SAP users wanting to implement a CPQ for SAP will naturally gravitate towards SAP’s CPQ solution (called SAP CPQ.) While this is a logical choice, it might not be the most sensible. There are a huge number of reasons why manufacturers need to look beyond SAP CPQ, and we will explore them all in this one.
For those manufacturers troubled with confined functionality and poor usability, SAP CPQ with its SAP product configurator can be easily and economically improved with third-party integration. Integration with a visual CPQ solution like KBMax supercharges SAP for the team of sales reps, engineers, and, most importantly, customers.
SAP CPQ
SAP CPQ is one of the most popular CPQ products on the market for companies providing a large number of configurable products.
Understanding Visual CPQ
Visual CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) offers sales reps and their customers an easier way to configure, price, and quote customizable products. More than a third (36%) of people are interested in personalized products, and the right CPQ resources make it profitable to supply them.
The CPQ process begins with a product configurator tool that sales reps can use for selecting features, add-ons, as well as other configurations for a product. CPQ then prices the configured product in real-time. And finally, it then uses this information for generating a detailed quote or proposal for the customer.
Understanding SAP CPQ
There are many CPQ vendors on the market, each with its own set of pros and cons. SAP offers its very own CPQ tool that’s completely integrated with SAP's ERP platform.
SAP CPQ provides sellers with a detailed process to generate complex quotes for customers. It’s designed to reduce configuration as well as quoting errors, protect company margins, and also streamline all related operations too.
One of the biggest selling points of SAP CPQ is that it can be easily connected to existing ERP, CRM, and e-commerce platforms, including SAP itself. It can also be deployed and accessed via the cloud and can also generate quotes in seconds.
Pros and Cons of SAP CPQ
Advantages
- Includes pre-configured integration to SAP Sales Cloud and other SAP solutions
- Reduces the difficulty of lead-to-quote processes
- Allows complex configurations and appropriate pricing
- Cuts down rogue discounting
- Integrates with major third-party CRM platforms
Disadvantages
Unfortunately, SAP CPQ isn't very feature-packed a lot of other CPQ systems. Compared to a visual CPQ for SAP like KBMax, SAP CPQ falls short across these dimensions:
- Lacks the advanced product rules manufacturers require to sell complex and technical products.
- Challenging to learn, complex to operate, and very slow to change.
- Doesn’t provide 3D visual product configuration, Augmented Reality, and Virtual Reality.
- Lacks front-end components, so you can’t easily embed it in a B2B eCommerce website for self-serve.
- Can’t automatically generate CAD drawings from multiple product configurations (CAD and design automation.)
- Expensive to implement and maintain, needing an experienced development team or external support.
CPQ for SAP Supercharged with Third-Party Integrations
SAP CPQ is a standard CPQ tool. If your company is looking for a more robust and sophisticated CPQ solution, you need to integrate your SAP with a more advanced visual CPQ platform, like the one offered by KBMax.
KBMax’s CPQ for SAP offers 3D visual product configuration, an advanced rules engine, as well as CAD and design automation, all of which combine and elevate SAP to another level. KBMax puts both- the sales and engineering processes in sync, reducing sales cycles, increasing accuracy, and even reducing costs.
These are some features that a robust third-party CPQ for SAP can provide:
3D Visual Product Configuration
One of the biggest drawbacks of SAP CPQ is its lack of visual feedback when there’s configuration. A loaded visual CPQ for SAP delivers a fully immersive customer experience with its 3D visual product configurator that displays products on-screen.
As customers configure their products with a 3D product configurator software, lifelike 3D renderings are then updated in real-time. The user understands every potential configuration in detail, and buyers and sellers are always aware.
Immersive Visualization Technology
KBMax's 3D visual configurator is perfect for use with all state-of-the-art visualization technologies. It can fully include both Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) to fully immerse customers within the products they configure, wherever they’re located.
Website Embedding for B2B eCommerce
70% of B2B decision-makers look to self-serve rather than deal with the sales reps. This shift in their behavior means that companies can reach a global market through search. But with competitors just a click away, you’ll only be successful if you can provide great online purchasing experiences.
Manufacturers can embed KBMax’s visual product configurator into their e-commerce website with just a couple of clicks, empowering online customers to configure even the most complex, configurable products.
Advanced Rules Engine
KBMax's advanced rules engine makes all product configurations fully optimized for engineering, manufacturing, as well as profitability. The engine is also driven by a series of product and pricing rules created within the Snap visual programming language.
Snap is a “no-code” language designed for everyone, not just developers. Non-technical users can build rules by simply dragging blocks from the Snap toolbox and "snapping" them together to form logic statements.
Design Automation & CAD
SAP CPQ is a sales tool – it doesn't connect easily with engineering and manufacturing operations. The best third-party CPQ for SAP will get integrated with all major CAD platforms to streamline the complete engineer-to-order process from the shopping cart to the shop floor.
With CAD and design automation, your CPQ system also sends detailed specs from the visual product configurator right to your company's CAD software.
Do You Need a Third-Party CPQ for SAP?
It’s not that SAP CPQ is bad per se. It’s just that the other visual CPQ for SAP solutions excels much better, providing engineer-to-order functionality that exceeds SAP’s basic offering.
For full automation of your sales-to-manufacturing process and to provide an immersive configuration experience to buyers, you require an advanced visual CPQ solution.
When you determine whether to go with SAP CPQ or a third-party CPQ for SAP, ask yourself these questions:
- Does your company offer multiple complex product configuration options?
- Need to offer customers more sophisticated product visualization during the configuration process?
- Do you have a B2B e-commerce website with also the need to include user-friendly visual configuration functionality?
- Do you want to avoid expensive programming every time you add new products and rules to your database?
- Do you look to streamline your sales-to-manufacturing process with the integration of CPQ into your engineering and manufacturing operations?
If you answered "yes" to some or more of these questions, SAP CPQ doesn’t meet your needs. Instead, you also need to look at a third-party CPQ platform, like the one offered by KBMax. KBMax's CPQ solution integrates seamlessly with SAP, so you don’t have to make any changes to your ERP to supercharge configuration, pricing, and quoting in your company.
