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Amid ongoing supply chain disruption and material shortages, instrument manufacturers are incredibly vulnerable to upsets in the market. Production delays could cause manufacturers to lose market share to competitors who have more inventory and more resilient supply chains.
One of the most effective strategies for navigating times of uncertainty is finding ways to increase customer satisfaction, particularly by expediting the instrument manufacturing sales process.
Configure, price, quote (CPQ) software is a proven solution for increasing sales velocity and improving accuracy across the entire manufacturing industry. CPQ eliminates almost all manual labor involved in configuring products, pricing orders, and generating quotes for a more streamlined experience that benefits both employees and customers.
CPQ software lets instrument manufacturing sales teams publish online catalogs that make it easy for distributors and other buyers to select products and configure them to their specifications. With CPQ engineers can set detailed configuration rules that limit or open up customization choices as much as desired, while preventing customers from making configurations that aren’t producible.
Since all of this can happen in a simple point-and-click web application, there’s no need for sales to schedule meetings to review the catalog and collect product specifications. Customers can simply configure orders on their own, as if they were consumers shopping on an e-commerce site.
Manually pricing custom instruments requires complex calculations to account for different parts, components, and estimated labor. Bulk discounts or special rates for customers make manual price calculations even more complex.
Human error during data entry or interpreting the bill of materials (BOM) can produce an inaccurate price, delaying the quoting process or even tarnishing the customer relationship. With CPQ, the software automatically applies pricing rules to calculate costs in a fraction of the time of traditional processes, without any risk of human error.
Manually preparing and distributing quote documents also leaves room for human error. CPQ can auto populate pricing, product information, and other order info into a quote template and submit the document to the customer for approval.
Not only does this improve accuracy, it removes potential bottlenecks from manual document preparation, so quotes can reach stakeholders more quickly.
CPQ equips sales with tools that make every aspect of their jobs easier. Without the need to handhold prospects throughout the configuration process, they’re free to generate even more leads and focus their attention only on customers who need more support.
CPQ also provides deeper visibility into the entire sales process so that everyone remains on the same page. Many platforms also integrate with instrument manufacturers’ existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) software for even more workflow efficiency.
There are many CPQ solutions on the market, but not all feature the most cutting-edge capabilities. Configure One Cloud is one of the most advanced manufacturing CPQs in the industry, and is already trusted by renown instrument manufacturers, like C.F. Martin. The platform can accelerate even the most complex sales process, creating a more elevated and satisfying experience for everyone involved.
