Offering sustainable choices in the manufacturing sales cycle can help engage with customers who have new buying goals

In an increasingly aware world, customers are placing a growing emphasis on sustainability when making purchasing decisions. As businesses align their values with environmental responsibility, customers seek products and services that contribute to a greener planet.  

Tacton’s Environmental Footprint Configuration plays a pivotal role in this shift, offering customers a unique and meaningful way to engage with environmentally conscious manufacturers. Let’s explore why Tacton’s Environmental Footprint Configuration is vital and important to customers. 

Why is environmental footprint configuration important to customers? 

Transparent sustainability metrics:  

Customers want to know the environmental impact of the products they buy. Tacton’s Environmental Footprint Configuration provides clear, transparent sustainability metrics, offering customers insights into the lifecycle of a product. Armed with this information, customers can make informed choices, supporting manufacturers that prioritize sustainable practices. 

Contributing to a circular economy:  

Choosing products with a smaller environmental footprint encourages a circular economy where resources are conserved, waste is minimized, and materials are reused. Tacton’s solution enables customers to be part of a broader sustainability movement that fosters a circular approach to consumption. 

Supporting responsible brands:  

By embracing Tacton’s solution, businesses showcase their commitment to sustainability. Customers are more likely to support brands that actively work to reduce their carbon footprint and demonstrate corporate social responsibility. Tacton’s Environmental Footprint Configuration enables customers to support responsible companies, strengthening their own role as consumers. 

Aligning values with purchasing decisions:  

Environmental concerns have become an integral part of customers’ values. As a result, customers seek products that align with their sustainability beliefs. Tacton’s Environmental Footprint Configuration empowers customers to make purchasing decisions that resonate with their values, fostering a deeper connection between consumers and brands. With different factors driving customers sustainability initiatives, Environmental Footprint Configuration can attract those who are quickly moving towards new business models and mindsets.  

Customers today are conscious of the impact their choices have on the environment. By choosing products created using Tacton’s solution, customers actively contribute to a greener future. Collectively, these choices drive demand for sustainable products, encouraging more businesses to adopt new practices. 

Holding businesses accountable:  

As customers demand more sustainable options, businesses are motivated to improve their environmental practices. Tacton’s Environmental Footprint Configuration empowers customers to hold companies accountable for their environmental impact, pushing for greater transparency and continuous improvement. 

Offering sustainable choices for customers will be a must have differentiator going forward

Tacton’s Environmental Footprint Configuration is a powerful tool that resonates with environmentally conscious customers. By providing transparent sustainability metrics, supporting responsible brands, and aligning purchasing decisions with eco-friendly values, this solution empowers customers to make a positive impact on the planet. As businesses prioritize sustainability, customers can actively contribute to a greener future, fostering a more sustainable and responsible world for generations to come. Together, we can forge a path towards a healthier planet, guided by Tacton’s Environmental Footprint Configuration and the collective choices of eco-conscious consumers. 

Don’t forget to sign up for our latest webinar:

Environmental Footprint Configuration for B2B Manufacturers WEBINAR – SEPTEMBER 19, 3:00 PM CET | 8:00 AM CDT

What if you could configure anything? 

In today’s fast-paced manufacturing landscape, customization and personalization have become essential to meet the changing demands of customers. Manufacturers need to efficiently configure complex products and manage intricate pricing structures while ensuring accuracy and speed. To simplify this process, many companies are turning to Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) software. 

Manufacturers across different industries are beginning to see the value CPQ software is bringing to their everyday sales and engineering processes. A company that uses CPQ software for their sales process typically has a complex product or service offering, with many customizable options and pricing variables.  

CPQ is particularly useful for companies that manufacture or sell products with multiple configuration options. CPQ helps manufacturers streamline their processes, enhance efficiency, and deliver accurate quotes and configurations to customers. Let’s look at a few different kinds of manufacturers who are using CPQ and the benefits. 

What kind of manufacturers can benefit from using CPQ? 

Industrial equipment manufacturers:  

Companies that manufacture complex machinery and equipment, such as manufacturing plants, material handling equipment, and medical equipment often have numerous configurable options. CPQ can help these companies to quickly generate accurate quotes for customers, taking into account the specific configuration of the product. 

Automotive manufacturers:  

Automotive companies that offer customizable cars, trucks, and other vehicles often have a wide range of options for each vehicle model. CPQ can help these companies to streamline the sales process, providing accurate quotes to customers and ensuring that the vehicle is configured correctly. 

Elevator manufacturers: 

Elevators often involve intricate configurations with various components, specifications, and regulations. The software ensures that all components are compatible and generates accurate configurations based on predefined rules, reducing errors and minimizing the risk of incompatible combinations.  

Watch how Swift Home Lifts use CPQ

Packaging and production lines manufacturers:

Packaging and production lines often involve a wide range of components, options, and configurations. CPQ software allows manufacturers to create a comprehensive catalog of components and configurations, enabling easy selection and customization of the packaging or production line equipment. Sales representatives and customers can configure the equipment based on their specific needs, ensuring accurate and compatible solutions. 

Read how Plus Pack is using CPQ 

Industrial Refrigeration Manufacturers

A new and emerging industry that is investing into CPQ solutions is Industrial Refrigeration manufacturing. This field involves highly specialized and complex systems that require precise configurations to meet specific environmental and operational requirements.

Tacton CPQ can significantly enhance the efficiency and accuracy of the Industrial Refrigeration Systems market by streamlining the complex configuration, pricing, and quoting processes.

Industrial refrigeration systems often need to fit into specific spatial configurations within a client’s facility, which can vary greatly depending on the type and size of the operation. CPQ software aids in layout planning by allowing sales and engineering teams to visualize and configure systems within the actual spatial constraints of the client’s environment.

This ensures that the designed systems not only meet functional requirements but also fit perfectly into the available space, optimizing both performance and usability. By addressing spatial challenges effectively, CPQ helps in delivering solutions that are both efficient and practical, further enhancing customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

Large system manufacturers:

Large system configurations can be intricate and involve numerous components, options, and dependencies. CPQ software provides a user-friendly interface that simplifies the configuration process. It guides users through selecting compatible components, managing dependencies, and ensuring that all requirements are met. This simplification reduces errors and improves the efficiency of the configuration process. 

