Nevertheless it is pretty challenging to select the right Configure/Price/Quote (CPQ) tool for your business since there are so many different solutions available on the market. While the name (CPQ) is the same, the capabilities are very different and hence it is important to select the right tool to actually reach your goals.
For our CPQ Vendor Overview (which will be updated within a week) I recently checked (again) how many different CPQ solutions are currently available and came up with 50+ (see below) CPQ Vendors. This number does not include all vendors and it does not include CPQ tools that are integrated into eCommerce solutions (e.g. Fluid). To get a complete picture you may also want to check what CPQ solutions are available in a local market. An example of local market information is this document from a german Consulting Firm that covers CPQ tools and capabilities for the german speaking area (DACH = Germany, Austria, Switzerland).
In order to make sense out of this large pool of vendors you may want to look at a couple of key criteria (in addition to checking with a CPQ Consulting firm you trust) to reduce this large list to something that is more manageable and usable for a Request for Information (or later a Request for Proposal).
Definition of Request for Information (RFI) (according to wikipedia): A request for information is a standard business process whose purpose is to collect written information about the capabilities of various suppliers. Normally it follows a format that can be used for comparative purposes.
An RFI is send at the beginning of the CPQ selection process to approx. 8-10 CPQ vendors. Note that this should happen before you talk to any CPQ vendors to prevent confusion. The vendors are typically asked to focus on answering questions and to not add any marketing materials.
Some Key criteria you can use to reduce the list of available CPQ vendors for an RFI are
- Industry: Is this vendor specialized in your Industry?Do they have a number of reference customers for your Industry?
- Number of Software Licenses you need OR budget you have available: How many Users (and Software Licenses) do you expect to use? Note: Many vendors have minimum numbers of users and/or project budget that need to be met for them to have a profitable project. In order to have a Win/Win you should focus on vendors that match your requirements
- Determine what CRM / ERP / other 3rd party systems the CPQ tool supports: Even if you want to use your system standalone make sure your CPQ solution can be integrated with your CRM, ERP and other 3rd party systems (e.g. PLM, CAD)
- Specific CPQ capabilities: Do you need a SMB or an Enterprise solution?, Do you need any graphic (2D/3D) capabilities?, Do you need an offline configurator?, Who is expected to maintain your CPQ tool? (technical/non-technical resources), Does the vendor offer (now or in the roadmap) the capabilities that you require?
- Reputation of CPQ vendor: How many customers do they have? When was the company founded? What is the average CPQ and/or Quote-to-Cash experience within that company? What are their ratings on Software Review sites like G2Crowd, Trustradius, Capterra?
- Location: Where is the vendor located? May be important if you look for F2F meetings, support resources etc.
We regularly meet with many different CPQ vendors and can help you select the right tool for you and your business. Contact us at info@NovusCPQ.com if you like more information.
List of CPQ Vendors (as of June 21, 2016)
- AArkid Ltd.
- ACBIS
- Apparound
- Apttus
- Atlatl Software
- Axonom (Powertrak)
- Blueprint CPQ
- Caliburn Software
- CallidusCloud
- CAMOS
- channelcentral.net
- Cincom
- CIS Configurator
- CloudSense
- ConfigAir
- Configit
- Configura
- Configurator Solutions
- ConfigureOne-Autodesk
- Determine (Selectica)
- Driveworks
- e-Con
- EAS GmbH
- Encoway
- Endeavor CPQ
- ePlan
- Experlogix
- FPX
- IBM Sterling CPQ
- Infor
- Innoware
- Intelliquip
- iQuoteExpress
- KBMax
- Lumo Graphics
- Model N – Revvy CPQ
- Oracle CPQ Cloud (former BigMachines)
- Price f(x)
- PROS
- Quadriceps Products
- Quosal – Connectwise
- Quotewerks
- SAP (VC, IPC, SSC, hybris)
- Semantic Systems
- Siebel
- signature IT
- Sofon
- Tacton
- Vega
- Verenia (EOS CPQ + Sole CPQ)
- Visual 3D Pro
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