When you sell complex products with hundreds or thousands of variants, quoting becomes a high-stakes process. Add in usage-based pricing, service bundles, multi-year contracts, and regional rules, and it’s easy to see why many manufacturers hesitate to adopt off-the-shelf configure, price, quote (CPQ) software for complex products. In fact, 43% of global manufacturing companies still rely on spreadsheets to manage quoting despite growing product complexity and rising buyer expectations. 

This leads to the, sometimes, $1M question: Can commercial CPQ software really handle our level of complexity, or do we need to build something custom?

The short answer: not every CPQ system is designed for manufacturing, but the right one can support very advanced configuration and pricing. The key is knowing how to evaluate your complexity, choose the best CPQ, and address concerns from stakeholders who assume commercial tools can’t match custom systems. 

Product complexity versus process complication and why it matters 

Before you can determine whether CPQ software is the right fit, or which kind, you need to distinguish between product complexity and organizational complication.  

• Complexity is the inherent, value-creating intricacy in your products or business model. Think custom engineering, multi-option configurations, or tiered service bundles. It’s a strategic asset. 
• Complication, on the other hand, is self-inflicted. It stems from disconnected functions and teams, workflows in too many systems, unclear responsibilities, or manual processes that don’t scale. It adds friction that can’t be used as a competitive advantage.  

CPQ software should help you master complexity, not automate complication. As you evaluate options, the goal isn’t to replicate what you’re doing today. It’s to simplify quoting by addressing what’s slowing your sales process, while also supporting the complexity that differentiates your business. 

Is CPQ right for me? How to find the best CPQ software for complex products 

The answer to “Is CPQ software right for your product?” depends largely on choosing the right type of CPQ. Different types of CPQ software work best for different industries and product types. For manufacturing, an industry-specific, CPQ-first software is essential to work with your specific programs along the value chain (e.g., PDM, PLM, supply chain management) and to execute on the constant innovation needed as the CPQ market evolves. 

A custom tool might reflect how you quote today, but it often lacks: 

• Flexibility to scale or support new sales channels 
• Real-time pricing tied to global rules 
• Visualization or self-service capabilities 
• Resilience when key personnel leave 

To decide on the best course of action, consider your needs based on your products, you pricing, and your current technology architecture.

1. Managing highly configurable products    

First, assess the complexity of your products and selection process. Ask the following questions: 

• Do product selections cascade through multiple subsystems? 
• Are there compatibility constraints between components? 
• Do configuration choices affect manufacturing processes? 
• Can one component choice eliminate dozens of other options? 

If you answered yes to multiple questions, your product likely requires constraint-based CPQ software.  

• Rules-based logic dictates what component combinations are allowed. These rules are typically hardcoded—”if A, then B”—and require significant effort to create and maintain, especially as product portfolios grow or change. 
• Constraint-based configuration, by contrast, doesn’t tell the system what works, it teaches the system why it works. Rather than writing individual rules for every valid combination, you define product logic in terms of constraints that will always be true (e.g., “the diameter of the washer must match the bolt”). The engine then evaluates options in real-time with less maintenance and more scalability. 

Rules-based CPQ software is a fit when: 

• Dependencies are relatively linear and predictable. 
• You’re managing small- to mid-size assemblies with known constraints. 

Constraint-based CPQ software is best when: 

• Choices affect multiple layers of product logic simultaneously (e.g., motor selection affects power requirements, which affects panel sizing, which affects cooling requirements, which affects enclosure dimensions) 
• Configuration requires calculation-based compatibility. 
• Products are more heavily engineered-to-order or assembled-to-order. 

2. Managing pricing sophistication  

Pricing can be calculated at a multitude of levels, from channel, region, deal size, or billing model—OEM vs. dealer, subscription vs. one-time. Use the following questions to assess how sophisticated your pricing needs are, and whether your current process can support dynamic, accurate, and scalable pricing logic.

• Does pricing vary by region, contract length, or service levels? 
• Do you offer usage- or performance-based pricing? 
• Are there bundling rules or volume-based discounts that change dynamically? 

The appropriate CPQ software should be able to: 

• Allow pricing logic to be tied directly to configuration outputs. 
• Support multiple pricing models, as well as service sales pricing and configuration. 
• Integrate with ERP or CRM for dynamic, real-time pricing validation. 
• Automate discount approvals and margin controls, flagging when margins don’t meet specific rep targets.  

3. Managing complex integrations and supply chain connectivity 

The buyer-centric smart factory connects front-end engagement (CRM) with back-end systems like ERP, PLM, and supply chain management to deliver complex products seamlessly. For manufacturers, integration requirements often determine whether CPQ software is viable. 

Ask yourself: 

• Does your sales process require live data from ERP, PLM, or inventory systems? 
• Do sales, engineering, and operations rely on disconnected tools? 
• Do different teams need tailored BOMs for quoting, production, and procurement? 

A headless CPQ enables deep, flexible integrations across your tech stack. Unlike CPQ tools locked into a single software suite (e.g., ERP-first CPQs), headless platforms work independently and integrate broadly. 

Look for a CPQ solution that can: 

• Offer robust APIs and no-code connectors for real-time, system-agnostic integration. 
• Sync with CAD, PLM, ERP, and MES tools. 
• Automatically generate role-specific, line-by-line BOMs for sales quotes, engineering specs, manufacturing execution, and supply chain planning. 

This ensures each function works from the same configuration logic while receiving the BOM that fits their workflow to reduce errors and speed handoffs. 

Smarter CPQ for complex sales: Visual, flexible, AI-ready

Advanced CPQ capabilities can actually make complex products more accessible to buyers and sellers alike. Today’s CPQ platforms offer additional benefits that help sellers and buyers navigate complex product selection while reducing maintenance costs and resources to update the CPQ system. 

• AI-powered product modeling streamlines rule creation and maintenance, making it easier to adapt to product changes 
• Visualization and self-service quoting allow dealers or customers to engage directly with product options, increasing speed and confidence 
• Dealer portals allow sales partners to configure, price, and quote your products with their own configured rules so that product information is always consistent.   

Rather than simplifying your products, the right CPQ makes complex products easier to buy and sell. 

Why building custom isn’t always better for complex products 

While building a custom quoting tool may seem more flexible, the long-term costs often outweigh the benefits, especially for complex products. 

• Implementation timeline: Commercial CPQ software can be deployed in months, not years. 
• Total cost of ownership: Avoid the technical debt of maintaining a custom-coded system. 
• Risk mitigation: Reduce dependency on key individuals and ensure business continuity. 
• Ongoing complexity support: Commercial solutions evolve with market needs and technology advances. 

How complex can CPQ software get? Real examples from Tacton customers 

Global manufacturers with highly configurable products and intricate IT architectures are seeing real benefits from CPQ software made especially for complex configurations.  

• Yaskawa manufactures up to 25,000 industrial robots annually, with over 120 base models each supporting a wide range of customer-specific variants, options, and add-ons. With their CPQ, Yaskawa now manages complex interdependencies, like component compatibility, language requirements, and ERP integration. Sales teams generate over 1,300 accurate quotes annually, often in real time, with ERP-ready BOMs and full technical validation.
• Siemens Energy’s subsystem, an air intake, has 120 variants. Across the full turbine, configuration complexity multiplies fast. Tacton’s constraint-based engine manages these interdependencies in real time to ensure technical accuracy and eliminate manual processes. 
• For Meyn, quoting full poultry processing factories—up to 80 pieces of equipment—once took days or a full week. Since adopting Tacton CPQ, Meyn has reduced quote time by 60% and cut 85% of the clarifying questions needed to complete quotes. 
• HMF Cranes has hundreds of configuration variables for each crane system, all needing to comply with varying truck models and regional regulations. A process that once included quoting in their ERP and Excel spreadsheets, with Tacton they could generate accurate quoting across global markets and onboard sales teams faster, supporting both internal teams and distributors. 
• Tetra Pak sells complex processing and packaging systems requiring tight integration across a complex architecture of ERP, CRM, and PIM systems. Tacton CPQ became their single source of truth, unifying their global sales process to ensure optimal solutions every time. 
• With a diverse global portfolio and highly engineered products, IMI replaced 200+ legacy tools with one Tacton CPQ platform. Now, they configure 50 product lines across fluid control within their CPQ software, reducing tool maintenance, enabling global standardization, and achieving 90% self-sufficiency in maintaining and adding new product and pricing logic. 

