The next-generation configurable products sold through Configure, Price, and Quote (CPQ) channels will require to scale and flex to a broader range of customer demands than ever before, making real-time integration of engineering, product design, quality production and sales a must-have to succeed.
Supporting short-notice production runs, launching next-generation products, and achieving higher product quality levels that are more configurable to specific customer needs is how manufacturers are going to grow in 2020 and beyond. Firms have all standardized on a single, scalable product model that engineering, sales, production, and marketing share to update real-time. The cornerstone of any successful CPQ strategy in 2019 and into 2020 will be how quickly engineering (PLM), manufacturing through ERP and MES, and sales and marketing through CRM to react and anticipate customers’ changing preferences and needs. When product models are at the core of a CPQ product strategy, every aspect of marketing and sales scales with greater accuracy than any other approach.
Pricing is one of their core strengths as it provides real-time information on how engineering changes to a product model are impacting manufacturing margins and costs. Knowing in real-time how customers’ requests for changes to a product model impact margins and costs give manufacturers who have integrated ERP, PLM, and CRM systems a formidable pricing advantage.
They can easily collaborate with customers and channel partners, designing and delivering more customized products they prefer. By closing the gaps between ERP, PLM, and CRM systems, manufacturers’ channel selling teams and partners gain higher flexibility in defining customized products. Manufacturing, engineering, and sales know in real-time if a customers’ requested configuration is buildable, profitable and when it will be produced.
