Epicor CPQ – what makes it stand out?

# BMS

Epicor CPQ – what makes it stand out?

12.06.2023

Every product is unique – especially today, when one can configure virtually any color or functionality. Customers love the possibility of mass personalization, but for the manufacturing departments, producing an order according to the specs can sometimes be difficult. In such situations, a dynamic configurator such as Epicor CPQ can be beneficial. What is it and what makes it stand out?

What is Epicor CPQ?

Epicor CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) is an advanced configuration, pricing and quoting tool (as its abbreviated name indicated) developed by Epicor Software Corporation. It streamlines the sales and production planning process. The comprehensive configurator allows customers to customize products and services to their liking while providing a real-time preview of the changes. The selected configuration is used as the basis for determining the price and generating the final sales offers.

The software can be integrated with the ERP and CRM systems, production and supply chain management solutions, and via Rest API, even with other systems customers may choose. This enables a smooth flow of information between different departments in companies. It also makes the sales process more efficient and minimizes the risk of errors and non-conforming deliverables. The tool will also prove useful in CAD automation, allowing engineers to work more efficiently and quickly.

Epicor CPQ configurator tasks and functions

Epicor CPQ’s main purpose is to support the process of configuring products and services. It allows customers to customize products and/or services using a range of options, parameters, functions and product features such as size, color, material, additional features, etc. The configurator can include a set of business rules that define valid and invalid combinations. These are validated during the configuration process to ensure that customers make choices that fit within business rules and constraints.

Based on the configuration, Epicor CPQ automatically calculates the price of a product or service. Pricing can take into account the cost of materials, manufacturing complexity or discounts, among other factors. It can also use flexible pricing models that offer different pricing schemes for different customer groups.

Once the configuration is complete, the software automatically generates all the required documents. These are usually customized and include details of the configuration and the quotation itself. To speed up the production and sales process, Epicor CPQ can be integrated with CRM, ERP or production management systems.

In addition to these tasks, Epicor CPQ can gather data on the configuration process, pricing and offers. These can later be used to analyze sales, identify market trends or generate reports and analyses.

Who should use Epicor CPQ?

Epicor CPQ helps streamline and systematize the sales process, increase the accuracy of quotes and reduce response time to customer inquiries. For this reason, it will prove useful in, among others:

businesses that offer products or services with complex structures or flexible configuration options,
organizations operating in the B2B market, where transactions are based on individual contracts and configurations,
companies providing bespoke services that need to be tailored to individual customer requirements each and every time,
organizations where the sales process is complex and multi-stage.

Epicor CPQ can be customized for different industries and specific needs of diverse companies. Before deciding on an implementation, it is advisable to perform an analysis and consult the vendor or the implementation team.

Epicor CPQ benefits

There are many tangible benefits to using the CPQ configurator, as the data shows – manufacturers and resellers using the solution saw a 168% increase in sales, and production and sales cycle improved by 35% and 38%, respectively. The relevance of Epicor CPQ is also evidenced by the number of its users – there are about half a million worldwide.

Epicor CPQ allows mass customization of products, which translates into greater customer satisfaction and increases the chances of closing purchases. Also, the sales process itself is accelerated with the automatic generation of prices and offers – these, too, can be personalized easily and quickly.

The CPQ software automatically makes sure that the configurations set up fit within the available options and rules. This minimizes the risk of errors and makes production faster and more efficient. The ability to connect CPQ with other systems used in the company ensures a smooth flow of information between different departments, which streamlines the sales process.

Epicor CPQ can also be used for data analytics, which is particularly crucial today – organizations that are data-driven and make business decisions based on actionable data are more likely to achieve market success. It’s also worth noting that implementing the Epicor CPQ can be the first step in automating a company, which is in line with the currently popular trend of hyper-automation.

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