A CPQ platform made for configurable and complex products

Tacton is a purpose-built CPQ buyer engagement software for complex product manufacturers. With a constraint-based configuration engine, deep integrations into manufacturing systems, and a proven ability to support sophisticated pricing and product models, Tacton helps manufacturers master complexity while driving out complication. 

Learn more about Tacton CPQ software for complex products 

The first one to solve a prospect’s problem becomes the partner of choice. If you’re wrestling with pricing and product SKUs in multiple places, if quoting takes weeks of technical validation, or if you’re reworking and adjusting quotes consistently, then you’re losing potential business. 

Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) software helps manufacturers generate fast, accurate, and error-free quotes for complex, configurable productsn without consistent engineering input. It connects product data, pricing logic, and customer-facing tools to accelerate sales and simplify even the most customized orders. 

The data confirms that quoting can be an error-riddled process. According to our 2025 State of Manufacturing Report,, 79% of manufacturers experience issues with quote quality, and four in 10 are still quoting manually. As a result, many manufacturers are looking for a better way to quote—with CPQ software. 

This beginner’s guide breaks it down: what CPQ stands for, how it works for manufacturers, and why it has become a critical tool for companies looking to modernize their sales process. 

What does CPQ stand for? Configure, price, quote explained 

CPQ stands for configure, price, quote. It’s a category of software designed to help businesses generate fast, accurate quotes for configurable products without constant intervention from engineering or manual workarounds. 

• Configure: It guides sales teams (and often end customers) through selecting the right options, components, and features based on product rules, compatibility constraints, and technical feasibility. 

• Price: It calculates accurate pricing automatically based on configuration, quantities, regional pricing, bundled services, and discounting rules. 

• Quote: It generates a professional proposal that reflects the full configuration and pricing that’s ready for a customer in minutes, not days. 

Some ERP or CRM platforms offer quoting software, but they’re rarely built for the complexity that manufacturers face. Standard modules often fall short when products have thousands of potential combinations or when pricing depends on engineering validations and regional requirements. CPQ systems are purpose-built for environments where thousands of potential combinations, engineering constraints, and evolving pricing models are the norm.  

What is CPQ for manufacturing? 

Manufacturing introduces a level of complexity that general-purpose CPQ systems simply aren’t built to handle. Whether you’re producing turbines, surgical trays, or pump and valve assemblies, your products likely come with thousands of configuration possibilities, and each must be technically valid, manufacturable, and priced correctly. 

Modern CPQ software built for manufacturing guides sellers and buyers through configuration and also enforces engineering constraints, validates configurations in real time, and ensures that what gets quoted can actually be built. This includes support for complex Bills of Materials (BOMs), which are automatically generated based on product configurations to ensure seamless downstream integration with engineering, production, and ERP systems. 

CPQ systems designed for manufacturers also support: 

• Dynamic pricing models including volume discounts, bundled services, aftermarket and service pricing, regional pricing, and special terms 
• Integration with PLM, ERP, and CAD to keep product data and pricing synchronized across systems 
• 3D and augmented reality (AR) visualization allowing internal teams or end customers to see product configurations in real time 
• Partner and reseller workflows enabling dealer networks to configure and quote accurately without compromising product or pricing rules 
• Self-service capabilities empowering buyers to configure and request quotes directly through digital channels, speeding up response time and reducing sales friction 
• Sustainability tools presenting the carbon footprint of solutions to optimize for customers’ sustainability needs 
• Analytics providing deal data and customer behavior data to help you identify profitable designs and learn what deals are more likely to win

With CPQ, manufacturers can ensure that every quote is accurate, buildable, and delivered faster, whether it’s generated by an internal sales rep, a partner, or the end customer themselves. 

Who uses CPQ software across the enterprise? 

CPQ has traditionally been a back-end tool used to build and price solutions behind the scenes. But, much more than that, it’s a strategic, frontline system that connects engineering, sales, IT, and even the customer. The result: faster, more accurate quotes that align teams and build trust with customers. 

Roles that benefit:

• IT and digital transformation leaders who lead CPQ initiatives, own integrations, and ensure systems scale across global teams 
• Sales and revenue leaders who rely on CPQ to boost sales efficiency, reduce manual work, and support reps in quoting without complete reliance on technical teams 
• Sales engineers who spend less time validating quotes and more time on strategic solutions 
• Channel partners, distributors, or resellers who can quote accurately and independently with pre-set rules and configuration tools within the OEM’s CPQ  
• Engineering and product leaders who trust CPQ to enforce complex product logic and support faster innovation 
• CPQ managers and solution owners who evaluate systems and ensure adoption across teams 
• Executive leadership who use CPQ to drive digital transformation, customer-centric growth, and long-term scalability 

Common challenges solved by CPQ software 

CPQ software helps resolve the friction and inefficiencies found in traditional manufacturing sales of products with hundreds or thousands of variations: 

• Slow quote cycles: Replace multi-week quoting processes with real-time, automated tools 
• Sales-engineering bottlenecks: Reduce the need for engineering approvals on every quote 
• Quote errors and rework: Prevent invalid configurations and manual pricing mistakes 
• Pricing inconsistencies: Enforce pricing rules across global regions and sales channels and avoid over-discounting with automated margin control  
• Outdated or manual quoting: Eliminate reliance on spreadsheets, email-based quoting, and wading through multiple systems to respond to an RFQ 

Top benefits of CPQ software: Is CPQ worth it for your business? 

CPQ software helps sales, engineering, and operations teams eliminate bottlenecks in the quoting process, which drives better business outcomes across the board. Here are just a few of the benefits manufacturers see when they implement CPQ systems: 

• Faster quote turnaround: Quotes that once took days or weeks can now be done in minutes, allowing your team to respond to customers before the competition does. 
• Fewer errors and rework: By embedding product and pricing rules into the quoting process, CPQ helps eliminate misconfigurations, manual pricing mistakes, and unnecessary back-and-forth with engineering. 
• Reduced sales dependency on engineering: Teams spend less time chasing approvals and more time closing deals, freeing up engineering resources for higher-value work. 
• Consistent, scalable pricing: Whether you’re quoting in North America, Europe, or Asia, CPQ ensures pricing logic is enforced across markets, dealers, and sales teams. 
• Improved customer experience: Faster, more accurate quotes lead to smoother sales conversations and increased buyer confidence. 

Examples of CPQ in manufacturing 

These benefits aren’t just theoretical. Take Siemens Energy as an example. Before implementing CPQ, it took their team up to eight weeks to generate a customer quote, often requiring deep engineering involvement and manual effort. After adopting Tacton CPQ, Siemens reduced quote generation time from eight weeks to minutes. 

Siemens isn’t alone. Manufacturers like Spectrum Industries have seen an 50% increase in quoting efficiency, while companies like Bromma have improved lead times and supplier relationships with CPQ integration. Our State of Manufacturing report also finds that the top benefits among over 200 global manufacturers include improved selling precision and greater alignment between commercial and technical or production teams. 