By leveraging CPQ software, large system manufacturers can simplify the configuration process, automate pricing and quoting, enhance visualization, improve collaboration, integrate with engineering and manufacturing systems, and gain valuable data insights. 

What are the benefits these manufactures are seeing using CPQ?  

Enhanced configurations: 

With CPQ software, manufacturers can configure even the most complex products quickly and accurately. The software allows for easy selection of components, features, and options, ensuring that customers receive tailored solutions that meet their unique requirements. 

Error-free quotes and pricing: 

Manual calculations are prone to errors, which can lead to costly mistakes and delays. CPQ software automates the pricing process based on predefined rules, ensuring accuracy and consistency. It enables manufacturers to generate error-free quotes with up-to-date pricing information, discounts, and promotions, improving customer satisfaction. 

Efficient sales processes:  

CPQ empowers sales teams by providing them with a user-friendly interface to configure products, select pricing options, and generate quotes in real-time. The software automates approval workflows, reducing administrative burdens and enabling sales representatives to focus on building relationships with customers and closing deals. 

Rapid turnaround time: 

CPQ eliminates time-consuming manual processes, enabling manufacturers to respond to customer inquiries and generate quotes with remarkable speed. By streamlining the quote-to-order process, manufacturers can shorten sales cycles, gain a competitive edge, and improve overall operational efficiency. 

Accurate order fulfillment:  

By integrating CPQ software with ERP systems, manufacturers can ensure seamless data transfer from the sales process to production and order fulfillment. This integration minimizes the risk of miscommunication and ensures that the final product matches the customer’s specifications precisely. 

Data-driven insights: 

CPQ provides manufacturers with valuable data and insights into customer preferences, sales trends, and pricing strategies. Analyzing this data can help manufacturers make informed decisions, optimize product offerings, and identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities. 

Who uses CPQ? 

Overall, companies that use CPQ software typically have complex product offerings, and the ability to accurately configure, price, and quote their products is critical to their success. CPQ software helps these companies to streamline their sales process, reduce errors, and improve customer satisfaction.

Exploring the Limits of Configurator Compatibility with Complex Products 

If you are selling B2B manufacturing products that are deeply individualized for each customer, you know the benefits of Configure-to-Order (CTO) compared to that of a manual and slow Engineer-to-Order (ETO) process.  With CTO you increase sales speed, accuracy and win rates – especially with a configurator you can trust.  

Can today’s configurators really handle the high level of complexity that B2B manufacturing products typically have?  

Let’s look at what complexity could be and how configurators may address it.  

• For standard and commoditized products with no variation you do not need configuration. An example could be a screw. These products can be sold through pick-to-order from a catalogue and have a repeatable and predictable order fulfillment process (production, delivery, installation).  
• On the next level we find products that are individualized but have a small number of part variants. A shoe may have different kinds of strings that you may want the customer to choose from, but the number of string types is mostly limited. More importantly, there is no dependency between the string and rest of the shoe: You can basically select any string type without getting into conflict with the functionality of the shoe. These products may use simple forms of configurators (often with a visual component) but the selection of parts variants is almost on par with standard products selection.  

 

• On the next level we find products that have tree-like assembly structure. A bike, for instance, consists of an assembly with subassemblies (e.g. frame, handlebar, front wheel, rear wheel, gears). For each subassembly there could be great variance (e.g. large selection of wheels and tires). Moreover, the selection of each subassembly or module is dependent on the selection of other subassemblies on the bike. For instance, some wheels and tires may be incompatible with the diameter and length of the frame fork. To avoid ordering faulty bikes, a configurator of bikes needs to keep track of these interdependencies. However, the number of subassemblies for a bike is static: at the time of setting up the bike configurator we know that a bike will only have one frame, one handlebar and two wheels (unless you are selling tandem bikes!). This makes the configuration problem less complex.  

• On the next level of complexity, however, that is not the case. In these products, the number positions at which those assembles can sit, is not known at the time of creating the product model. A heavy truck, for instance, may have 4, 6, 8 or even 10 wheels, depending on load capacity. In these cases, the configurator needs to support dynamic positions, the number of which affects other parts of the technical solution (e.g., the chassis, drive line and gearboxes). Only a hand full of configurators can handle this level of complexity with acceptable performance and a reasonable level of maintenance.  

• So even if a truck is complex, the range of positions are still finite and known. A heavy truck manufacturer may offer perhaps up to 10 wheels, but certainly not 40 or 100. But products with unknown scope do exist. Normally we call them systems. These products – for example HVAC systems, production lines, power distribution equipment, plants or wind turbine parks – typically have an organic and unbounded structure. The number of units in the system – and their spatial relations – is not known beforehand but may impact how the system performs. Each of those units may be complex and configurable in themselves, affecting the overall system landscape. Also, the ordering of the units may be important, especially in process flows systems. For a long time, these products have been deemed too complex for Configure-to-Order process and have been sold through manual Engineer-to-Order, causing long sales cycles, high cost of sales and costly quotes and order errors. Companies that have tried implementing a Configure-Price-Quote system for these products have suffered from performance issues and high maintenance costs of CPQ.  

However, recent configurator technologies now enable manufacturers to confidently Configure, Price & Quote large-scale systems with low sales costs and great sales tool performance. 

The Advantages of CAD:  Transform Design Plans into Digital Representations

Computer-aided design (CAD) burst onto the scene in 1957 and has been making waves and pushing the manufacturing industry forward for more than 25 years. The importance of CAD lies in the fact that it has revolutionized how people design structures and products, resulting in increased precision, versatility, and productivity in sectors all across the industry.

While many of today’s product engineers may take CAD for granted, it remains one of the most important developments of this era. Read on to learn more about what CAD software is, its pros and cons in manufacturing, and how you can pair this technology with CPQ to create even more effective systems and processes.

What Is CAD Software?

CAD is short for computer-aided design. Used in many industries, from software development to architecture, CAD is all about getting computer assistance to create designs and plans as quickly and accurately as possible. 

With CAD software, users navigate a graphical user interface (GUI) to make a two- or three-dimensional digital representation of a future (or existing) physical item. The software allows you to change your representation or modify existing elements before you make your model come to life in the real world.

How Is CAD Used in Manufacturing?

