anypoint

To link any applications, data, and devices to the API, decrease API support costs, and automate trade processes.

Before you start integrating Salesforce, decide on cloud (or clouds) you plan to use, be it Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Pardot, Heroku, CPQ, etc. Each cloud goes with an exclusive group of restrictions and peculiarities for implementation, so it is important to determine what exact ones you need before starting the Salesforce interaction.

After building a customized solution based on Salesforce in a development environment and checking it by QA professionals, it is migrated to the User Acceptance Testing environment. That’s where delegates of the client company will examine the effectiveness of the solution to guarantee that it functions as intended. At this stage, our team finds and settles bugs before launch so that the whole solution works accurately at the time of deployment.

Ergonized team will provide you with a structured approach and proficient guidance for appraising your actual analytics conditions, the general analytics requirements in your industry, and a strategy to reach those requirements through Salesforce Reporting, Dashboards, and more.

Our team benefits are:

Utter consumer focus, including a dedicated team of experts, concentrated just on your account.

Custom design to refine every single function to correspond to the intricacies of workflows.

Practical consulting facilities to avoid disruptions and avert difficult concerns from arising.

Flawless and trouble-free setup and transition process.

Ergonized works constructively with clients, partners, and teams to make sure the desired business profit. Our progressive solutions, customized to your activity, assist modify your job and ameliorate connectivity. Our team members regard systems from the perspective of regularity rather than narrow functionality.

SF supplies uninterrupted, expandable innovation so companies can quickly and reliably adapt to new market demands. As clients grow, so do their requests, and the responsive Salesforce family holds up these changes. By way of a Salesforce Implementation Partner, we focus on optimization, expandability, and accuracy of processes.

Through our deep understanding of marketing, finance, and insurance, we perform many successful implementations and solve problems comprise the various Salesforce clouds. With multifarious awareness and years of accumulated experience, we can handle various types of projects, from simple to complex, demanding any amount of modern technology.

When the application program is turning out on the AppExchange, we give the end consumer and manager the security documentation related to the app and feed it to Salesforce Product Security. And they provide the Lightning Platform org login full powers and any external components or functions that were in use during developing the solution.

Our developers transfer your database to the alternative solution without loss and damage and whatever problem in the system. Due to implementing the Salesforce Service Cloud, Ergonized specialists boost your standard processes by exclusively designed custom workflows, protected settings for access, and email forms.

Ergonized as Salesforce consulting partner spends virtual coaching to help customers to understand the capabilities of a Salesforce platform. In addition, our admins proffer post-launch maintenance on request. In consequence, to make a maximum from the standard and custom-made Salesforce configurations and improve employee productivity.

Why cooperate with us?

Proficient knowledge of the subject field

Salesforce Consulting & Training Partner

Approved professionals

Brilliant functional and technological proficiency

Potent onsite / sea delivery experience

Firm partner network ecosystem to bring industry-leading solutions.

Our custom Service Cloud execution facilities make sure that your income, efficiency, service quality, and customer engagement are growing when charges are under control.

Together with Ergonized, you can boost the project and take a maximum from the Salesforce platform.

[kbmax-cpqsoftware]

KBMax: Visual Configuration

Do you want to use robust visual CPQ software to improve your sales process? KBMax is the only place to go. To fulfill the unique needs of a customer, a product is defined and customized. And with the help of the KBMax visual product configuration tool, it's never been easier. Our user-friendly interface makes it simple to develop and provide accurate quotes in a short amount of time. To find out more about how our visual configuration tool can help your company, visit KBMax.com right now.

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Product Visualization Software For Better eCommerce Websites

We all know the effect a 3D visual product configuration has on eCommerce buyers than a plain image. Product visualization software has made interacting with products on an eCommerce website easier. Let's understand how this visual tool can improve sales and offer your online customers more than they could ever think of.