CPQ vs. ERP and CRM tools for quoting 

You may be thinking, “We already quote through our ERP or CRM.” Though those tools may cover basic quoting needs, they weren’t designed for your complex manufacturing needs. 

• ERP is typically rigid and backend-focused. They’re great for tracking inventory and managing orders, but they aren’t built to handle real-time product configuration or customer interaction. Most ERP systems lack the flexibility to guide users through compatibility rules or enforce technical constraints during quoting. 

• CRM as a buyer engagement tool often falls short because, it stops at the surface. While they’re useful for managing relationships and pipeline data, they typically don’t have the depth to support complex pricing logic, engineering rules, or manufacturing feasibility. 

Excel or manual quoting is surprisingly common, but it’s also the most vulnerable. Quotes built on spreadsheets and email chains are prone to version control issues, delays, and costly errors. 

That’s where CPQ software makes a major difference. It enhances and works with your ERP or CRM to centralize critical data. CPQ connects your CRM’s front-end sales process with the ERP’s backend fulfillment and manufacturing systems.  

How to know if CPQ is right for your business 

Still unsure whether CPQ is the right fit for your organization? If any of the following statements sound familiar, then it might be time to consider a CPQ solution built for manufacturers: 

• If your quotes are frequently reworked due to errors, missed requirements, or miscommunications
• If you’re losing customers to competitors due to slow responsiveness
• If your sales team spends more time quoting than actually selling
• If launching a new product means long delays updating your quoting tools
• If you don’t have a way for buyers to easily explore your product on their own terms
• If you’re expanding into new regions or markets
• If each quote requires tribal knowledge or you expect that your veteran technical experts and sellers will be retiring soon
• If partners or resellers struggle to quote without your support
• If you can’t easily see which quotes are winning, losing, or stalling
• If sustainability or compliance is increasingly important in your industry

Types of CPQ software 

When choosing a CPQ solution, it’s helpful to understand the types of systems available: 

• Embedded/Platform-based CPQ: Basic functionality is often embedded in CRM or ERP systems, and CPQ is part of a larger portfolio of software products. These tend to have limited configuration or pricing flexibility. 
• Standalone, industry-specific CPQ: Built for the needs of manufacturers, these systems support complex product logic, CAD/PLM integration, and regional pricing. 
• Cloud-based CPQ vs. on-prem CPQ: Modern CPQ platforms are web-based, but companies with certain restrictions and legacy tools may use an on-premise tool.
• AI-powered CPQ: Next-gen CPQ software uses machine learning and other intelligent tools to suggest optimal configurations, pricing strategies, or quote content based on historical data and customer behavior. 

How to get started with CPQ software 

Before diving into demos or feature comparisons, take a step back and start with your quoting process. 

• Focus on your biggest quoting challenges. Where are the delays happening? What’s causing the most friction between sales and engineering? Which quotes tend to require the most back-and-forth? Identifying these bottlenecks will help you define your goals and prioritize what matters most. 
• Include all stakeholders in the evaluation process to align on needs. Successful CPQ projects involve input from sales, engineering, IT, and operations. Each team brings a unique perspective, and collaboration is crucial to ensuring the solution fits both technical needs and business goals. 
• Zero in on your most complex or error-prone products. You don’t need to transform your entire catalog overnight. Start with one product line or region where CPQ can make an immediate impact and scale from there. 
• Choose a CPQ platform built for your complexity. Not all CPQ systems are created equal. Look for a solution that handles engineering rules, supports integration with your ERP and PLM systems, and offers guided selling for non-technical users. 

By starting with your pain points and involving the right people, you can set your CPQ initiative up for long-term success. 

Why manufacturers choose Tacton 

For manufacturers with complex, configurable products, not just any CPQ will do. Tacton CPQ is made for the specific demands of industrial and engineer-to-order environments, where quoting accuracy, speed, and product feasibility are mission-critical. 

Tacton brings decades of experience working with global leaders in medtech, industrial machinery, heavy vehicles, and more, helping them simplify complexity while improving the way they sell. Unlike generic CPQ platforms, Tacton was designed from the ground up to handle engineering rules, system integration, and highly customized pricing models, all without compromising speed or user experience. 

Tacton also transforms the buying experience, empowering customers and sales teams with guided selling tools that make even the most complex products easy to understand, configure, and quote. These benefits are why we’ve been recognized as a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for CPQ Applications, underscoring our commitment to innovation and excellence in the manufacturing space. 

Ready to see what CPQ can do for your business?  

Schedule a personalized demo

In manufacturing today, 43% of businesses rely on Excel for complex quoting, and 51% require engineering involvement for most quotes. One small error can trigger rework and lost revenue. It’s slow, risky, and inefficient, but it’s familiar. And that familiarity often overrides the urgency to update the tech stack with configure, price, quote (CPQ) software. However, the benefits of CPQ software extend beyond efficiency, enabling scalable, accurate, and customer-centric selling while protecting margins.

Manufacturers using CPQ, especially those using modern third-party platforms, are seeing measurable gains in quoting accuracy, speed, and buyer satisfaction. These benefits are outweighing the change fatigue associated with implementing CPQ and user adoption.

What is CPQ?

At its core, CPQ software automates and simplifies the process of configuring complex products, calculating accurate pricing, and generating fast, professional quotes. It replaces slow, manual quoting processes with a centralized, rules-driven or constraint-driven configuration engine that ensures every quote is accurate, optimized, and aligned to business goals.

Within the manufacturing industry, your customers may need to wait for days while your sales team liaises with various departments to determine what’s viable and create a quote that reflects the work involved.

Today’s customers don’t want to wait. And now they don’t have to, because one of the significant CPQ benefits is that salespeople can create and share sales quotes at the click of a button.

While this is the most basic function of CPQ software, contemporary offerings go much further to improve the customer experience. Let’s examine the pros of CPQ software and how CPQ benefits your organization.

Why use CPQ: Real-world CPQ benefits and examples

CPQ software for manufacturers delivers measurable results across the entire sales and production cycle. Companies that have invested in CPQ are seeing improvements in outcomes that directly impact competitiveness and profitability. According to our 2025 State of Manufacturing report, that looks like:

• 32% improved accuracy
• 32% better alignment between sales, engineering, and production
• 31% faster lead times
• 29% greater visibility into quoting data
• 24% enhanced customer experience
• 24% reduced quote turnaround time

How do these CPQ benefits translate into tangible business impact for manufacturers?

1. Protect profit margins

CPQ software addresses margin drains by embedding accurate configuration rules, pricing logic, and discount guardrails directly into the quoting process. Sales teams are guided to only sell what’s feasible and profitable, while pricing and approval workflows ensure quotes reflect up-to-date costs and margin targets. In addition, CPQ provides valuable information into sales data that informs teams of what sells and what isn’t worth the production effort.

Vantage Elevator Solutions and Bromma improved margin control and profitability by centralizing and optimizing their quoting processes with CPQ.

Vantage eliminated costly misquotes and rework by using constraint-based configuration to ensure every quote was accurate and manufacturable, protecting margins on every deal.

Bromma consolidated quoting through CPQ and integrated real-time analytics to track margin impact, forecast component demand, and fine-tune pricing. As a result, both companies gained greater control over pricing discipline, reduced cost-to-serve, and increased overall profitability.

2. Increase quoting turnover and accelerate revenue generation

In fast-moving markets, quoting delays can mean lost deals. Quoting automation software streamlines the entire process, so sales teams generate accurate quotes without waiting on engineering or manual validation.