For decades, CAD technology has been a mainstay in the manufacturing industry, helping professionals design products and create photorealistic three-dimensional models that enhance accuracy and efficiency at every turn.

Still, CAD doesn’t just stop at realistic model creation. Instead of just understanding how the product will look, the software also allows you to simulate product functions to test dynamics, fluid flow, stress, and vibration. That enables you to spot errors and address issues before starting the manufacturing process.

CAD software truly shines in the post-model creation phase. Once the engineer has finished their 3D model, CAD allows those not skilled in using the software to manipulate the product. That is excellent news for executive and marketing teams who often need to keep tabs on product development but may need help understanding the nuts and bolts of product engineering.

As if these developments weren’t exciting enough, CAD takes the manufacturing process further by integrating with 3D printers to create product mock-ups. While these models won’t be as robust as the final product, they’ll be able to give teams and clients an idea of how it will look and feel, calibrating expectations and resulting in higher satisfaction with the end product.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of CAD for Manufacturers

There’s little doubt that CAD has been helpful for the manufacturing industry, as it can be used in many ways throughout the manufacturing process. However, CAD has both pros and cons.

Benefits of CAD

What are the advantages of CAD? Using CAD has a plethora of benefits for businesses in the manufacturing industry. Read on to discover how CAD improves the manufacturing process across the board.

Automation

CAD software is at the forefront of automation in the manufacturing industry. If your machinery can interpret schematic documents created with CAD, you’ll be able to create a speedier and more efficient production process, which ultimately helps reduce costs.

Efficiency

One of the most significant advantages of CAD is that it doesn’t just speed up the manufacturing process. It shortens the entire timeline from product design to deployment. Product designers can quickly create components for a product with built-in measuring tools and the ability to copy, paste, and resize without making an entirely new hand drawing.

Because the digital environment makes your processes so efficient, you’ll reap the benefits of outsourcing CAD translations and designs without hiring a third party.

Precision

The excellent news is that increasing automation and efficiency doesn’t mean designers and engineers must sacrifice accuracy. Using CAD software with all the available digital tools means an even greater level of precision than when designers create visuals by hand. Human error is significantly reduced, bridging the gap between the initial design schematic and the final product.

Visualization

The 3D visualization of all your designs is one of the most significant advantages of CAD software. Because you can see the product come to life, you can better evaluate it for any necessary changes. 

One of the most practical applications of CAD customization includes allowing for more adjustments to be made in the design phase. That results in a better end product and lessens the need for expensive tweaks. This already-efficient process is further enhanced when manufacturing enterprises combine CAD with CPQ to let the customers design and modify their products.

Sharing

Only some people involved in the manufacturing process know how to use CAD software. These digital platforms allow designers and engineers to save their files in shareable formats so anyone can view them and understand their vision for the product. The whole team can give feedback on the design to ensure they’re all on the same page. That reduces disagreements and manufacturing issues down the line.

Disadvantages of CAD

While CAD has very few downsides, business owners need to know how to avoid the possible pitfalls of using this software.

Technology Breakdowns

Anyone who has used a computer knows they are prone to malfunctions. You can lose precious design work due to hardware malfunctions, viruses, or even hackers.

However, it’s important to note that this isn’t a reason to miss out on the advantages of CAD drawings. Instead, it should motivate those using the software to regularly monitor their system for potential threats or issues. This way, you can rest assured that your software will function properly and your designs will always be stored securely. 

Budgetary Considerations

New CAD systems will require a significant upfront investment. Not only do you need to purchase the software and infrastructure, but you’ll also need to spend time and money training your employees to use it to its fullest potential. You’ll also have to stay on top of necessary software and operating system updates to maintain security and ensure continuous access to critical features.

Still, it’s important to note that although purchasing CAD software may require a budgetary investment, the return on that investment will make the move well worth it. Not only will it save you a great deal of time, but it also has the potential to impact your bottom line positively.

Pairing CAD and CPQ for Ultimate Efficiency

The advantages of CAD systems regarding the design and manufacturing process are clear. However, CAD benefits go far beyond this, especially when combined with other tools like CPQ.

CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) streamlines sales processes. The buying journey doesn’t start with payment or product delivery — it begins with design. Pairing CPQ with CAD allows your business to avoid costly quoting errors that slow down productivity, removing manual steps and replacing them with automation you need to thrive in the era of customer-centered mass customization manufacturing.

Using CPQ and CAD, customers can use a self-service 3D visualization platform to customize their products in real-time and get immediate and accurate pricing for their configured model based on your set pricing criteria. Auto-delivered shop-floor-ready documents facilitate a smooth and quick transition from sales to manufacturing, all with customer satisfaction as the ultimate goal.

Get the Right Tools for a Successful Business with Tacton

Using CAD technology is all about utilizing automation and visualization to their fullest potential to create efficiency and precision in manufacturing. The good news? The same can be said of our CPQ platform. When pairing the advantages of cad, it can simplify and elevate your entire customer journey from the excitement of custom creation to the delight of timely delivery.

With Tacton Systems’ CPQ software, your enterprise will save time and money. Plus, your sales and engineering teams will have the tools they need to thrive, and your customers will be happy with quick turnaround on their custom-configured products.

Contact us today to learn how our CPQ solution can take your manufacturing business to the next level.

Sustainability in Manufacturing: Use Green Business Practices to Do Good and Attract Brand Loyalty

The modern-day green movement began in the 1960s in response to North America’s rapid post-World War II industrialization. As manufacturing increased to all-time highs, so did air pollution and the harm it brings to people and the environment. 

Earth Day, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and environmental legislation like the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts were all born during this period in response to the ecological crisis created by the manufacturing boom. The federal government and citizens alike knew something had to be done to balance the need for manufacturing with a requirement to care for the environment and the people who rely on it daily. 

The solution? Sustainable manufacturing went from simply being a good idea to becoming a priority investment for business owners. In the following sections, you’ll learn what sustainable manufacturing is, why it matters to the industry’s longevity, and how your business can benefit from sustainable practices.

What Is Sustainable Manufacturing?

