The Top Success Metrics and KPIs Manufacturers Need to Know

Manufacturing has always been data-driven, even before the advent of computers. Production managers constantly monitored output, productivity, and other KPIs (key performance indicators) — but the digital transformation has taken metrics tracking to new heights.

Any automated and digitalized process generates an incredible volume of data, with the potential to reveal everything from granular inefficiencies to game-changing opportunities. With the latest generation of cloud-based software, like CPQ (configure, price, quote), performance data goes beyond production metrics to measure the performance of sales processes. But which KPIs are the most important to track, and what do they mean?

The Most Important Metrics of Success

Specialty manufacturers that offer customizable or configurable products have different measurement standards than operations that profit from sheer output and efficiency. Here are the six metrics you need to know:
  • Average quote value (ACV) —
The ACV is a sales metric that provides insight into the overall effectiveness of your sales strategy. Calculate it by adding the value of all active quotes over a given time frame and dividing that sum by the number of total quotes in that same period. ACV shows the impact of your sales funnel, outreach strategy, deals, and incentive programs on the value of each lead. Use this to refine your sales strategy by testing new incentives and touchpoint methodologies over a certain time period, and see how it impacts your ACV.
  • Customer churn rate —
How effective is your sales team at retaining customers or renewing contracts? The customer churn rate holds the answer. This metric is for any manufacturer that relies on ongoing renewals, and tracks the number of customers who don’t renew or re-up contracts. You can calculate churn by identifying how many customers were lost in a given timeframe and dividing that number by the total number of customers who were active during that same period.
  • Error rate —
In the configure, price, quote process, error rate measures the number of mistakes in delivering a particular quote. Mistakes can happen at any stage of the process, such as configuring an non-viable product, or incorrectly pricing a custom order. The higher an error rate, the more problems you have in your sales process, putting your company at risk of losing revenue and reputation. An advanced CPQ solution can reduce error rate to zero.
  • Production time —
This old-school KPI measures the time it takes from an order approval to completion of actual production. In the digital era, CPQ software and workflow automation can indirectly speed up production time with faster communication. Once a customer approves a quote and makes payment, the software can automatically add the order to the production team’s queue so there’s no time lost in relaying information.
  • Rate of return (ROR) —
Another metric that hails from the early days of manufacturing, the ROR measures the net gain or loss from an investment over a period of time. Digital manufacturing tools like CPQ deliver a significant ROR over time, due to their low up-front costs. What’s more, CPQ enables massive efficiency gains throughout the entire sales process. CPQ solutions are a bedrock for productive sales teams because they enable them to close more deals in less time.
  • Time to quote —
As sales processes become more automated and customers expect fast responses, time to quote is becoming a more important metric. It measures how long it takes between initial configuration to delivering the final quote to the customer for consideration. The longer this takes, the greater chance there is to lose business to a competitor. You can also look at changes in this metric to see the impact of your efforts when refining your sales processes.

Anything That Can Be Measured Can Be Improved

Technology has transformed manufacturing operations, and performance metrics have only become more important as a result. Now we can quantify the efficiency of every single process, including those involved in configuring, pricing, and quoting products.
Revalize CPQ a leading cloud-based sales solutions for specialty manufacturers that enables complete visibility into your sales process. By leveraging the platform, you can improve every KPI in this article. Learn more about Revalize in our free ebook, The Ultimate Guide to CPQ. Or schedule a demo to see the platform for yourself.
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How CPQ Speeds Up Your Quoting Process

Technology should streamline work and make our lives easier, and while that’s true for most of the manufacturing industry, one department that hasn’t reaped this benefit is sales — particularly when it comes to quoting.

Configure, price, quote (CPQ) software enables efficiency for manufacturers that sell custom and configurable products. But how worthwhile is it to invest in the new technology? And how does it speed up quote times? Let’s take a look at quoting processes and some of the issues CPQ can solve.

Why Do You Need to Improve Your Quoting Process?

