For businesses of all sizes and across all channels, regardless of the CRM they use, the SAP SaaS cloud offering SAP CPQ makes it possible to generate detailed quotes in record time amid complex configuration and pricing requirements.
SAP CPQ, formerly known as Callidus CPQ, is a cloud-based Software as a Service platform developed by the German tech giant to aid sales teams in performing complex product setups, as well as creating and handling sales quotes. The SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) system’s Variant Configuration once provided CPQ capabilities, but it lacked SAP CPQ’s robust cloud-based functionalities.
In 2018, SAP acquired CallidusCloud to provide a cloud-based quoting solution for both basic and configurable solutions to its SAP Customer Experience (SAP CX) sales suite. SAP CPQ, formerly known as Callidus CPQ, is now a service provided by SAP as part of their SAP Sales Cloud portfolio. Given the increasing complexity of the buying process in the modern day, it is more important than ever to integrate the cloud-based Lead to Money (Quote-to-Cash) solutions offered by CallidusCloud with SAP’s portfolio, which is itself constantly expanding with artificial intelligence (AI).
For the sixth year running, global technological research and consulting firm Gartner has placed SAP in the Leaders category of the Magic Quadrant for Configure, Price, and Quote Application Suites. According to the research and advisory company, software providers that rank as Leaders in the Gartner Magic Quadrant are those that have both the vision and the means to turn that strategy into tangible outcomes for their customers.
“Leaders have significant successful customer deployments in a wide variety of industries and with multiple proofs of deployments for more than 500 users. They achieve consistently above-average customer experience satisfaction scores. They are often the vendors against which other providers measure themselves,” the Gartner report added.
In order to facilitate integration with other on-premises or cloud-based systems, SAP CPQ provides a number of prebuilt connectors for use with both SAP and non-SAP applications. An SAP CPQ system is able to connect and exchange data with a wide variety of other systems, both native SAP applications like SAP ERP, SAP S/4HANA, SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM), and cloud-based solutions like SAP CX, SAP Sales Cloud, and non-SAP applications.
Commenting on the recent recognition the SAP SaaS cloud offering received, Eric van Rossum, Chief Marketing and Solutions Officer for Cloud ERP at SAP, said:
“I’m pleased to share that Gartner has named SAP a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for Configure, Price and Quote Application Suites. This is the fifth consecutive year SAP has been recognized as a Leader in this Magic Quadrant.”
SAP CPQ as a Crucial Component of the SAP SaaS Cloud Portfolio
As one the company’s most important tools, SAP CPQ streamlines the quote-to-cash process so that businesses may more easily turn leads into paying clients. Using a modular cloud approach, the German enterprise software giant integrates SAP S/4HANA Cloud with SAP CPQ, SAP Billing and Revenue Innovation Management (SAP BRIM), and SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) to provide an end-to-end quote-to-cash process that helps businesses quickly monetize subscriptions.
SAP’s quote-to-cash offerings provide for a smooth transition to “everything-as-a-service” through recurring revenue models, simplified operations, and improved responsiveness to change. Santa Clara, California-based SaaS company ServiceNow — which helps businesses manage digital workflows for enterprise operations — is one of the many SAP customers that is counting on the enterprise software giant to help it transform its quote-to-cash process as it prepares for future growth and targets a valuation of $10 billion to $15 billion.
In a bid to enhance client renewals and future purchases, as well as the average contract value (ACV) of each transaction, ServiceNow opted to use SAP CPQ as part of this strategy. ServiceNow uses SAP CPQ in conjunction with SAP Entitlement Management from SAP BRIM to monitor and control the various subscriptions and services that each of its users is allowed to use.
ServiceNow is empowering its sales teams to maximize renewals, cross-sell, and up-sell prospects by leveraging the SAP SaaS cloud-based offerings. Teams approach every encounter with customers prepared with knowledge of their product portfolios and inclination to renew or purchase more products. Moreover, ServiceNow has also saved money by cutting back on wasteful spending on areas like renewal process planning, data management, and customer entitlement.