The United States Department of Commerce defines sustainable manufacturing as manufacturing processes with four critical and distinct characteristics:

• Economically sound
• Conserves energy and natural resources
• Minimizes negative environmental impacts
• Increases safety for all stakeholders

To that end, sustainability in manufacturing is about so much more than simply “going green.” Instead, the US EPA asks manufacturing enterprises to reduce consumption, waste, and emissions to protect the well-being of citizens around the nation and the globe and ensure they can live safely in their communities.

Why Sustainability in Manufacturing Matters

Nowadays, all stakeholders expect manufacturing enterprises to commit to sustainability. When business owners consider shifting their processes to embrace a greener approach, they must realize they can benefit just as much as the community and the environment. 

Most people adopt a sustainability mindset because they know it’s good for the environment. However, you may not realize that adopting environmentally sound practices can be mutually beneficial. How would a manufacturer benefit from sustainability? Here’s a short rundown of what’s possible with a different approach.

Meeting Stakeholder Demands

Around 2009, retail giant Walmart rolled out its sustainability index, giving all products in its stores an environmental rating. These days, consumers and businesses are paying more attention to the products they purchase and making more of an effort to support green companies. If your customers expect you to maintain sustainable practices, you should take their concerns seriously.

Increase Your Business Value

Simply put, studies show that environmentally friendly companies have higher valuations than businesses that don’t do well in that category. Investors know that a lack of environmental responsibility is a financial and legal risk. Consequently, they may be less likely to want to put their money into something that may ruin their reputation with the public or put their money at risk.

Scaling Back the Budget

While shifting to sustainability in manufacturing may require an initial financial investment, it can save your business a great deal of money in the long run. Often, adopting sustainable practices allows you to increase productivity and do more with fewer resources. Some studies indicate that you may see a reduction of up to 20% in your energy bills, which is a big deal for growing enterprises.

Boosting Your Bottom Line

Saving money on energy costs isn’t the only way to increase your revenue. Surveys show that more than half of small and medium-sized enterprises invest in technology and products that reduce their carbon footprint. Going green allows your large business to take advantage of changing market sentiment and create products that other companies want to buy.

Attracting Top Talent

Global workplace surveys indicate that young employees desire workplaces where owners and managers are aware of their company’s impact on the environment and are actively moving toward decarbonization. If you want to attract and keep today’s top talent in your manufacturing business, it’s vital that you take steps to reduce waste, conserve energy, and prioritize environmental safety.

Sustainable Manufacturing Practices for Your Business

Sustainability in manufacturing may sound like a great idea, but you may need more information about implementing it in your enterprise. It’s crucial for you to figure out how to create sustainable business practices on a foundational level so that investors, employees, and the community at large can see and understand how it plays out in your day-to-day processes.

In this section, you’ll learn several key areas you should be focusing on to improve your manufacturing sustainability and best practices for making the switch.

Product Design

There’s no way around it — cost-optimization and sustainability manufacturing in product design is necessary. According to investment firm Ernst & Young, 80% of a product’s lifetime emissions can be determined by what happens at the product design stage. While using more environmentally-friendly materials to design products is one way lower emissions, there are other solutions to focus on.

For example, computer-assisted design (CAD) technology increases the accuracy of drawings and makes them more robust. It allows customers and engineers to analyze designs thoroughly before documents make it to the shop floor.

When you can get the design right, less time and materials are wasted on the way to creating the final product. In turn, this results in a significant reduction in carbon emissions.

Operational Efficiency

Achieving operational efficiency is a goal often associated with increasing the corporate bottom line. While this is undoubtedly a benefit, it’s essential to realize that it’s also at the heart of creating a culture of sustainable manufacturing.

When your operations are in order, you are better positioned to make supply chain decisions and source materials that align with your corporate sustainability values and action plan. In addition, you’ll reduce human error at every turn, contributing to an economically sound manufacturing process that reduces waste and emissions.

Energy Management

Achieving carbon neutrality should be paramount to every manufacturing organization. Not only is energy management required by law, but it plays a massive role in ensuring your company contributes to a flourishing environment. Still, energy management can be challenging to achieve, primarily because energy use can be highly distributed among facilities and processes. You may need clarification about which parts of your operation are responsible for energy waste to tackle the problem successfully.

Switching to a renewable energy source available in your area can be helpful but isn’t the end-all solution for most enterprises. It’s also critical for sustainable manufacturers to research and invest in emerging digital technologies that provide visibility into your entire operation and can contribute to lean processes, better energy usage, and waste reduction.

Best Practices for Implementation

As you seek to implement sustainable manufacturing processes at your company, you should keep the following best practices in mind:

• Assess your company’s values and ensure they align with a sustainability mindset
• Take time to communicate your values to executive staff, employees, and all corporate stakeholders to gain maximum buy-in
• Evaluate your business’ current sustainability initiatives and identify gaps
• Set priorities and create an action plan for moving toward sustainability
• Invest heavily in technology that can help you implement green practices, such as Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) and CAD automation software
• Ensure that you find the right balance between business growth and environmental sustainability
• As you execute your strategy, find ways to create a near-immediate return on investment as you look to make long-term changes

It’s important to acknowledge that pivoting to sustainable manufacturing processes isn’t easy, especially if this hasn’t always been top of mind. When you take the time to do it right, you’ll be able to create a company culture that values sustainability and is committed to ensuring environmental preservation and safety for all.

Eco-Friendly Manufacturing with CPQ Solutions from Tacton

When it comes to practical sustainability, Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) technology is changing the game in the manufacturing industry. CPQ software integrates with computer-aided design (CAD) automation and has native visual configuration technology to allow real-time, customer-driven customization and engineered-to-order product manufacturing. 

When customers can create the exact product they want and get clear on pricing before requests reach the manufacturing floor, everyone involved can use their time more wisely and avoid significant material waste. In this way, CPQ technology is a substantial piece in solving the sustainability puzzle.

If sustainability is your goal, Tacton can help you meet it with CPQ solutions. Contact us to discover how our platform can help you save time, reduce waste, and meet your customers’ demands for precision, customization, and sustainability.

A note about the Author:  

This edition of Tech with Tacton takes a deep dive into CPQ Software Analytics. Our author is Max Leitgeb, Configuration and Analytics Senior Product Manager at Tacton. Max is part of the original founders of Tacton and has spent more than 18 years with the company. 

With the 2010s in the rearview mirror, one thing many companies have learned is how to make data-driven decisions. These data-driven choices can be anything from why sales closes deals to how to deal with new customer demands.  