Configurable products are more in-demand now than ever before, creating a huge opportunity for manufacturers. Unfortunately, configurable products are also the most difficult to price and quote efficiently. Some of the biggest challenges include:
  • Outdated or complex quoting processes.
The days of hand-written quotes are long gone, with most manufacturers using spreadsheets or legacy configuration software. Unfortunately, this type of system uses technology that came out in the 1990s and hasn’t been truly updated since then. Managing quotes with any of these systems still requires back-and-forth between departments that dramatically slows down quote processing times.
  • Bottlenecks during the quoting process.
Any time one employee has to wait on input from another in order to proceed, a project is placed on hold. This is a notorious problem for selling configurable parts, since every suggested modification to a product requires feedback from engineering. If one team member is busy on another project, their response could be delayed by a day or more, leaving their coworker (and the customer) waiting.
  • An error-prone system.
A high error rate is one of the biggest reasons for a long quote processing time, because each mistake requires additional communication and calculation to correct. In addition to slowing revenue, you could even lose business if customers stop trusting in your team. Word may spread about your error-prone process and snowball into a bad reputation.

How Can You Improve Your Quoting Process?

A couple decades ago, excel spreadsheets and legacy configuration software transformed the quoting process and helped sales teams in every industry improve their productivity. While their contribution was important to company growth, both technology and the marketplace have moved on. The latest generation of cloud-based CPQ software is an incredible advancement from hard-drive-based solutions, addressing all of the most challenging aspects of quoting.

Users can pre-set different variables for each item, enabling customers to configure their own products and generate their own prices. Free of siloed storage on individual computers, cloud-based CPQ creates one source of truth for the entire sales process, keeping all configurations, sales documents, and quotes in one central location, accessible from anywhere with Wi-Fi. With data more accessible and projects more visible, it’s also easier for stakeholders to collaborate and communicate.

Make Your Company’s Quote Process Your Competitive Edge

Streamlining your quoting process is a win-win situation for everyone. Sales will enjoy a smoother workflow during configuration, allowing them to focus on what they’re best at: supporting customers and building relationships. Meanwhile, customers benefit from a faster and more reliable quoting process, allowing them to get a jumpstart on their project. And with the ability to close more deals in less time, your company can expand their sales bandwidth and generate more revenue in less time.

If your company is still using outdated configurators or basic database software, then it’s time to modernize. Your business depends on quick turnarounds and customer satisfaction to continue succeeding in the marketplace. Not using a cloud-based CPQ can jeopardize both of these values.
Revalize CPQ helps sales teams produce accurate quotes in a fraction of the time it took conventional software. The purpose-built platform even accommodates the nuances and complex attributes of products in specific industries, including fluid handling equipment. Experience the difference with Revalize by scheduling a free product demo.
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5 Strategies for Selling Configurable Products Online

A boom in customizable and configurable products over the last 20 years has made manufacturing more challenging than ever before. Customers no longer want one-size-fits-all products — they want to be able to create items that fit their own individual needs.
Fortunately, this demand has been met with technology solutions to help manufacturers streamline configurations. Configure, price, quote (CPQ) software is a specialized tool that helps sales teams build out and price custom equipment without so much input from engineers, dramatically speeding up processing time. Here are five easy methods you can use to sell your configurable products and make the most of your CPQ:

1. Establish a Web Presence

Having a CPQ in place will help your sales team function more efficiently, but it won’t necessarily generate leads on its own. Customers expect you to have a website and social media presence. Many customers even expect the ability to design and place orders online for maximum convenience. That’s why it’s important to establish a website that includes access to your configurator. Simplify the experience by automating as much as possible, including setting default options, background calculations, and conditional logic for accurate pricing.

2. Put Your Configurator to the Test

Once you’ve established your web presence, you need to put it through extensive testing to ensure it will work properly for your customers. If a customer tries to configure a product and the site crashes or gives them errors, then you’ve just lost a sale (and potentially future sales). Nothing harms trust and reputation more than a challenging order process.

Your engineering and sales teams need to work together to design products with the configurator and to ensure products are priced as expected. This will also help you identify optimal touchpoints for your sales team to interact with customers. Even though customers want convenience and autonomy, support is always welcome — especially when it comes to making a large or complex purchase.

