Custom product configuration is one of the major trends taking over the manufacturing industry. Consumers expect products that meet their unique desires and needs, and it’s up to manufacturers to get with the trend or fall behind the competition.
Even the auto industry has gotten into the game of designing products for specific clients. They often design specialty fleet vehicles for industrial and transport companies and even customized cars for individual buyers and car collectors. CPQ is one of the tools that enables auto manufacturers to tailor vehicles for individual customers. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the many ways automakers use CPQ software in their manufacturing and sales processes.
CRM Integration
Customer relationship management (CRM) is critical in every industry. That’s why companies invest billions every year in CRM solutions like Salesforce, hoping to optimize their customer experience and maximize their customer service.
ConfigureOne CPQ solutions enable CPQ Salesforce integration. This enables car makers to ensure they provide a unique experience for each customer through the entire process, from designing and configuring to pricing, quoting, and delivering the product.
Configuration
As we mentioned before, product customization has become a major trend in manufacturing in the United States. One of the great things about CPQ software is that it enables automation of the configuration process, largely without the need for human intervention.
With CPQ software, you’re able to create unique variations of the same products for different customers and disseminate configuration information to all customer data using apps. You can even use CPQ software to employ a business model where customers design their products on your website and place their orders, beginning the automation of the manufacturing process.
Automakers can even use CPQ solutions to ensure work trucks meet DOT requirements by location. Work vehicles often have to meet more stringent inspection standards than other vehicles. You can Google “truck inspections Dallas, TX” to find the local regulations and configure the product setup to be compliant. Italian car companies with a customer base in the United States—like Lamborghini and Porsche—even use it to make sure their vehicles meet regulations in local U.S. markets, from New York, NY, to Dallas, TX, and San Francisco, CA.
Custom Pricing
Almost all businesses offer some kind of special perks for their loyal customers. It’s how you make sure your loyal customers stay loyal. ConfigureOne CPQ solutions enable Salesforce billing, meaning you can offer a discount price quote to your favorite customers and the right price on the right products to all others.
Custom pricing enables sales teams to create a sales pipeline for complex products. This helps manufacturers become more customer-centric and helps sales reps shine like superstars.
Real-Time Quoting
Another one of the great benefits of CPQ software is it enables manufacturers to deliver professional quotes in near real time. Manufacturing quotes are detailed, including specs such as the materials used, cost per material, angles and dimensions of the product, and much more. CPQ software enables manufacturers to create 2D and 3D models of these products as they’re being configured, adjusting the quote with the configuration.
CPQ software enables automakers to tailor the entire process to their customers’ needs, whether they’re designing a fleet of specialty vehicles for a trucking company or a limited edition vehicle for a car collector. Furthermore, CPQ streamlines the process, saving money for auto manufacturers and their customers.
One of the main ways CPQ applications help manufacturers with their business processes is integrating with customer relationship management applications like Salesforce to enable automakers to use customer data in CPQ processes. They also enable automakers to configure products for specific customers and offer unique processing models, including discounts for loyal and favorite customers. It also enables manufacturers to provide professional and timely quotes. As you can see, car manufacturers have plenty of uses for CPQ tools.