Many manufacturers are attempting to digitally transform their sales operations through Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) software. Many individuals see CPQ as a way to accelerate the sales and quoting processes for their customers but miss out on critical insights for their business. While this is very true, CPQ gives a wealth of data that is often overlooked by customers. This data can change how your operation does business by utilizing CPQ software analytics. Analyzing these trends can offer you and your customer insights that will put them mile ahead of their competition. 

Use CPQ Analytics Software across the organization  

Using CPQ analytics, everyone from your CEO to the newest employee can benefit from the right information. With analytics, it’s easier for your sales team to see which product options are selling or offer a popular configuration of a product such as a truck that sells better with one cab as opposed to another. Eliminating unnecessary portfolio content will help your sales team by removing components and save them fewer clicks with guided selling. Simply put, removing unnecessary parameters and complexity from the product leads to less complex and fewer products needed in your stock and warehouse.  

Your engineering team can benefit from seeing which product options are selling the best and which aren’t selling at all. Identifying both necessary and unnecessary product variance will allow your engineering team to better recommend products for each unique customer product portfolio.  

Analytics can give key insight into your product portfolio. Seeing correlations between winning and losing details and product options can be a near-impossible process without a helpful tool. But with CPQ analytics it’s easier to detect both patterns and dependencies. Making actionable insights from the wealth of data can help your business grow across every department.  

 Get a better understanding of your customer 

Customers are as unique as the parameters of the products you sell. Evolving needs for your customers are a precursor for changes in your portfolio to stay competitive. Analyzing what needs-based parameters have been selected can give you valuable insights of how your products will be used. This is of course valuable for sales and engineering. Sales can learn how buyers are purchasing their products, do they like one configuration better than another? Engineering can replace parts that aren’t used and develop products and parameters that add win/loss info for portfolio and pricing development.  

By analyzing what needs-based parameters have been selected can give you valuable insights of how your product offering is seen by your customers and how to evolve it. By also taking into what is being offered and what is sold, can give you valuable insights in how to optimize your product variance and pricing. 

Designing specific configurations adapted to region, market and customer can go a long way in speeding up your sales. For example, if you sell heavy vehicles like our customer Scania, it’s possible to analyze how an option is being used. Is the option being used in a tropical or a polar climate? Knowing these parameters can help you better understand your product offering and improve who you sell to in the long run.  

Streamline inventory 

With higher custom demands there is zero-tolerance for inefficient processes for your customers. Your business shouldn’t tolerate slow processes as well. With analytics utilized and underutilized products can be quickly removed from the inventory and save you money on components and storage in the factory.  

Optimize your pricing and discounting structures  

Leaving money on the table is never an ideal situation for manufacturers. But we all know how it works, your salespeople are always discounting too heavily to get the deal. By analyzing the business situations and discounts with win-rates, you can better guide your sales peoples to maximize profit with optimal discounting levels. Finding the right discount level for every quote will make your business more profitable and make your sales team’s job a little easier. Using data trends can help support your business by creating a planned pricing optimization functionality. With analytics, you can find a discount that is optimal for getting the deal with the first quote version.   

Your manufacturing operation can be a complicated business at times. A multitude of product options, increasing customer demands and keeping your teams engaged is a constant juggling act. By forecasting using quote data, you enable you and your team to get a head start on planning your next successful venture. 

Interested in seeing more about CPQ analytics? Schedule your personalized demo with us today! Or get the CPQ Software Analytics product sheet.  

Did you know optimizing manufacturing sales with CPQ can lead to results such as:

$17.6M – Savings from reduced sales labor cost 

$6.5M – Savings from reduced order errors 

$3.36M – Savings in administration  

Those are savings that a global packaging machinery maker with a revenue of ~$12.5Billion could potentially achieve using Tacton CPQ* on an ANNUAL basis and positively impact their revenue and profitability. Yes, you read that right! (Read more about it here) 

The manufacturing industry has always been subject to fluctuations in the economy, and the past few years have been no exception. From trade wars to global pandemics, manufacturers have faced multiple challenges that have forced them to reassess their priorities and investments. 

In uncertain economic times, it’s important for manufacturers to invest wisely and strategically to ensure their businesses remain resilient and competitive. Let’s look at key investment areas for manufacturers to consider during uncertain economic times and how Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) software is helping maximize these investments. Optimizing Manufacturing Sales with CPQ can help manufacturers become resilient no matter the challenge.

Where are manufacturers investing in 2023?   

We recently asked manufacturers which key investment areas for their digital transformation. Manufacturers are still adopting a cautious approach to investments to mitigate potential risks. Here’s some key investment areas:  

Sales (67%): 

Every year manufacturers invest in their sales operation. Whether it be solutions that streamline configuring and quoting products or tools that help understand data better, companies see the importance of optimizing the sales process.  

With less demand on the market, it’s important for manufacturers to be able to build strong relationships with their customers. When customers become more selective about how they spend their money, it’s critical to foster these relationships by helping them find the product with speed and accuracy.  

Manufacturers are also on the lookout for tools that enable their newest sales reps to come up to speed faster. This is essential as many new sales reps take on average 3 months to confidently sell products. 

The CPQ effect:  

CPQ software helps streamline sales processes by automating the configuration, pricing, and quoting processes. This reduces the time and effort required to generate a quote, freeing up sales reps to focus on other critical tasks. CPQ also enables even the newest sales rep to be able to quote with confidence.  

With Tacton CPQ software, global manufacturing leaders like Siemens reduced quoting time from 8 weeks to minutes. On average manufacturers who deploy Tacton software can see results such as:  

• 34% Efficiency increase 
• 30% Sales volume increase 
• 20% Increase in profit 

Supply Chain (63%): 

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of supply chain resilience, and manufacturers must invest in technologies that enable them to quickly adapt to changes in the supply chain. 

The CPQ effect:  

CPQ can help manufacturers manage the entire order process, from quote to delivery. By automating the order process, manufacturers can reduce the risk of errors and delays, improving order accuracy and speed of delivery. 

Check out the full discussion here

Product (56%): 

It may seem counterintuitive to invest in new products during a recession, but new products can help manufacturers stay competitive with light demand. Companies who continue to invest in product development can gain the edge over competitors who stick to the status quo and the products they usually sell.  