Siemens Energy’s turbine solutions are tailored to unique customer specifications, with hundreds of potential configurations. Previously, generating a customer proposal required up to eight weeks of effort and heavy involvement from engineering, with proposals stretching to 500 pages. Through their CPQ’s guided selling and a restructured product architecture, sales teams can now configure turbines and generate accurate quotes in minutes. This has unlocked greater throughput, faster response times, and reduced dependence on technical staff.

3. Improve quoting accuracy

Inaccuracies lead to a poor customer experience and, worse, lost deals. Manual processes are prone to errors in product configuration, pricing, and order details.

Your process must be perfect every time, because as many as 86% of customers will abandon a brand after just two bad experiences.

CPQ removes this risk by automating complex logic and enforcing consistent business rules.

When automating quoting, manufacturers consistently report fewer order errors, fewer production delays, and faster time to delivery. For example, before implementing CPQ, Durst, a global leader in digital printing solutions, relied on an Excel-based quoting process that often resulted in errors or inconsistent solutions, requiring lengthy approvals and renegotiations with customers. With CPQ software, Durst’s sales teams can generate thousands of error-free quotes per month, with pricing calculations that once took hours now completed in seconds.

4. Create a consistent, scalable sales process

CPQ enables manufacturers to scale without sacrificing accuracy or consistency, whether they’re expanding product offerings or selling through global dealer networks.

Configure-to-Order (CTO) manufacturing at scale

CTO allows manufacturers to deliver tailored products by assembling from modular, pre-engineered components. CPQ supports this by:

• Validating only buildable product combinations
• Automating BOMs and pricing for each configuration
• Reducing engineering involvement in every quote

This makes it possible to offer customized solutions without slowing down quoting or increasing risk, so manufacturers can scale product variety and sell without constant validation from technical experts.

Consistent quoting across dealers and resellers

CPQ standardizes how products are configured and quoted across all sales channels.

• Every dealer or partner uses the same logic, pricing, and product data.
• Quotes reflect the latest product rules and market-specific requirements.
• Customers get the same professional, reliable experience, no matter who they buy from.

For so many manufacturers who heavily rely on resellers, partner enablement is essential. Vencomatic Group, for example, faced growing complexity as it expanded its poultry farming equipment into new markets, each with its own set of regulatory requirements. Their CPQ acts as a dealer-ready configurator that automatically applies country-specific rules. Dealers now quote 40–50% faster, with consistent accuracy across markets and sales teams.

5. Improve customer satisfaction and buyer engagement

Customer satisfaction is the most critical battleground in modern-day business. That is why contemporary CPQ suites contain various tools to enhance customer satisfaction. So, it should be no surprise that companies using CPQ software see a 17% higher lead conversion rate.

CPQ software improves customer satisfaction rates through several techniques, including:

• Accurate quoting
• Self-service purchasing process
• Faster contracting process
• 3D visualizations of their orders
• Personalized service

Remember, 89% of consumers have said they will switch to a different brand if you don’t provide the service your prospects expect, making a CPQ an excellent part of your customer retention strategy.

Spectrum Industries, which designs and manufactures technology-integrated furniture solutions for education and commercial environments, digitized nearly 1,000 products and automated pricing, BOM generation, and 3D visualization using CPQ. As a result, they now deliver personalized, visually rich quotes 50% faster, creating a more engaging buyer experience that strengthens loyalty.

6. Align teams through a single source of truth

Unlike spreadsheets, modern CPQ platforms are designed for seamless integration with core enterprise systems, including ERP, CRM, and CAD. This connectivity ensures that quoting processes remain aligned with production, pricing, inventory, and customer data, creating a more connected and efficient workflow across the organization. CPQ software also creates automated Bills of Material (BOMs), including sales BOMs, production BOMs, and engineering BOMs, with vital data sent directly to the ERP and supply chain management systems for streamlined productivity.

Tetra Pak’s success is a prime example. By tightly integrating CPQ with its ERP, CRM, and PIM platforms, Tetra Pak established CPQ as a single source of truth, providing reliable data across the entire sales process. With this foundation, Tetra Pak runs a coherent, globally consistent sales operation and sees greater alignment between different functions to seamlessly sell and deliver its products.

7. Data-driven decision making

With embedded analytics and real-time visibility into quoting data, CPQ provides valuable insights that simply aren’t possible with manual tools. Leaders gain the ability to track:

• Quote win/loss rates by region, product, or salesperson
• Margin performance across product lines or deal types
• Discounting patterns that erode profitability
• Configuration trends that highlight what’s selling—and what isn’t worth building

IMI, a global engineering leader with a highly complex product portfolio, uses CPQ to consolidate over 200 specialty tools into a single source of truth, affording the company greater visibility and control over its quoting and sales data. This visibility into their data has helped unify global sales processes, improve portfolio selling, and expand their customer reach.

By standardizing configurations and analyzing quote data in real time, IMI has reduced unnecessary engineering hours, shortened lead times, and enabled smarter supply chain planning

8. Support for talent shortages and knowledge transfer

According to global manufacturers, 34% of sales and engineering staff are expected to retire in the next five years. Sales rep turnover is significant, with some agents leaving organizations within two years of joining. Some industry estimates state that it can take 3.2 months to fully train a new addition to the team, followed by a long period for them to get up to speed.

That drains your resources, which is why CPQ is such a powerful addition to any business. CPQ reduces training time for new sales reps by embedding guided selling, configuration logic, and pricing validation directly into the quoting process. Even reps without deep technical knowledge can begin quoting complex products quickly and accurately. This technical knowledge exists in your systems even as long-time veterans retire and take tribal knowledge with them.

This was a key benefit for Conf Industries. Previously, much of the company’s product knowledge lived in the heads of senior technical staff. Now, with the entire product portfolio and configuration logic expressed in CPQ, the business is far less vulnerable to knowledge loss.

Why the type of CPQ you implement impacts the outcomes you achieve

Not all CPQ systems are created equal, and there are unique benefits of CPQ software that homegrown CPQ tools may not offer in the long-term. Homegrown or heavily customized CPQ tools may seem sufficient and tailored at first, but they often fall short as business needs evolve.

In contrast, third-party CPQ software, especially purpose-built for complex manufacturing, offers scalability, speed, and strategic advantage that internal tools rarely match.

Manufacturers using third-party CPQ are seeing the following benefits:

• Better ability to configure complex products at scale (28% vs. 19% for homegrown)
• Stronger customer experience due to faster, more accurate quotes (28% vs. 13%)
• Fewer ongoing admin and maintenance challenges (2% vs. 26%)
• Faster lead times and shorter quote cycles, with improved alignment across teams

Implement CPQ with Tacton

The benefits of CPQ extend to every aspect of your sales process. You can improve your sales team’s operations, reduce errors throughout the process, and bolster the customer experience by letting your prospects operate independently. Our CPQ buyer engagement platform includes:

• Constraint-based configuration and dynamci pricing automation that guarantees valid, buildable product combinations
• Visual configuration and CAD automation that simplify even the most complex sales processes
• Document automation to streamline quote and proposal generation
• Deep integrations with ERP, CRM, and CAD systems to ensure seamless end-to-end workflows
• Easy administration makes your front and back office even more effective with data management tools, sales, workflows, and approvals.
• Data analytics feed your business intelligence to improve your offerings and how you serve your customers.

Ready to see what Tacton CPQ can do for you?

 

The Tacton 2025 State of Manufacturing Report reveals that while manufacturers are doubling down on operational efficiency, many still face persistent configure, price, quote (CPQ) implementation challenges that prevent them from realizing the full benefits of automated quoting software. Even as 53% of manufacturers now respond to requests for quotes within 24 hours, 79% continue to struggle with quoting quality. Despite growing pressure to improve the customer experience with speed and accuracy, many manufacturers still rely on manual quoting, static catalogs, and siloed systems that slow down sales and introduce costly errors.