3. Get Visual

One of the most important sales tools is product visualization. Choose a configurator that can show the customer their custom product in real-time as they design it. Customers should be able to easily switch between colors, add-ons, features, parts, and other variables with a single click so it’s easy to compare and contrast different options. When possible, generate 3D models that offer a full 360-degree view of the product, so customers know exactly what they’re getting.

4. Give a Variety of Examples

Customization is always preferable, but a blank page can be daunting for customers. Offer pre-configured products to use as a starting point in order to help them get their creative juices flowing. For an extra marketing boost, when customers complete their own configurations, you can share those visuals to draw attention to your products and inspire even more creativity.

5. Don’t Forget Advanced Use Cases

For some products and configurations, an online configurator isn’t going to be able to handle all of the details and specifications online. For advanced requests that go beyond your website’s abilities, make it easy for customers to contact your sales team for support. Customer support should also be available for those who are not comfortable with online ordering and still prefer a one-on-one conversation during the sales process.

CPQ frees up an incredible amount of resources for your sales and engineering teams, but you can’t realize its full potential without opening it up directly to customers. Follow these five strategies and you can not only increase your close rate, but you can also draw more customers into your pipeline.

To make the best impression possible, you need a CPQ that’s capable of high-quality customization, easy deployment, and the most advanced visualization. Revalize allows manufacturers to create complex configurators, and even offers industry-specific solutions. Revalize CPQ is also part of a full suite of manufacturing solutions that can digitize your entire idea-to-cash journey. Experience the Revalize difference yourself with a free product demo.
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From Data Silos to Cloud Systems: A Recipe For Food and Beverage Success

Product lifecycle management (PLM) software has transformed food and beverage manufacturing over the past few decades, leading to more project visibility, automated documentation, and collaborative product development. As technology continues to advance, cloud-based PLM is now allowing food and beverage manufacturers to break out of their data silos for even more streamlined workflows. Unfortunately, many food and beverage manufacturers face resourcing challenges that make it difficult to upgrade to these new solutions. But the alternative is to continue using an outdated platform, which will only stunt business growth. Therefore, it’s time to move on (and up) from the past.

Why Food and Beverage Manufacturers Need the Cloud

If you’re satisfied with your current software, you could see cloud migration as an unnecessary, cumbersome process with more risk than reward. However, a cloud-based solution creates the opposite scenario. Continuing to make do with an outdated solution will ultimately prevent you from competing with the new, agile food and beverage startups that are claiming more market share each year. Here’s how a cloud-based PLM can help:

Streamlined Operations

With cloud data management systems, users can access any information about a particular product from anywhere in the world. This takes collaboration to the next level, with both internal stakeholders, and external vendors. And since it’s so easy to access the one source of truth about every product and ingredient, every stakeholder is empowered to make more informed decisions. As a result, food and beverage companies can improve quality control and consistency, streamline reporting, increase business agility, and reduce overall costs.

Higher Growth Potential

Systems that run on antiquated software applications — especially those that cannot be upgraded or supported — often require users to build their own add-on solutions to fill in performance gaps and keep processes nimble. This just creates layers of complexity and an obstacle for sustainable growth.

Cumbersome processes make it impossible for manufacturers to truly innovate, create exciting new products in a profitable timeline, improve quality, or boost ROI. Cloud-based, no-code solutions are virtually future-proof and free companies from the burden of patchwork problem-solving.

Better Data Security

Data and intellectual asset security is imperative to maintain a competitive edge. Legacy systems are inflexible and offer little to no protection of classified data. In fact, most are not Unicode ready and SSO is entirely unsupported, which makes global regulatory compliance nearly impossible to achieve. Luckily, cloud-based PLM is innately compliant with international data security laws, so users don’t even have to worry.

Easier Compliance

Speaking of compliance, global food and beverage regulations emphasize detailed documentation of product attributes. Each product can have hundreds of attributes for distributors, and hundreds more for regulatory compliance. But most legacy systems cannot easily add or support additional attributes.

In order to expand into new markets, manufacturers have to manually document each aspect of their products, rendering their legacy PLM useless. Cloud-based solutions make it easy to customize the attributes recorded in databases, and share them with outside stakeholders.

