From Blueprint to Delivery: The Role of CPQ in Streamlining Material Handling Equipment Sales

It’s not an exaggeration to say the world is built by material handling equipment manufacturers. But despite how necessary heavy industrial machinery is, manufacturers face a number of challenges that make it hard to maintain profitability. The highly competitive market requires in-depth product differentiation to stand out, but customization requests from customers can complicate the manufacturing process and increase lead times, which in turn lengthens sales cycles. What’s more, the complexity of the equipment and the technical knowledge required for effective selling often demand skilled sales personnel.

As a result, material handling equipment manufacturers can’t just rely on the quality of their products to generate sales. Today’s customers expect digital, streamlined experiences even in the B2B market, and manufacturers must adopt the latest technology to meet those expectations. That’s where CPQ comes in.

What is CPQ?

Configure, Price, Quote (or CPQ) solutions are a type of sales automation software that dramatically streamlines processes for any manufacturer making customizable or configurable products. CPQ allows sales teams to create digital product catalogs with rules-based configuration engines that customers can use to customize their orders at their own convenience — similar to shopping online. The software can automatically calculate pricing based on selected features, quantities, discounts, and other variables, and generate professional quotes in a fraction of the time it would take sales manually.

On the product development side, manufacturers can also use CPQ to quickly create configurable and variable designs without drafting each product iteration from scratch. In general, companies that use CPQ software enjoy faster processes, fewer errors, improved sales efficiency, and ultra-fast, accurate, and competitive quotes.

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CPQ

Unlock the secrets to turbocharging manufacturer operations! Dive into our comprehensive guide, where we demystify CPQ, making optimization a breeze. Click now and revolutionize your manufacturing process.

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CPQ

Unlock the secrets to turbocharging manufacturer operations! Dive into our comprehensive guide, where we demystify CPQ, making optimization a breeze. Click now and revolutionize your manufacturing process.

CPQ for material handling equipment manufacturing

The right CPQ solution can greatly improve operations for material handling equipment manufacturers — beyond sales processes. For legacy manufacturers, CPQ can even be the start of their digital transformation. Material handling equipment manufacturers that implement CPQ enjoy:

CAD integration

The most advanced CPQ solutions integrate with Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software to help manufacturers quickly create precise and detailed product configurations based on customer specifications. This allows sales teams to increase purchase confidence with 3D models that update in real time with each new configuration selection.

Easy, user-friendly customization

CPQ software allows customers to easily select and configure products to meet their specific requirements, without the need for phone calls, meetings, or response from busy sales teams. Instead, customers can access an online portal and quickly configure equipment options, features, and accessories, tailoring solutions to their needs while ensuring the configuration is viable for the manufacturer to produce.

Rapid quoting

CPQ automates the entire quote generation process, from configuration to price calculation, allowing customers to receive accurate quotes in a fraction of the time it would take a sales team to create manually. This speed not only enhances the responsiveness to customer inquiries — it also reduces the time it takes to move from a potential lead to cash.

Inventory management

Many material handling equipment CPQs can integrate directly with an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform, helping manufacturers keep track of available components and materials associated with each order. This ensures quotes and orders are based on real-time inventory data, reducing the risk of overcommitting or delaying deliveries due to material shortages.

Improved order accuracy

By automating the configuration and pricing process, CPQ minimizes the risk of human errors in quotes and orders. This reduces the likelihood of costly rework, change orders, or other misunderstandings between customers and the manufacturing team.

Sales force multiplication

CPQ works as a ‘labor multiplier,’ empowering sales teams to produce more quotes in less time and with fewer resources, so operations can scale quickly without additional hires. This flexibility is key to optimizing resource allocation and improving profit margins.

Greater customer satisfaction

CPQ makes it easier to deliver fast, accurate, and customized quotes, and in greater alignment with customer specifications. These benefits combine to create higher customer satisfaction — and an increased likelihood of customers making more purchases in the future. Customers appreciate the responsiveness and reliability, enhancing the manufacturer’s reputation and fostering long-term relationships.

Move to a new level of sales efficiency with Configure One Cloud from Revalize

Configure One Cloud from Revalize revolutionized the quoting process over two decades ago, and remains one of the most innovative and reliable CPQ software on the market. The new, cloud-based update to the platform is purpose-built to meet the most complex needs of material handling equipment manufacturers, and is a perfect solution for any company looking to improve efficiency and their profit margins. The platform allows users to access the dashboard anywhere they have internet access, calculate prices in any currency, integrate seamlessly with almost every enterprise software, and create industry-leading interactive product visualizations.

CPQ for material handling equipment manufacturers is a key ingredient for digital transformation, but not all solutions are created equal.

Schedule a free demo of our platform to see the difference with Configure One, today.

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