As CPQ rises on the IT agenda, this guide explores the most common CPQ implementation pitfalls and outlines a proven, phased approach to help manufacturers overcome these barriers and drive long-term value.

Why CPQ implementation fails — and how to fix it

Despite growing urgency, many manufacturers continue to struggle with CPQ implementation. According to the more than 200 global manufacturers surveyed in the report, several barriers consistently derail or delay CPQ implementation success:

• Integration with ERP, CRM, and legacy systems (20%)
• Complex product configurations (20%)
• Difficulty proving ROI and securing budget approval (16%)
• Internal resistance to change (14%)
• Lack of internal CPQ expertise (10%)
• Platform maintenance concerns (9%)

CPQ implementation challenges stem from broader industry dynamics. Familiarity with existing (but inefficient) tools often leads to complacency. For example, 43% of manufacturers use spreadsheets for CPQ, and nearly half of Excel users report being “very satisfied” with their current quoting processes despite high error rates.

At the same time, product complexity is increasing. A third of manufacturers report that product selection is overwhelming due to the sheer number of options. Nearly as many cite incomplete or inconsistent product information as a barrier to guiding customers to the right solutions.

Organizational readiness is another stumbling block. While 67% of manufacturers rate digital transformation as a high or highest priority, the report indicates that 42% are still in the early stages, hindered by costs, resource constraints, and resistance to change. Sales transformation lags behind other areas: only 10% of manufacturers say go-to-market teams have significant influence on transformation initiatives. This lack of cross-functional alignment leaves CPQ efforts disconnected from broader strategic priorities.

Finally, many CPQ projects falter due to unrealistic expectations. Manufacturers often underestimate the data preparation required to enable scalable CPQ or attempt to tackle too broad a scope in the first phase.

To overcome these CPQ implementation mistakes and challenges, IT leaders must approach CPQ as a cross-functional business transformation. Here’s how we do it.

A four-phase CPQ implementation framework for successful deployment

At Tacton, we’ve helped leading manufacturers implement CPQ across complex product lines, geographies, and sales channels. Based on this experience and informed by the latest market trends, we recommend a four-phase framework to guide the journey.

Phase 1: Align strategy, stakeholders, and scope

Too often, CPQ projects fail before they truly begin because the organization lacks a clear, shared vision for success. In this first phase, focus on building strategic alignment, defining the project scope, and engaging stakeholders early. This is where you lay the foundation to overcome common hurdles, such as uncertainty about which CPQ fits your needs, lack of internal expertise, stakeholder resistance, and integration complexity.

• Start by identifying the problems CPQ must solve, whether it’s reducing quoting errors, shortening lead times, improving configuration accuracy, or enabling self-service. Prioritize the outcomes that matter most the business.
• Hold stakeholder workshops to align goals across sales, engineering, IT, marketing, or operations and to define how your end users will use its features. Bring together functions that often have different views on what CPQ should accomplish. For instance, sales might prioritize speed and ease of use, while engineering may focus on accuracy and manufacturability.
• Define a minimum viable product (MVP) that targets one product line, geography, or sales channel to validate the tool, refine your approach, and generate early success.
• Avoid trying to integrate everything out of the gate by starting with just the systems (CRM, ERP) required for MVP success. For most manufacturers, this typically includes CRM for managing quoting processes and ERP for driving order creation and fulfillment.
• Define KPIs upfront, such as quote accuracy, cycle time, error rates, time to production, or customer satisfaction rates, to demonstrate ROI and guide future phases and justify broader rollout.

Phase 2: Enablement and initial success

With your strategic foundation in place, Phase 2 moves into execution. The goal of this phase is threefold: prepare foundational data, rules, and documentation; enable key users and internal teams; and build a CPQ-ready system based on real product logic.

An initial hurdle to overcome is product configuration complexity. Many manufacturers sell highly engineered, customizable products, but the rules governing how those products are configured often live in scattered spreadsheets, disconnected systems, and even in the heads of veteran employees. This fragmented state leads to bad or siloed product data.

• Document tribal knowledge—some of which may live in veterans’ heads, and centralize product and business logic, rules, and configuration data. A great way to do this is to start again in increments. Selecting one product for instance, and gathering all the data tables, UI fields, and configuration logic will show how the process should work optimally.
• Clean and structure the data before configuring the tool. It’s tempting to build out CPQ flows right away, but doing so without a solid data foundation leads to endless rework.
• Design guided selling flows and product logic that simplify complex quoting processes for your users. The goal is to make configuration as intuitive as possible, especially for sales teams that may lack deep engineering knowledge. Involving cross-functional teams (sales, engineering, and operations) in testing these flows ensures that the system is practical and aligns with real-world needs.
• Set up a controlled test environment using real scenarios to validate configuration logic and usability before rolling out to a broader audience. Gather user feedback and refine the configuration before scaling to a larger audience.

Phase 3: Drive adoption and test at scale

Even with a well-configured CPQ system, success ultimately hinges on user adoption and proper change management. At this stage, manufacturers often encounter internal resistance to new tools; some underestimate the rollout effort. Phase 3 focuses on a thoughtful, phased rollout designed to build momentum.

• Test the solution with real users, ideally in a limited rollout. Many manufacturers pilot CPQ with a single product line, sales region, or customer segment, allowing the team to validate the system and the broader sales process while managing risk.
• Target training to each function. For example, sales teams may focus on guided selling and pricing workflows, while engineering users might engage more deeply with product logic and exception handling. The goal is to equip every user with the knowledge and confidence to use the system effectively.
• During the pilot, gather feedback through multiple channels: user testing, surveys, support logs, and direct input from sales and engineering teams. User interface testing is especially important; if the interface is unintuitive, users will revert to old manual processes.

Treating the rollout like a product launch can build internal excitement. Share early success stories, communicate benefits clearly, and provide visible leadership support. Engaging pilot users as internal advocates can help drive broader buy-in across the organization.

Phase 4: Continuous optimization

Successful CPQ implementation is not a one-and-done event; manufacturers must invest in continuous optimization to ensure long-term impact.

At this stage, several new CPQ implementation challenges often emerge, including ongoing administration and maintenance concerns, the need to prove long-term ROI, and lack of internal ownership for post-launch success. Many companies underestimate how much attention CPQ will require after go-live. Without a clear plan for continuous optimization, progress will stall.

• Establish release management and ongoing user training as standard processes. CPQ systems should evolve along with your products, pricing strategies, and customer needs. Establish a governance framework that defines how you will update product logic, rules, and integrations.
• Track and report on your defined KPIs. Demonstrating clear improvements in quoting accuracy, cycle time, or error rates will sustain leadership support and secure future investment.
• Look for opportunities to expand usage to new teams, product lines, or sales channels. Many manufacturers start with a focused MVP and gradually roll out CPQ to a broader audience as internal expertise grows. Add advanced capabilities, such as visualization and CAD automation, in future phases once the core system is performing well.
• Build internal capability to manage and optimize CPQ over time. The more self-sufficient your teams become, the less dependent you’ll be on external resources. Train internal administrators and “power users” to handle day-to-day maintenance, support, and minor enhancements, which will foster a culture of continuous learning and keep the solution aligned with your evolving business needs.

CPQ implementation best practices and pitfalls to avoid

Even with the right phased approach, CPQ implementation can run into common pitfalls. Many of these challenges stem from the same patterns we’ve seen across hundreds of manufacturing projects.