Revalize: The Missing Ingredient for Next-Gen Product Lifecycle Management

Making the decision to replace an obsolete PLM system can be a major undertaking, but cloud-based solutions are easy and cost-effective to implement. Even more important, platforms like Revalize go beyond the basics of PLM to offer capabilities specifically designed to meet the needs of food and beverage manufacturers.
Revalizes’ PLM solution is part of an entire suite of manufacturing software, so users can easily digitize their entire idea-to-cash journey. To learn more, get in touch with one of our experts to see what Revalize can do for you.
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The Digital Transformation of Manufacturing Is Accelerating. Here’s How to Keep Up

The digital transformation has been underway for the past few decades, but in 2020, it made an unexpected quantum leap. According to McKinsey, the pandemic caused many companies to accelerate their digital growth by as much as five years ahead of schedule.

Mechanical equipment manufacturers (MEMs) aren’t known for utilizing technology to innovate, but that needs to change — and quickly. The incredible profit potential, not to mention the impact on resource management, should be enough to make digital transformation priority No. 1 for every company in the industry.

What Exactly Is the Digital Transformation?

The “digital transformation” is an umbrella term covering any technology that digitalizes manufacturing and business processes. The end goal is to create Industry 4.0, which allows manufacturers to automate nearly every aspect of their operations. The digital transformation encompasses the internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, automation software, robotics, artificial intelligence, and even 5G networks.

Most importantly, the digital transformation is about integrating all of these separate technologies into one centralized system, minimizing the number of human touch points needed throughout an operation. Eventually, manufacturers will be able to achieve levels of productivity and efficiency that we can’t currently imagine.

How Is the Digital Transformation Impacting Manufacturing?

Manufacturing has always been driven by improving efficiency and delivering greater value. When manufacturers successfully implement Industry 4.0 technology, they achieve KPIs that the industrial tycoons of the 1900s wouldn’t believe.

In McKinsey’s 2022 report, “Capturing the true value of Industry 4.0,” researchers found that new technology:
  • Can reduce machine downtime by 30% to 50%
  • Increase throughput by 10% to 30%
  • Improve labor productivity by 15% to 30%
  • Increase forecasting accuracy by 85%
  • Improve cost of quality by 10% to 20%
  • Cut inventory holding costs by 15% to 20%
Any company not invested in their own digital transformation is leaving money on the table. Even worse, they risk being left behind by more efficient competition.

How Execute Your Own Digital Transformation Strategy

Every manufacturer has a different journey to a digital transformation, but all of them have a few key universal points. Here are three steps to get your digital transformation journey started on the right foot:

1. Think Digital Throughout the Entire Manufacturing Lifecycle

Ensuring there’s a digital thread throughout your business’s ecosystem — from innovation and execution on the factory floor, to the end of the product lifecycle — will keep your organization agile and ready for any changes. Digital transformation is one of the best ways to future proof your company from disruptions to the marketplace, and the supply chain.

2. Leave Behind Manual Processes and Tools

Conduct a thorough audit of your operation and identify any areas where there are human touchpoints and bottlenecks. Don’t be fooled by burdensome processes just because they happen on a computer. Given recent technological developments, spreadsheets are a significant drain on productivity. New tools like product lifecycle management (PLM) platforms and CPQ software help organizations manage everything from purchasing, supply chain, and inventory, to configuration, pricing, and quoting.

3. Seek Out Digitally Native Partners

The digital transformation is both the industry’s biggest opportunity for growth, and its biggest challenge. You need partners throughout the journey that know what manufacturers need, what technology is capable of, and how to best leverage it. Look for digital-native solution providers that have expertise in your industry, and you’ll have an ally that can help you achieve the agility and resilience you need to become a leader in Industry 4.0.

Build a New Manufacturing Landscape With Revalize

The sooner you start investigating, investing in, and deploying new technology, the better position you’ll be in to grow, improve efficiency, and achieve longevity in the rapidly changing market. But you can only realize the full potential of your digital transformation with solutions that unify your company.
Revalize offers a full suite of software that encompasses CAD, product lifecycle management (PLM), select, configure, price, quote processes (SCPQ), and beyond, to digitalize your entire idea-to-cash journey. Schedule a free demo with one of our experts to experience the impact Revalize can have on your operations.
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SCPQ vs CPQ: What Do Manufacturers Really Need?