Investing in product development and improvement during a recession can help manufacturers prepare for the eventual recovery. When the economy picks up again, companies that have continued to invest in their products will be in a better position to capitalize on the increased demand. 

The CPQ effect:  

Using CPQ analytics it’s possible to understand what options and features are performing well, and which are not. Additionally, product management teams can understand profitability gaps, demand patterns and quote volumes that can help them in optimizing their business strategy and future action plans. 

What are some other common investment areas for manufacturers this year?  

Automation of internal processes (45%): 

Automation can help manufacturers reduce costs associated with labor, materials, and waste. By automating repetitive tasks, companies can improve production efficiency and reduce the need for manual labor. Automation can also help manufacturers optimize energy usage, which can lead to significant cost savings and help with upcoming sustainability regulations.  

The CPQ effect:  

CPQ can integrate into many business-critical systems for manufacturers such as ERP, CRM and CAD. These integrations enable manufacturing teams to work smoothly across different data systems with CPQ at the center, reducing errors, saving time and getting customers their products faster. At Tacton we see our CPQ integrated with some common systems like Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, SAP and more.

Customer self-service sales (29%):

By providing customers with self-service sales options, manufacturers can improve customer satisfaction and streamline their sales processes. Customers are able to access information and purchase products more quickly and efficiently, reducing the amount of time and resources required to manage sales inquiries and orders. This approach can also reduce the risk of errors or miscommunications that can occur when customers interact with sales representatives. 

The CPQ effect:  

With CPQ self-service, customers can select the features and options they desire, view the cost of each option, and get an accurate quote for their custom product or service. This helps to eliminate the time and resources required for salespeople to handle these tasks, reducing operational costs and allowing the sales team to focus on more complex sales opportunities. 

Optimizing manufacturing sales with CPQ for partners (28%):

Partners can help manufacturers reach new markets and customers that they may not have been able to access on their own. By leveraging the partner’s existing network and customer base, manufacturers can expand their reach without having to invest in building their own sales teams or infrastructure.  

The CPQ effect:  

Manufacturing partners often sell a range of products from different manufacturers, and managing complex configurations and pricing structures can be time-consuming and error prone. By implementing a CPQ solution, manufacturers can empower their partners to sell with confidence by providing them with a user-friendly interface to configure products and generate quotes quickly and accurately. Tacton helped HMF Group unify their sales process by making it easier for their partner network to sell.  

Maximize your 2023 investments with Tacton  

Leading manufacturers are always finding ways to stay relevant no matter the economic situation. As companies invest more into their 2023 goals it’s important to find ways to maximize these investments. Tacton Configure, Price, Quote software is helping global manufacturers maximize their investments every year.  

Providing speed and accuracy is just a small part of what our product does. With smooth integrations it’s possible to connect every system in your operation. In addition to integrations CPQ also gives better visibility on supply chains, leaving our customers ready for any challenge that may arise.  

Find out more by chatting with our experts to learn how optimizing manufacturing sales with CPQ can make all the difference!

CPQ and resilient manufacturing

Manufacturing sales are constantly changing, new products, and new customers make it important to stay on top of your sales pitch. These changes can create both challenges and opportunities for businesses, especially during uncertain economic times.  

With uncertainty comes less customers and lower sales, making it critical to capitalize on every sales opportunity. Finding ways to create disruption-proof operations is the dream of every manufacturer, that’s why finding ways to build resilient operations is essential to that success.  

Let’s look at the steps manufacturers can take to stay resilient and prepared to overcome any challenges that may arise now, or in the future. 

What do we mean by resilient operations? 

Resilient operations in manufacturing is the ability of manufacturers to quickly adapt to changing circumstances, recover from disruptions, and continue operations in the face of challenges. In recent years, the concept of resilience has become increasingly important in manufacturing as companies seek to improve their ability to deal with uncertainties and risks.  

The COVID-19 pandemic was a wakeup call for many manufacturers. Shockwaves were felt across every aspect of the sales cycle from start to finish. That’s why so many manufacturers digital transformation efforts increased over the past few years. Now with many fearing a recession, manufacturers are still investing in their transformation goals. 

How has recent uncertain economic times impacted your digital transformation efforts?

How can manufacturers create resilient sales operations? 

Manufacturers can create a resilient sales operation by implementing strategies that improve their ability to respond to changing market conditions, maintain customer satisfaction, and achieve long-term growth. These are a few strategies manufacturers can take to deal with these challenges: 

Customer-centric approach: 

A customer-centric approach involves focusing on the needs and preferences of customers and developing products and services that meet their needs. This approach requires manufacturers to gather and analyze customer feedback, develop customer profiles, and tailor their sales and marketing efforts to meet the needs of different customers. 

Forward thinking manufacturers will also find ways to make it easier for customers to view their complete product portfolio online. Offering ways to view and possibly buy products online will help manufacturers create multiple touchpoints with customers instead of just one-to-one sales interactions.  

Diversify sales channels:  

Creating and optimizing different sales channels will be a key area for manufacturers to look into. This can involve developing a direct-to-consumer sales strategy, expanding into new markets, and establishing partnerships with other companies. 

When manufacturers rely on a single source of revenue, they are more vulnerable to fluctuations in demand, supply chain disruptions, and other market forces. By diversifying their sales channels, manufacturers can reduce their reliance on a single source of revenue and spread their risk across multiple revenue streams.  

Leading manufacturers are also beginning the process of selling subscriptions to their products. This development may still be in the early stages of reality but is becoming more likely as the years go on.  

Gartner notes that by 2023, 20% of industrial equipment manufactures will support Equipment as a Service with remote industrial IoT capabilities.  

Real-time sales analytics:  

Real-time sales analytics provide manufacturers with up-to-date information on their sales performance, including sales volume, revenue, and profit margins. This visibility helps manufacturers to identify trends, monitor performance against targets, and adjust their sales strategies as needed to achieve their goals. 

Bring sales reps up to speed faster: 

A resilient sales operation requires a strong sales team that is knowledgeable, motivated, and customer focused. Manufacturers should invest in training and development programs for their sales teams to ensure that they have the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in today’s competitive market. 

Manufacturers must also make sure they can do more with less. With an average time of 3.2 months for new sales reps to get up to speed it’s important to deploy tools that can lessen the time to value for your sales team.  