• Consider third-party platforms that speed up time to value and reduce the need for continued maintenance resources. Homegrown tools can cost millions to implement without easy long-term scalability or innovation, and they create risk when internal CPQ expertise leaves the company. Software services provide the ongoing support and expertise to continue deriving value from your investment.
• Don’t customize too much, too soon. It’s tempting to take on complex integrations or advanced features from day one, but this often leads to project delays and user frustration.
• Don’t lose focus on customer-centricity. CPQ enables you to get more out of your internal processes with faster quoting, better accuracy, and better alignment between sales and production. This is great, but sometimes companies lose track of how it can help customers. A well-designed CPQ project helps enable your company to use not only CPQ, but build a tool that empowers customers to get the information they need as easily as possible.
• Avoid scope creep. This is very common in CPQ projects as you learn about and define processes that quite often were never documented before. Define project objectives early and refer to them as much as possible when deciding on changes to the project. Have a defined change control process with a steering group that has backing from senior management.
• Invest the time upfront to clean and structure product data. If product and pricing data is inconsistent or incomplete, even the best-configured CPQ system will struggle to deliver value.
• Involve all affected departments from the very beginning and keep them engaged throughout the project. Too often, companies implement CPQ in a silo, leading to poor adoption and disconnected processes.

Why Tacton’s CPQ approach delivers

While many CPQ solutions can help streamline quoting, not all approaches are designed to handle the unique challenges of manufacturing, especially when products are highly configurable and processes span complex systems. That’s where our CPQ implementation methodology stands apart.

• We take a consultative approach. From discovery through deployment, we work closely with customers to align scope, goals, and stakeholder priorities to help you build the best business case and maximize ROI.
• We prioritize enablement. Our methodology is designed to build internal expertise so manufacturers can own their tool.
• We’re built for manufacturing realities. Our solution handles complex product configuration, including engineered products, BOMs, regional pricing, and multi-system environments with ease.
• We support every step of the journey. With a proven customer success framework, we help manufacturers achieve impact from MVP through continuous optimization and expansion.

Start with the right foundation from proven CPQ implementation best practices.

Where is your organization in the CPQ journey? Whether you’re evaluating your first CPQ solution or looking to transition from an existing system, Tacton can help you take the next step.

Conf Industries, an Italian manufacturer of customizable hospital logistics equipment, saw a clear opportunity. Sales were strong, and demand for customized products was growing, but quoting was hindering speed-to-market. Each custom request triggered engineering reviews, manual BOM creation, and back-and-forth with sales. A simple caster swap could delay an order by days. 

They needed to move faster not just in production, but in how their organization handled sales, configuration, and customer engagement. 

Across the medtech industry, quoting is becoming a critical pivot point. Whether you’re launching a surgical platform or expanding into outpatient channels, speed-to-market depends on how quickly, and how accurately, you can configure, price, and quote highly customized solutions. 

The new medtech market reality: Medtech sales models are feeling the squeeze, and quoting is a flashpoint 

According to KPMG’s insights on medical device sales, revenue growth in medtech is being challenged by shifting buyer dynamics, persistent supply chain issues, and a slew of industry factors. 

Sales leaders are navigating: 

• A shift toward economic buyers, with finance and procurement exerting more influence than clinical stakeholders. 
• M&A-driven consolidation, requiring sales teams to position integrated ecosystems rather than single products. 
• Rising expectations for digital customer experiences, including hybrid interactions and on-demand configuration support. 
• Continued supply chain volatility, making it critical to align quotes with what can actually be delivered. 

These pressures expose a weakness in many medtech companies and outdated quoting processes that create friction between initial customer interest and final delivery. When quotes take days to generate and weeks to fulfill, even efficient manufacturing can’t deliver the speed that today’s market demands. 

Streamlining technical validation in the configuration process 

In regulated medical environments, product configuration requires precision. Every component combination must meet regulatory standards and manufacturing constraints. This requirement traditionally places technical departments at the center of the quoting process, creating a bottleneck. 

“It has to pass through the technical office,” explains Flavio Ventura, CEO of Conf Industries, describing their pre-automation approach. This technical validation step added days to their sales cycle, dramatically slowing their time to market. 

Efficiency-driven manufacturers are digitizing their product knowledge into rules-based or constraint-based configuration engines. These configure, price, quote (CPQ) systems ensure that every quote meets all engineering, regulatory, and manufacturing requirements automatically. 

Conf Industries embedded their product and engineering rules directly into their CPQ system, with the ability to configure valid solutions easily on their website without relying on a technical expert. This approach eliminated almost all communication errors between teams and customers. “We practically reduced the error in communication, basically, by 95%,” notes Ventura. By creating validated configurations from the start, they removed a major source of delay in the customer journey. 

Redirecting engineering talent to innovation 

The medtech industry faces growing pressure to innovate faster while managing increasingly complex product portfolios. Yet engineering talent often gets consumed by routine quote validation rather than new product development. 

This misallocation creates a compound problem: it slows current sales while delaying the development of future products. When engineers spend their time checking configurations instead of designing new solutions, innovation stalls. 

By automating the configuration validation process, Conf Industries made a significant change in how they deploy their technical talent. “This actually created a save of time around 80 percent,” Ventura explains. “We can connect directly the sales team to the production team without disturbing [engineering].” 

The company now dedicates five of their six previously sales-focused engineers to research and development initiatives. This reallocation accelerates their ability to bring new products to market while simultaneously improving quote speed, creating a dual benefit for overall speed-to-market. 

Connecting sales promises with production reality 

Recent supply chain disruptions have highlighted a disconnect in many medtech organizations: sales teams making delivery promises without full visibility into production capacity. This misalignment often leads to either overly conservative delivery estimates or promises that can’t be fulfilled. 

Leading manufacturers are connecting quoting systems directly to production data. This integration helps maintain that quotes reflect current capacity and realistic timeframes. 

Conf Industries saw dramatic improvements in delivery times after modernizing their CPQ process to align solutions with manufacturability and send an accurate bill of materials (BOM) directly to production from sales. “We cut delivery dates on the standard production, definitely,” Ventura explains. “On the standard production, we cut the delivery date about 50 percent, I believe. We are now able to give to customer, for certain products, like 15 days delivery. In the past, it used to be at least 40, 45 days.” 

By creating a direct connection between sales and production, they eliminated additional friction that was extending their delivery windows. For medtech companies struggling to meet today’s supply challenges, this ability to confidently commit to faster delivery creates a meaningful market advantage. 

Empowering eistribution channels with self-service configuration 

The medtech sales model typically spans multiple channels, including direct sales teams, independent distributors, and procurement partners. This complexity creates knowledge gaps that slow down the sales process. 

When distributors can’t configure products without factory support, the sales cycle extends by days or weeks. For customers expecting rapid responsiveness, poor experiences turn potentially loyal businesses away. 

Conf Industries addressed this challenge by giving their distributors direct access to their Tacton CPQ platform. “So try to imagine [giving] this power to the distributor directly… They’re not gonna call you anymore asking you technical things.” observes Ventura. “You go on the CPQ tools and you can add it by yourself, and you know the price that you get. And then if you wanna sell it to your end user, you get the end user price to you.” 

The company accelerated sales across their network while creating a consistent experience across all channels. By democratizing configuration capabilities throughout their sales ecosystem, Conf Industries enabled every partner, as well as customers through their web configurator, to operate with the same speed and accuracy as their internal teams. 

Turning configuration data into market intelligence 

Digital quoting systems provide valuable visibility into customer preferences and market trends. By analyzing which configurations customers request, manufacturers can identify high-demand combinations and declining product lines. Conf Industries transitioned from predicting insights based on ERP data to being able to predict insights directly from their offers in CPQ. 

