How can you quickly reach customers interested in customizable products defined by many diverse parameters? How can you enable customers to configure and price products themselves, while also presenting visualizations of the functional products they have “designed” in their specific environment? The answer is EPICOR CPQ.
The Product Configurator is software that is an integral part of the Epicor Kinetic ERP system, enabling the creation of optimal configurations for components that make up a product – we wrote about this in our previous blog post in the EPICOR Strengths series. However, the EPICOR offering also includes a second variant of the configurator – CPQ, a Configure, Price, Quote solution that operates in the cloud. It enables configuration, pricing, and presenting an offer to the customer, followed by production according to the selected parameters.
Unlike the internal Epicor Kinetic ERP part configurator, customers must purchase CPQ separately if they wish to use it. Why is it worth doing?
On one hand, the functionality of CPQ overlaps with what is available to Product Configurator users. In terms of BOM (Bill of Materials) and production routing, we have the same capabilities at our disposal (for details, we encourage you to check out the aforementioned blog post). The advantage of CPQ, however, is its sales functionality, as the solution can be made available to end customers via a web browser.
The benefits of using CPQ are best demonstrated with concrete examples. CPQ resembles the car configurators that everyone is likely familiar with. However, the solution works for any company offering products that require an individual approach and must be properly configured before production. Traditionally, this was done by a sales representative asking customers questions or sending them surveys. This was time-consuming and often prone to errors. CPQ allows the customer to configure their product on their own.
Imagine a manufacturer of doors, windows, or blinds that has many different types of products in its offer, in many different sizes and colors, made from various materials.
The customer visits the website and selects the type of door they are interested in. They want them flat, without any decorations, wooden, in bleached oak. Or no, maybe dark pine would be better – no problem, the product configuration is created in real-time. Next, we can choose the size of the door. And now the best part: simply enable the augmented reality option in CPQ running in a browser on a device equipped with a camera to see what the configured door will look like in reality. You just need to film the space where the door is to be placed, and the system will present it “pasted into reality” – both inside the house and outside, from the yard.
If the product meets our requirements, we can find out its price, production time, and then order the selected door. Additionally, you can even arrange transport immediately. Doors perfectly matched to our needs, without leaving home, delivered to our door. It is similar in the case of selling garden sheds, specialized assembly lines, or industrial equipment, e.g., restaurant kitchens.
This is a huge benefit for the customer, but at the same time, it offers huge benefits for the manufacturer. CPQ significantly facilitates reaching the customer, accelerates the sales process, and provides an excellent experience for the end customer, who can configure the product at their own pace, considering various options and checking which one is optimal. It is sales supported by a smart solution that shows the customer what they are buying, for how much, and when they will receive it. Everything takes place via a web browser in real-time. Furthermore, after the order is placed, the manufacturer has the aforementioned BOM and production routing ready. Ultimately, CPQ enables a relatively simple and fast way to increase transaction volume while reducing customer acquisition costs.
Moreover, because CPQ operates in the cloud, from the user’s perspective, there are no costs for purchasing software, server infrastructure, telecommunications services, or maintaining the entire environment.
What’s more, the solution has a built-in simplified graphical programming language. The low-code approach allows for dragging and dropping entire programming structures. In practice, this means that the websites used by end customers can be designed by business employees who do not have programming skills.
CPQ can also be integrated with other IT systems, e.g., AutoCAD software. After completing the configuration, we receive simplified 2D or 3D drawings. This specification from CPQ can be easily translated into technical AutoCAD drawings used later at the production stage.
Of course, CPQ is integrated with EPICOR Kinetic ERP, but it can work simultaneously with other ERP systems or even independently – the system works with a standard MS SQL database.
