SAP CPQ (configure, price, and quote) solution, a component of the SAP Customer Experience portfolio, enables organisations to extend B2B sales journeys with rich commerce experiences while maintaining control over pricing, advanced configuration, and proposal generation with Request for Quote integration– seamlessly transitioning self-service selections and configurations into B2B opportunity workflows.
New technologies and innovations have been consistently influencing and changing consumer behavior and the buying cycle in recent years. However, the buying process has become more complex than ever when the pandemic hit in 2020, exposing vulnerabilities in distribution and supply chain as well as greater opportunities in e-commerce.
What seems like a preparation for today’s unpredictable economic climate, SAP’s acquisition of CallidusCloud in 2018 brought a set of offerings such as CPQ, commissions, sales effectiveness, and contract life cycle management that helps organisations navigate through the buying process seamlessly. Integrating CallidusCloud’s cloud-based Lead to Money (Quote-to-Cash) solutions with SAP portfolio, while continuously evolving with AI, has become more significant in today’s complex buying process.
SAP CPQ Shaping the Sales Process
The recent in-depth study by Constellation Research, a technology research and advisory firm based in Silicon Valley, illustrated how SAP CPQ influences the overall selling process. Entitled “SAP CPQ Transforms the Sales Process”, the report highlighted that the solution forms a core part of capabilities designed to improve and streamline the sales process for B2B organisations.
Nicole France, Vice President and principal analyst at Constellation Research, said:
“SAP CPQ streamlines, simplifies, and automates the administrative aspects of providing pricing quotes, proposals, and contract terms. Greater speed and accuracy benefit all parties: buyers, sellers, production, fulfillment, legal, and finance. SAP CPQ has the added benefit of nesting within a broader set of related capabilities designed to facilitate the entire sales process.”
She explained that the CPQ software supports customers with extremely large portfolios of products and offerings that require tools to handle both complex configurations and large deals. Aside from allowing coordination across all potential sales channels, the SAP solution also enables customers to manage separate options per channel.
France emphasised that the SAP CPQ system’s approach is customer-centric– an important consideration for customers who are looking for a new CPQ system.
“Because SAP CPQ forms part of the overall SAP Customer Experience portfolio, it lends itself to sparking change in other aspects of the customer experience as well, notably marketing and customer service. The insights generated by SAP CPQ shape a different set of conversations between and among departments. Make the most of those discussions to extend customer-centric transformation,” she added.
Functional Capabilities
SAP CPQ software provides a seamless connection between front-office CRM applications—from both SAP and others—and back-office operations responsible for production and fulfillment. Here are some of the solution’s capabilities highlighted in the report:
Configuration
- Provides high-performance configuration of large, variable orders that may include over 10,000 line items within the same quote
- Combines a straightforward user interface and AI-powered product recommendations in guided selling
- Closely integrates to SAP Variant Configuration
Pricing
- Includes both price and cost data
- Supports omnichannel selling, including direct sales, channel partners or distributors, and commerce sites
- Manages multiple brands, currencies, and languages
Quoting
- Provides templates for quotes and proposal generation
- Supports both standard and variable contract terms, which can be integrated into contract life cycle management and subscription management capabilities
In September 2020, SAP has been recognised as a Leader by Gartner in the Magic Quadrant for Configure, Price, and Quote Application Suites, which assessed products from 17 vendors including the SAP CPQ solution.
