ERP, CRM, PDM, CAD, CPQ, GUIDED SELLING

ERP, CRM, PDM, CAD, CPQ – it is enough to make your head spin. All of these three-letter acronyms stand for the names of software systems that support a portion of the business process. You probably find the acronym CPQ the most unfamiliar. It is also the newest on the list.

CPQ: Configure, Price, Quote

CPQ stands for Configure, Price, Quote – a number of steps that are taken during the quotation process. Still, the list for preparing a good quotation is still not complete. The step before all of these is needs analysis: analyzing the customer’s wishes. A step after preparing the quotation is the internal approval process: will this quotation make it out the door? And another important step is preparing the order. I suspect that the person who originated the acronym CPQ thought that NCPQO was too complex.

CPQ of Guided Selling

CPQ is a useful concept. It helps to bring together a specific part of the business process. But we as Sofon also like to use the term Guided Selling. That is because this term means more than the fact that a good CPQ system offers guidance to the salesperson, dealer, or buyer – from needs analysis to order transfer. Guidance in making the right choice for the best customer solution that is profitable for you as a supplier. Moreover, Guided Selling also implies that it is important to think from the outside in – from customer to solution and not from product to customer.

CPQ and Guided Selling

What CPQ and Guided Selling have in common is that their functionality is not covered by CRM systems or ERP systems when it comes to the sale of complex, customer-specific solutions. Practice has shown that CRM systems concentrate on the sales process, and not on the content of the sale; and that ERP systems are designed for logistics and finance, but not for sales teams. Do you know salespeople who like to work with an ERP system?

Sofon Guided Selling brings together CRM and ERP

CRM systems and ERP systems fulfill an important function. Sofon Guided Selling, however, bridges the gap between the two systems, as you can see in the diagram. Do you see this gap in your own organization? We would be happy to help you eliminate this pitfall.