Most manufacturers are already familiar with CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) software. If you’ve experienced the rigors of maintaining spreadsheets and catalogs, switching to CPQ probably changed the way you do your job for the better. But there’s a new class of software that’s improving efficiency even more.

SCPQ (Select, Configure, Price, Quote) integrates a Selector tool with CPQ software for a more convenient and unified workflow. What could this do for your organization? Let’s dive in.

What’s Missing From CPQ Solutions

During any equipment or product sale, Selection is the part of the process where manufacturers identify the product that most closely matches the customers’ conditions of service. To understand why this is so important, simply look at the standard CPQ workflow:
  • A lead comes in, defining a sales opportunity
  • An employee logs the opportunity
  • Customers submit their conditions of service
  • Either an employee or customer selects the most appropriate product
  • Sales configures the equipment
  • Sales prices the equipment and puts together a quote package
  • Customers confirm the order
This deceptively simple outline hides the challenges that begin when we reach step three: matching a product with the customer’s conditions of service. CPQ software is designed to be horizontal, general, and generic. That way, whether the CPQ vendor is configuring a bicycle, a contract, a pharmaceutical process, or a pump, they can argue that they have a solution that meets the customer’s needs.

However, the only reason it “meets needs” is because of the inherent nature of a product, which for some customers means it doesn’t meet their needs at all. This is especially true for customers with incredibly intricate specifications or variations, like mechanical equipment manufacturers.

Selection for Mechanical Equipment Manufacturers

Buyers aren’t shopping for equipment because they want to buy a certain product type — they need a solution to a problem. For that reason, manufacturers need a Selector to ensure they’re providing customers with the right equipment to solve that problem, something that CPQ software can’t do on its own.

When it comes to selling mechanical parts and equipment, a single, seemingly small pump or motor variation can have major consequences on its ability to serve its purpose for a customer. Even though customers will configure and customize each part before purchase, it’s imperative to start with a base product that’s conducive to the project. Choosing the right product to configure will keep costs under control and prevent issues later on from equipment misuse.

Manufacturers need a Selector that can automatically sift through hundreds or thousands of options based on the customer’s conditions of service, the variables, and their requirements. Automating this process ensures not only that the appropriate product is selected, but also that the selection process reaches maximum efficiency.

SCPQ solutions are programmable to sort according to specific industry parameters with no limits to how granular and precise they can parse data. This enables users to customize their SCPQ solutions to even the most complex and challenging industries, such as fluid handling equipment and mechanical industrial equipment. The right SCPQ can even project performance curves and lifecycle costs based on different product selections and configurations.

Choosing the Right SCPQ Vendor

The “S” in SCPQ isn’t just there to make a longer acronym. It helps:
  • Provide an easily accessible portal to input the conditions of service, templated to the products up for selection
  • Present the best product options based on the COS
  • Provide performance curves and additional information to help choose the optimal product for the project
Thanks to the all-in capabilities of an SCPQ, you no longer have to maintain a separate vendor for a Selector tool — you can consolidate it all into one for an even more unified workflow.

Revalize is one of the original SCPQ solutions in the market, and has specialized in industry-specific, purpose-built Selectors since the beginning. The wide-range of tailored solutions for manufacturers encompasses Selectors for pumps, valves, compressors, and more. Schedule a demo to experience the impact this leading SCPQ can have on your business.
Want to experience the Revalize difference for yourself? Schedule a demo with one of our experts.
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How to Give Customers What They Want With A Project Management Portal

When it comes to mechanical equipment, providing customers with a timely and accurate quote is almost as challenging as manufacturing it — especially if you’re using spreadsheets or homegrown pricing tools.

CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) software can make this process much quicker and easier, but it doesn’t fully realize potential time savings. Integrating a project management portal directly with your CPQ platform can improve efficiency and pricing accuracy even more.

What is a Project Management Portal?

A project management portal, or PMP, is a tool sales teams use to manage quotes. You’ll be able to adjust pricing or bills of materials, store quotes, manage multiple quotes, and adjust parameters on specific accounts.