“The insights you can take through CPQ now is to understand which trends are driving your market,” Ventura explains. At Conf Industries, this visibility led to significant portfolio refinement: “I probably cut some of them, like 50 to 60 products in the catalog, because there was no amazing demand anymore.” 

By concentrating resources on high-demand products, manufacturers can further improve speed-to-market for their most important offerings. They’re optimizing a cycle where market intelligence continuously refines the product portfolio, making it progressively faster to quote, produce, and deliver what customers actually want. 

The compounding benefits for speed-to-market 

For manufacturers embracing modern quoting approaches, the impact on speed-to-market extends throughout the entire commercial process: 

• Quotes generated in minutes rather than days 
• Engineering resources redirected to innovation and new product launches 
• Delivery timelines aligned with actual production capacity 
• Channel partners empowered with self-service capabilities 
• Product portfolios optimized based on market demand 

Conf Industries’ experience illustrates the potential magnitude of these improvements:  

• 80% faster quote processing 
• 50% shorter delivery windows 
• 95% fewer communication errors.  

Similar results are being reported across the medtech landscape as more manufacturers recognize the strategic importance of sales and quoting automation. 

Meeting new medtech market expectations 

As the industry continues evolving toward greater customization, digital purchasing expectations, and value-based selling, speed-to-market has become a critical competitive differentiator. The days when medical device companies could succeed with slow, manual quoting processes are rapidly disappearing. 

Today’s market leaders recognize that speed-to-market in medical device and medtech sales begins with the first customer interaction. By transforming how they configure, price, and quote their solutions, they’re creating commercial velocity. 

If quoting is the roadblock between your product and your customer, it’s time to move. Learn how Tacton CPQ helps medtech manufacturers quote faster, sell smarter, and grow without friction. 

Explore Tacton for Medtech

Rising costs are forcing manufacturers to make tougher decisions about how they price. Materials, energy, and labor expenses continue to climb, with limited room to pass those increases on. And when pricing execution breaks down, it puts deals and margins at risk. 

A strong pricing strategy—how you set, adjust, and communicate your prices to customers—gives you control in an environment where very little feels predictable. By modernizing the pricing function and rewriting the rules on traditional pricing execution, you’ll deliver instant accuracy, reflect real value in every quote, and adapt pricing quickly as factors shift. 

Modern pricing capabilities help manufacturers achieve ten percent more margin expansion   

Manufacturers that invest in pricing as a core capability are strengthening margins and outpacing their competitors. Solutions like sophisticated pricing engines, solution-based pricing strategies, and deeper data visibility are putting early adopting companies ahead.  

Boston Consulting Group reports that nearly half of “pricing innovators” in industrial goods have expanded their margins by more than 10 percentage points while simultaneously gaining market share.  

Yet most manufacturers struggle to keep pace, with our 2025 State of Manufacturing survey revealing that 49% face challenges with pricing adjustments and 43% still rely on Excel spreadsheets to price and quote complex products. A lack of agile pricing processes leads to errors, workarounds, and delays that put additional cost pressures on commercial functions.  

But manufacturers can change the rules by rethinking how they conduct their pricing.  

Rule 1: Go beyond cost—price with insight 

Cost-plus pricing remains a useful foundation for many manufacturers. But in today’s market, where products are configured to order and margins are under pressure, cost alone doesn’t tell the whole story. 

Leading manufacturers are enhancing their pricing strategies by factoring in customer impact, competitive alternatives, and commercial context. That doesn’t necessarily mean reinventing pricing from scratch. It means building on your cost model with insights that reflect what your offering helps the customer achieve. 

For instance, if a particular machine configuration enables faster throughput or lowers operational costs, those benefits should inform how you frame and defend your pricing to avoid underpricing, protect profitability, and account for what your solution is worth in the customer’s world. 

Rule 2: Disconnected CPQ processes no longer compete 

In many organizations, configuration, pricing, and quoting (CPQ) are still handled in separate steps or manually across spreadsheets. This slows the sales process, creates inconsistencies, and often requires frequent collaboration between teams before a quote can be finalized. 

Manufacturers are unifying these steps into one real-time, integrated process. As sales teams or customers configure a solution, the system automatically updates the price based on selected features, business rules, and customer-specific terms. Behind the scenes, real-time pricing pulls from integrated ERP, supply chain, and cost data to ensure every quote reflects current material prices, lead times, or delivery and installation costs.  

If something changes, pricing adapts instantly, with no manual recalculations or delays. When a customer makes a configuration change, they should easily see not just the technical feasibility, but the financial impact. 

Rule 3: Dynamic pricing models are essential for complex sales 

Static pricing models cannot accommodate the complexity of today’s manufacturing sales. Leading companies are implementing multi-dimensional pricing frameworks that consider various parameters simultaneously: 

• Product configuration specifics: Base pricing that adjusts automatically with each configuration choice 
• Customer relationship factors: Different pricing tiers for new versus existing customers 
• Segmentation: Different pricing or price sensitivity for customer segment and region 
• Revenue model variations: Flexible structures incorporating one-time, recurring, and usage-based components 
• Channel considerations: Adjusted pricing for direct sales versus partner channels 

Each parameter becomes a lever for margin optimization. Instead of setting fixed prices or making after-the-fact discounts, sales teams should apply logic-based pricing models that adapt instantly within the appropriate guardrails. 

Rule 4: Instant, transparent pricing is the new standard 

Delayed pricing has become a competitive liability. Customers now expect immediate pricing feedback during the sales process, similar to their consumer buying experiences. 

Leading manufacturers are implementing systems that deliver instant pricing calculations for even the most complex product configurations. This capability dramatically accelerates sales cycles and reduces the resource drain of manual pricing processes. 

When sales teams can provide immediate pricing for any configuration scenario, they gain a significant advantage over competitors still relying on back-office calculations and delayed responses.  

Rule 5: Margin protection requires end-to-end visibility 

Many manufacturers quote based on production costs, separately pricing and quoting services, like maintenance or spare parts, rather than selling them as a full solution in one workflow. That approach can lead to margin surprises or erosion later in the deal cycle. 

End-to-end visibility solves this by ensuring that pricing reflects the full cost to deliver the configured solution, from manufacturing and shipping to field service and ongoing support. As options are added or changed, total cost and profit margin are recalculated automatically, in real time. 

This helps sales teams quote with greater confidence while protecting margin across the full lifecycle of the product and not just at the point of sale. Pricing isn’t managed in isolation. It’s connected, contextual, and controlled across the full solution, whether capital equipment, services, or spare parts. 

Rule 6: Data drives proactive pricing decisions 

Leading manufacturers are using analytics to uncover where margin is lost, how pricing performs across products and markets, and where there’s room to optimize. When pricing data is connected to configuration, customer behavior, and cost inputs, it becomes a strategic asset. 

With real-time analytics and reporting, pricing teams can: 

• Identify unprofitable deal patterns before they happen. 
• Monitor margin performance by product line, market, or sales channel.
• Simulate pricing impacts of changes in material costs or service models. 
• Align pricing strategy with evolving market dynamics and customer needs. 

Companies like Bromma are already taking advantage of sales data to improve profitability. By integrating CPQ, for example, with analytics platforms, they’ve moved from reactive pricing decisions to proactive, data-informed strategies that improve forecasting, product planning, and margin protection. 

Assess your pricing strategy  

Transforming your pricing approach doesn’t happen overnight, but even incremental improvements can deliver significant returns. Start by assessing your current pricing capabilities across these dimensions: 

• How effectively does your pricing capture the value your solutions deliver? 
• How tightly integrated are your configuration and pricing processes with your supply chain or inventory and other core systems? 
• How quickly can you provide accurate pricing for complex configurations? 
• How comprehensively do your price calculations account for all cost factors? 
• How well do your pricing models adapt to different customer scenarios? 