When you free up your reps, they become more effective because they have more time to spend building impactful relationships with current customers, seeking new clients, and pursuing professional development. 

Build strong partnerships:  

Strong partnerships with distributors and other sales partners can help manufacturers to expand their market reach. By working with partners who have established relationships with customers in different regions or industries, manufacturers can access new markets and increase sales revenue. 

The ability of different stakeholders within the manufacturing ecosystem, such as suppliers, customers, and partners, to work together towards a common goal. Collaboration can be achieved using open communication channels, shared data, and collaborative decision-making processes. 

Risk Management: 

Manufacturing companies should identify and assess potential risks, develop contingency plans, and regularly review and update their risk management strategies. Manufacturers must consider multiple areas when assessing their risks: 

• Ensuring product quality 
• Supply chain 
• Compliance with regulations 
• Financial interests 

Supply Chain Management:  

Manufacturers should develop robust supply chain strategies, diversify their supplier base, and implement real-time monitoring to detect and respond to supply chain disruptions. Ensuring timely delivery, and efficient resource usage will help manufacturers stay profitable, and flexible even with constant supply chain challenges.  

Embrace digital technologies:  

Digital technologies such as Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) software can help manufacturers create a more efficient and effective sales operation. By leveraging digital technologies, manufacturers can streamline their sales processes, reduce costs, and improve their ability to reach and engage with customers. 

How is CPQ helping create resilient sales for manufacturers?  

CPQ is a software solution that can help manufacturers create resilient sales operations by streamlining the sales process and improving accuracy and speed in creating quotes and proposals. Here are some key take aways on how CPQ is helping leading manufacturers optimize the sales process: 

Quicker turnaround times:  

Sales teams need to have speed and accuracy to work with fresh leads. CPQ helps sales teams create 100% accurate quotes the first time, making the customer experience a smooth process.  

Customized product offerings:  

Providing a personalized and custom fit product to customers’ requirements has always been a challenge for high-variance products. CPQ makes it easier than ever to configure products to meet the needs of each customer.  

Improved accuracy and consistency:  

Manufactures lose money, work hours and customer loyalty with inconsistencies in their quoting process. CPQ reduces these costly miscommunications by providing accurate quotes every time.  

Streamlined sales processes:  

The sales process can move quickly with CPQ by automating the manual tasks that have bogged down sales and engineering in the past. Generating quotes and proposals complete with changes is a smooth process.  

Better collaboration:  

The slow back and forth between sales, product and engineering teams can be eliminated because CPQ only offers configurable products for customers. Sales reps won’t have to worry about selling products that aren’t feasible while engineering can focus on bigger projects and customers.  

Improved forecasting: 

CPQ provides real-time visibility into the sales pipeline, enabling manufacturers to better forecast demand and manage inventory levels. 

Create resilient manufacturing operations with Tacton CPQ  

Resilient manufacturing is a critical component of a successful manufacturing operation. By being flexible, agile, and collaborative, manufacturing companies can better respond to any challenge they face.  

By implementing these strategies, manufacturing companies can achieve resilient operations that are better equipped to deal with the uncertainties of the modern business environment. 

Tacton CPQ is helping leading manufacturers become resilient by providing speed and accuracy in their quoting process. This creates a fast and exciting way for your reps to sell products and leaves customers happier than ever because they don’t have to wait days for quotes anymore.  

Chat with our experts to learn more about CPQ and resilient manufacturing!

Product Configurator Tools: ​​A Manufacturer’s Guide to Product Customization to Maximize Sales

Personalization is often discussed in ecommerce and retail, but every industry must provide customized experiences. It is more essential than traditional manufacturing. After all, the latest business statistics reveal that 80% of consumers are more likely to buy from a company that can provide this experience.

Your customers expect to craft complex products easily, so creating a self-serve purchasing experience makes sense. Incorporating Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) software into your pipeline is an ideal starting point, but adding an online product configurator enables your suite to reach its full potential.

So, what is product configuration, and how can a product configurator tool benefit your manufacturing business?

What is a Product Configurator?

CPQ is a tool designed for the manufacturing industry to streamline ordering by providing accurate, error-free quoting for complex products.

This guided selling tool presents accurate quotes as customers select different options and benefits businesses by offering streamlined quoting and flexibility. On the other hand, product configurator software takes CPQ technology one step further by visually rendering customized products.

Configurator software can offer 2D, 3D, and even Augmented Reality (AR) visualization to give customers a complete 360-degree experience of their orders. Manufacturers seeking to provide high levels of customization and complex products offer customers the answers to questions like:

• What will my product look like after it’s been manufactured?
• Is this the product that’s right for my business?
• Will my order be viable for the manufacturer?
• Does this order fit into my budget?
• How do different options affect both the final product and its pricing?

The core advantage of including a configurator within CPQ solutions is that no human intervention is required on behalf of the manufacturer. Customers can answer their questions and receive accurate pricing without waiting for your sales team to contact your production and engineering teams to get back to them.

Types of Configurators

Most products are customizable, but as a manufacturer, you must consider product type, technical feasibility, and functionality when choosing a suitable configurator.

Today’s solutions are split into three categories:

• Knowledge-Based Engineering (KBE) – KBE configurators are used to design and build complex equipment under Configure-to-Order (CTO), Assembly-to-Order (ATO), and Engineer-to-Order (ETO) rules.
• ERP Modules – These configurator modules provide manufacturers with the data to benefit downstream processes.
• Visualization Solutions – Visualization is now a baseline requirement for the modern customer. At Tacton, you can incorporate your visualization solution into an existing site to let customers personalize and place their orders.

What Does a Product Configurator Do?

Product configurator software offers various features that fit in with your existing CPQ suite to enhance the purchasing experience. Over time, these tools have become more advanced, making purchasing, preparing technical documents, and avoiding quoting mistakes even simpler.

So what can you expect from a product configurator tool?

Transparent Pricing

All configurators aim to provide transparency to customers throughout the ordering process. Customers who choose from various options while building their products receive real-time quotes.

Customers control the project by updating the product’s price throughout the configuration process. Simultaneously, a flexible product engine ensures that whatever a customer creates is always viable for your manufacturing brand.