PMPs act as a centralized, virtual filing cabinet for quotes. Different stakeholders from your organization, including sales, resellers, and even engineers, can access the PMP to review a quote, replicate it, make changes to it, add discounts, and other functions as their clearances allow. PMPs can improve collaboration and get quotes out the door quicker.

How Does a Project Management Portal Work?

As the central dashboard to a company’s quoting process, a project management portal is customizable to the exact specifications and requirements of a customer. Users can pre-program the software with all of the product variables, pricing rules, and performance curves unique to their industry or products. This is especially useful for complex industries like mechanical equipment or fluid handling equipment. In fact, many manufacturers in specialized industries opt for a PMP that’s designed specifically for their needs.

A PMP designed for mechanical equipment manufacturers has pricing rules and negotiations baked in for faster customization. As a result, when you’re configuring an order, the thresholds or goals around margins, overall price, price negotiations, and different types of pricing (for resellers, direct sales, distributors, and customers) already live within the platform. Many of these tools can even accommodate multiple currencies.

Choosing the Right Project Management Portal

Not all CPQs are created equal, and not all PMPs are, either. Here’s what you should look for in a quality PMP:

1. Out-of-the-box setup.

The setup process for any software product is a preview of its functionality. If getting started requires significant IT resources and implementation by the vendor, it’s probably going to be challenging to use throughout its life. Look for a solution you can set up on your own with minimal guidance, so it’s ready to go right out of the box.

2. Industry-specific functionality.

Mechanical equipment manufacturers produce some of the most complex products in the world. It’s imperative that you use a PMP that’s designed to manage that complexity. Look for a tool with features specifically designed for the needs of your industry. It will be easier to customize to the needs of your company.

3. Easy-to-update database.

One of the biggest benefits of building a centralized database for quotes is that it creates a single source of truth for everyone in your organization. Opt for a solution that makes it easy to roll out changes to quotes, prices, and other information to avoid duplicating data entry.

4. Built-in integration with CPQ.

A solid PMP solution needs to work effectively with a CPQ in order to provide maximum value. Choose a project management portal that integrates seamlessly with the CPQ that you’re already using, or risk tech issues cropping up down the line. Better yet, some CPQ vendors have PMPs that can be purchased as add-ons, guaranteeing their compatibility.

Revalize boasts all of these features and more, with a full suite of solutions that encompass the entire product lifecycle. From product selection, to CPQ, to PMP, the software helps even the most complex mechanical equipment manufacturers streamline their quoting process and better serve customers. Experience the difference with Revalize during a free product demo.

Want to experience the Revalize difference for yourself? Schedule a demo with one of our experts.
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4 Benefits For Manufacturers That Upgrade to CPQ Software

When looking at switching from a manual product configuration process to an automated CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) software, some hesitancy — even pushback — is inevitable, but it’s also well worth the discomfort.

Making a major change in the way your business operates can be a scary proposition. Executives considering upgrading processes that have been in effect for years — or even decades — need to have confidence that it will be worth the disruption, not to mention the cost.

4 Benefits of CPQ

CPQ has a transformative effect on every organization’s sales process, but the benefits extend far beyond this one department. Here are the top four biggest changes you can expect from implementation:

1. Improved Product Management and Engineering
With manual configuration processes, the sales team depends on engineers to review and approve every single configuration for viability and pricing. CPQ solutions free up product managers and engineers from this process entirely, so they can spend more time making better products.

CPQ software can also help with product management and engineering by analyzing CPQ data to decide where to spend money on the research and development of new products and product improvements. By looking at which combinations of product options are popular and which are not, your engineering department can better understand what customers want and design accordingly.

Product managers can also use these data points to determine how to extend or expand the reach of the company into new regions or niches. If a product manager can see the opportunity to retool or expand a product line to reach a new market, they can widen the customer base and drive new revenue.

2. Streamlined Operations
Your company is probably already using an ERP or CRM system. The right CPQ solution can seamlessly integrate with your existing business systems and enhance their capabilities. CPQs data-tracking capabilities can help you identify your best-selling products and ensure they are properly stocked and shipped for your suppliers.

