Tips for Selecting the Right CPQ Software

1
5 Tips for Selecting the Right CPQ Software
VARStreet Inc.
Contact Us- VARStreet Inc. 66 Charles street
(Beacon Hill), Boston, MA 02114 781-262-0610 Email
Id- sales_at_varstreet.com Twitter-
_at_Tweet_VARStreet.
2
When it comes to fulfilling complex requirements
related to product configuration, pricing and
quoting, you can completely rely on a configure
price quote (CPQ) software application. Large
organizations typically have complex products/
services to offer. In such circumstances, a CPQ
solution is recommended, as it enables you to
generate quotes in minutes despite having a
complex quote-to-cash process. However, vendors
offering CPQ services are numerous, thereby
causing confusion about choosing the right one.
Following are the factors to keep in mind when
choosing a CPQ software   Cloud-based or
On-Premise CPQ Solution With a cloud-based CPQ
solution, you skip the software installation part
altogether, which mean you dont face any
technical challenges associated with
installation. The vendor provides CPQ services
over the Web, which means an internet access
enables you to operate the software on desktops,
laptops and even mobile devices. Instead of your
computers hard drive, the internet servers are
used for processing and data storage. The
complicated job of maintenance and adding new
feature to the product is done by the CPQ
software vendor at his end. Isnt that
convenient? This enables you to focus on your
core business. You only to have to pay a monthly
subscription fee in order to access this web
quoting software on your computer.   Integrates
well with your Existing Software Applications If
your existing system does not support integration
required to incorporate CPQ into your business,
it doesnt make any sense choosing such a sales
quoting software that brings data integrity
issues. Entering the same data multiple times in
different systems is simply a waste of time and
effort. The addition should not be a burden on
your business, rather the CPQ solution you select
should allow you to streamline your business
processes. For instance, the integration should
automatically populate data for sales quotes into
opportunities in your existing CRM system.
3
Supports your Pricing Requirements Your
organization will be having different pricing
structures for different customers. For instance,
you might be using different methods for pricing
your products such as cost based pricing, mark-up
pricing, customer based pricing and competition
based pricing and pricing based on
Category/Subcategory. So the CPQ software you
select should support all pricing strategies that
you are using for establishing pricing of
products.   Choose the Right Type of
Software Since every organization is different,
make sure the CPQ you purchase is able to address
your specific needs. To be more specific, it
should meet you specific configuration needs.
Experts opine companies with complex product
catalogs that change regularly should prefer a
CPQ with a constraint-based configuration engine.
On the other hand, organizations whose business
activities are not changing with time and have a
fixed product catalog can go for CPQ with a
rule-based configuration engine. In case you
have multiple sales channels, meaning you are
also selling products through your partners such
as distributers. Moreover, you want your
customers to view your quote on different devices
including mobile devices such as smartphones and
tablets. In such circumstances, it is advised to
use a CPQ with omni-channel capabilities. Prefer
Vendors that Offer Free Trial Coming to know that
the software you have purchased actually does not
meet your needs can be a costly mistake. To avoid
such a scenario, choose a vendor that is ready to
give you a free trial of the software. This way
you can find out whether the software is suitable
for your organization.