The answers will reveal your most promising opportunities for pricing transformation. Prioritize initiatives that directly address margin leakage and sales friction points, building toward a comprehensive approach that turns pricing from a necessary function into a strategic advantage. 

Achieve dynamic pricing with Tacton 

Tacton helps leading manufacturers protect margins, respond to rising costs, and deliver instant, accurate pricing across every product configuration. With powerful pricing capabilities built into the CPQ process, you gain full visibility, speed, and control. 

With Tacton, you can: 

• Replace spreadsheets and disconnected tools with a single system that ties product configuration directly to pricing logic. 

• Adapt pricing instantly based on real-time product selections, customer terms, aftermarket service models, and region-specific variables. 

• Reflect full cost-to-serve in your pricing, from manufacturing and shipping to installation and maintenance, so you quote with confidence and protect margin. 

• Implement needs-based configuration to complement your pricing with the business outcomes your solutions deliver. 

• Use analytics to track sales performance, forecast margins, and fine-tune your pricing strategy continuously. 

Move beyond outdated pricing models and build a scalable, profitable approach to selling complex products. Learn more about our pricing capabilities. 

Explore the P in Tacton CPQ

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a major pillar in the rise of smart manufacturing or Industry 4.0, including its use in digital twins and intelligent robotics on the production floor. New data from over 200 manufacturers, however, shows that AI in the manufacturing industry is far from evenly leveraged, and foundational barriers make it difficult to use AI in ways that are both efficient and strategic across the value chain. However, leaders in AI adoption are getting a head start on the technology’s uses, not just in operations, but across the entire enterprise. They’re moving beyond siloed pilots to build more connected, data-driven businesses, laying the groundwork for transformation that reaches from production to sales.

Many Manufacturers Still Lag in AI Adoption 

Currently, 48% of manufacturers are exploring potential AI uses cases for their business, according to an annual State of Manufacturing survey of over 200 global manufacturing companies that Tacton conducted in conjunction with Researchscape. However, only 16% of surveyed global manufacturers are currently heavily investing in the technology.  

Where are manufacturers leading in the race to innovate, cut costs, and optimize their businesses with AI? And where are there opportunities to ensure AI is used not just as a production tool, but also as a strategic tool that brings innovation to the larger business model?  

How Manufacturers Use AI: A Quick Guide to Common Use Cases

In order to understand how manufacturers are using—and not using—AI, it’s important to first understand that AI comes in many different forms. Basic forms of artificial intelligence have been used to increase efficiency for years, while newer types of AI are reshaping how companies think about their business models. 

A few examples include:  

• Expert systems: Around since the 70s, these AI models use rules-based, if-then type logic to help solve problems, like optimizing production with best practice logic or using rules to ensure valid product configuration.  

• Machine learning and deep learning: Using deep pattern recognition and less explicit programming, these models solve much more complex problems in a way that’s similar to the human brain. Manufacturers use these models for predictive maintenance in equipment, predictive forecasting, guided selling, supply chain management, and more.  

• Generative AI: Based on their given training data, these models generate new content for different scenarios. Often used for new product design, document creation, and other applications, this form of AI is evolving quickly.  

While other forms and hybrid models exist, such as natural language processing and more visual forms of AI, today’s manufacturers still have significant room for adoption across their business functions. Despite the wide range of AI capabilities available, most manufacturers today focus their AI initiatives on fragmented sections of the value chain. 

The AI Use Cases in Manufacturing that Businesses Are Exploring Today 

With current economic constraints in the form of inflation, tariffs, and supply chain volatility, manufacturers are laser focused on how they make and deliver their product. That means limiting disruption and equipment downtime, streamlining the assembly line, and meeting demand profitably.  

According to those surveyed:

• 19% of companies see the biggest AI opportunities in production line automation. 
• 18% see major opportunities in supply chain optimization. 
• 13% see major opportunity in predictive maintenance. 

While 15% see generative AI for product design as a major opportunity, this is mostly concentrated in mid-market to enterprise businesses ($500M to $5B in revenue). Larger enterprises with over $5B in annual revenue tend to lag here, likely due to the friction of legacy systems and complex internal structures. 

The Impact of AI Adoption 

Companies already investing heavily in AI are more likely to see stronger business outcomes across the value chain from their digital transformations: 

• 80% report improved productivity 
• 66% cite improved inventory management 
• 60% have increased sales 
• 49% saw better product-market fit 

Early adopters are also more likely to prioritize market expansion, sustainability, and customer experience to stay competitive, showing a more holistic approach to transformation. 

Where Leaders Are Shifting Next: The Future of AI in Manufacturing 

Today, much of the focus on AI in manufacturing is tactical and centered on cost reduction. Even for mid-market businesses who are more heavily investing in AI, the supply chain and production process is still king. But more mid-market players are investigating beyond factory efficiency towards value-add for their customers.  

Some manufacturers are already using AI to improve how they bring products to market. They’re moving from production-centric use cases to customer-centric transformation and connecting buyer needs with production capabilities in real time.

Early adopters of AI, specifically those below $5B in annual revenue, are starting to explore more opportunities to use AI across their business and outside of the factory floor. In addition to interest in generative AI for product design and engineering, they’re also reporting more interest in AI for guided selling and smarter configuration in the sales process.  

AI in CPQ: A Missed Opportunity? 

Only seven percent of manufacturers today see AI as an opportunity in guided selling or smarter configuration, despite the clear value. AI-enhanced CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) platforms offer a powerful path forward, helping manufacturers and their customers: 

• Automate complex configurations 
• Guide non-technical buyers in configuration
• Reduce quoting errors 
• Optimize pricing based on customer, cost, and sales data 
• Enable dynamic recommendations at the point of sale 

These aren’t just incremental improvements. They’re powered by AI models that continuously learn from quoting behavior, customer preferences, and sales outcomes. That makes AI in CPQ a major opportunity for scalable, data-driven customer engagement.

In addition, by integrating AI-driven CPQ with other operational systems, manufacturers will soon turn quote and configuration data into a strategic asset that drives predictive forecasts, adaptive product strategies, and intelligent pricing models. These capabilities are still emerging, but together, AI and CPQ can reshape how manufacturers sell, price, and innovate.

Early Adopters Have the Advantage 

AI adopters have an opportunity to get a head start on the customer experience, where they understand that there is important value in remaining competitive at both the back end and in front of customers. Expanding customer channels, delivering more value at the point of sale, and creating a seamless, data-driven buyer journey will be the next areas where innovators and early adopters lead the industry. 

Preparing for AI at Scale: What It Will Take

Manufacturers who continue to use AI only as a factory floor tool will hit diminishing returns. Sustained gains—higher margins, better customer retention—will come from connecting AI across the full customer journey. 

But achieving a more strategic future requires a foundation that manufacturers are still building: 

• Clean, structured product and customer data

• System integration across sales, engineering, and operations

• Alignment between IT, sales, product, and executive leadership

Forward-thinking manufacturers are starting to make these investments. They recognize that scaling AI means thinking beyond automation to transform how products are sold, experienced, and delivered.

Tacton Brings Smarter Selling to Manufacturing 

At Tacton, we help manufacturers move beyond traditional CPQ solutions to transform go-to-market efficiency and buyer engagement in one integrated platform. Our configuration, pricing optimization, embedded data, and guided selling solutions bring intelligence into the buyer journey, giving manufacturers the tools to sell and deliver complex products strategically.  

Ready to connect your strategy to customer outcomes? 

Learn More About Tacton CPQ