For those companies that produce their own parts and supplies in-house, this same data can be used to analyze what’s needed in advance of orders so there’s less “lag time” between the order and the actual production of the configured items.

3. Increased Finance Visibility
Your financial and accounting departments will appreciate the level of data that a CPQ solution can generate for your company. Pricing, revenue, and cash flow data will inform your finance team of exactly how the company is doing in detailed, real-time reporting.

This data can show predictive trends, such as downturns, as well as increases in sales and orders so you can know what to expect at regular intervals. This, in turn, can help your company prepare for those changes in your revenue streams.

4. Higher Marketing ROI
The last area where CPQ can help you (outside of sales) is in your marketing department. We live in the era of “big data,” and the data that comes from a CPQ system can help in a number of ways.

CPQ software allows you to use data to drive your decision-making. Today, business decisions shouldn’t be made solely on a “gut feeling.” Solutions need to be backed up with numbers, showing that an idea will work and provide a measurable return on investment.

CPQ provides insight into what’s currently selling in the market, so you can then look for opportunities in other areas. Marketing can also use sales data to spot product and market trends before your competition — positioning you to be the first company to offer a specific type of product or configuration.

Choosing the Right CPQ Software

Implementing CPQ at your company has an impact far beyond sales. Expect improvements to marketing, finance, operations, and engineering, as well as a treasure trove of data to drive new revenue. Schedule a demo of Revalize to experience the benefit of CPQ for yourself.
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Build vs. Buy: The Real Benefit of Third- Party Product Selectors and CPQ

“Why would we buy your Selector or CPQ software when we could just build it ourselves?”

This is a common question we hear from our customers who have spent years honing a grassroots product selector and configurator in-house. While a homegrown solution has undoubtedly saved you a lot of time and money compared to spreadsheets and other manual processes, they may have also cost you far more than they’re worth.

The Limits of In-House Solutions

Whether you’re considering building your own product selector and configurator, or you’re already using an in-house solution, there are certain limitations you need to be aware of before discounting third-party CPQ software completely.

Lack of Resources And Expertise

Building a Selector or CPQ solution may seem like a quick, easy task for your internal team, but once you consider the resources required to successfully build and maintain the solution, you may realize it doesn’t make sense for your business. Here are a few things you’ll need:
  • A team of programmers
  • Domain experts
  • Project management
  • User training
  • Integrations
  • The resources to maintain the solution into perpetuity
Skipping out on these resources isn an option, unless you want to seriously undermine your productivity and accuracy.

High Buildout and Maintenance Costs

Deciding to build vs. buy an SCPQ solution often comes down to cost. Do you want to pay a vendor or boot-strap a project yourself? Here are some things you’ll need to do if you decide to build it yourself:
  • Develop the runtime application
  • Develop the data model
  • Oversee maintenance
  • Develop the secure hosting environment
On top of all of that, you will also need maintenance teams, such as user support, development, and integration support, as long as you have the solution. And that’s just to get you started.

Loss of In-House Resources

Every team inevitably has their in-house expert — and that expert knows everything about the company’s products, processes, and how to manage their IT systems, including the homegrown selector. But eventually, the expert retires or takes another job. Without them, who at your company has the knowledge and ability to maintain the solution? In many cases, you’ll have to call a third-party CPQ software vendor to get you out of this bind.

Finding an SCPQ Partner Is Your Best Bet

As a manufacturer, you provide the best solutions to meet your customers’ needs. But when it comes to CPQ software, while you may have the ability to create your own solutions, is that where your company’s core competencies reside?

Revalize delivers a complete mechanical equipment selection and quoting solution built to handle unique challenges while connecting with front- and back-office platforms. Our platform’s out-of-the-box SCPQ capabilities surpass those of other vendors and are more cost-effective than building it yourself. These capabilities include:
  • A tightly integrated Selector to our CPQ tool, which can integrate with your existing ERP, CRM, and others
  • A mobile-responsive solution
  • Performance test tolerances
  • Performance curves, true weighted efficiency, and units of measure all built in
  • The ability to create performance data sheets and curves
  • BI reporting and analytics of products selected in the tool