Provide a 360-Degree View

As manufacturers move to incorporate ever more complex products into their catalogs, customers themselves may need help to visualize what they are ordering. The risk of mistakes made by a loss of detail as salespeople coordinate with other teams can lead to dissatisfied customers and million-dollar mistakes.

With 23% of all downtime in manufacturing resulting from human error, simple mistakes during the sales process can cause severe disruption if your production lines need to shut down mid-run.

Configurators remove this risk by mimicking the experience of a retail store. Customers are sure of the product they are ordering. They know what it looks like. And the manufacturer has all the details required to make their vision a reality.

Educate Customers Throughout the Purchasing Process

Manufacturers shouldn’t assume that their buyers are informed about the manufacturing process and what goes into creating a product.

Adding product manufacturing software to your existing CPQ setup lets you provide the necessary information about each option to help them make their purchase. They can also pause their orders to liaise with their teams before returning to where they left off.

Furthermore, it helps to reduce the strain on your sales team because they no longer need to field repetitive questions about various product and manufacturing details.

Transform Orders into Solutions

Customers, agents, and partners may be unequipped with the technical knowledge required to convert an order into a technical solution. Within manufacturing, orders must come with 100% correct Bill-of-Material to create error-free products.

Our website product configurator automatically generates the technical documentation required for the engineering team to review and send an order into production. For example, if your group requires CAD documentation, the configurator will generate it after a customer confirms their order.

Validate the Finished Product

Finally, configurators can validate, simulate, and calculate products within an external system before presenting them for approval. Ensuring a product matches the performance expectations set by the customer is critical to maintaining long-term relationships with your buyers.

Validation also allows customers to recalibrate their products and offer updated pricing before giving the green light for production.

The Benefits of Using a Product Configurator Tool

Manufacturers are increasingly moving away from standardized product lines. Unfortunately, incorporating variation-rich products into your catalog places tremendous strain on every department and increases the risk of costly mistakes.

Configurators are designed to streamline the process of building a product while making your employees more effective at what they do. With a tool that can handle consumer and capital goods, manufacturers stand to gain from adding a configurator to their CPQ solutions.

So, what are the advantages of a web-based product configurator?

Handle Complex Products with Ease

Manufactured goods can have infinite variations ranging from colors to sizes and features. While minor customizations pose few problems, customers often expect to make substantial changes between the different models and editions they sell.

Thankfully, configurators can house thousands of variables without strain. Through the guided selling process, customers find it simple to build products from scratch that meet their needs.

Remember, your sales team may need to gain more familiarity with the technical side of your products, so they may need help to field in-depth queries on the product creation process. This isn’t a problem because the configurator provides customers with everything they need to build complicated products independently.

The Customer Gets What They Want

Ultimately, the goal of your manufacturing company is to give your buyers precisely what they want. A product configurator is the first step towards achieving full customer centricity

Exchanging information over the phone, email, or even in-person offers countless opportunities for miscommunication and misunderstanding. Unlike retail, resolving manufacturing mistakes cannot consist of returning the product and asking for another one from the storage room.

With a product configurator, you avoid costly mistakes because the customer designed the product. With 3D and AR visualizations, there is no room for misunderstandings.

It’s why a Harris poll revealed that businesses offering 3D/AR visualization saw 60% of consumers saying they were likelier to complete their orders. On the manufacturing side, configurators also account for technical viability and the materials you have available because they’re receiving real-time information from the rest of your business.

Reduce Lead Time

Lead time measures the time it takes to create customer quotes, receive a response, take payment, and launch the production process.

Time is critical in a sales environment, with fast responders winning 50% of all sales. However, if your sales team is being crushed or you are doing business in multiple time zones, acting quickly is easier said than done.

Product configurators are a tool that forms part of the automation revolution. Automating the quote-to-production process lowers your lead time because the configurator already has the data required to process an order.

Make Your Sales Team More Effective

Manufacturing sales teams often have to pass customer queries to other employees. When dealing with complex products, engineering teams may need to be called directly to provide answers, which takes time. It’s a reality that lends itself to an 85% prospect on-the-phone dissatisfaction rate among businesses.

Unfortunately, short of hiring engineers and production managers to act as your sales team, there’s no way around this with legacy solutions. Instead, our configurator solutions support your sales team because it already has the information to inform and educate your customers.

Moreover, if your agents need to call in an expert, data from the configurator can be submitted directly to relevant personnel, allowing them to provide an informed response.

Free Up Your Agents

Answering questions, requesting technical documents, and providing updated quotes are tasks your sales team handles instead of building customer relationships.

The problem is that your sales team should spend more time selling. These routine tasks take away from that time and make your sales department less effective at targeting prospects and turning them into paying customers.

By using a product configurator tool, sales teams automate much of the purchasing process and enhance the customer experience while freeing themselves to focus on other essential tasks.

Automate the Purchasing Process

Did you know that 60% of customers prefer automated self-service for simple tasks?

While a segment of your customers may want to speak to one of your sales reps, many avoid picking up the phone to place an order. It’s nothing personal. It’s just that many customers find these interactions tedious, time-consuming, and ineffective.

This is why one of the most significant benefits of a product configurator tool is that your customers can design their products without your help. They can get creatively invested in their products as part of an enjoyable experience that allows them to create, design, and change their orders 24/7.

Easy Third-Party Integration

At Tacton, we offer a configurator that pairs with our premier CPQ solution. However, you may be worried about integrations if you’re already using other tools to improve the customer experience and support the purchasing process.

Most configurators can integrate easily with third-party software and even entire purchasing platforms. If you’ve already created a digital manufacturing platform, you can attach your configurator to manage inventory and stock lines simultaneously.

With manufacturing solutions like Tacton, including built-in product configurators, integration worries are quickly becoming a thing of the past.

Optimize Your Business with CPQ Solutions from Tacton Systems

Product configurators are designed to form part of an industry-leading CPQ solution that improves every aspect of the sales, purchasing, and production processes.

By removing errors, providing transparent quotes, and reducing lead times, you empower your customers to place their orders independently. If you’re ready to enhance your digital transformation, now is the time.

Reducing Manufacturing Errors: The Ultimate Guide

Manufacturing errors are potentially million-dollar mistakes. According to a study of the top 72 multinational industrial manufacturers, the average cost of downtime was $532,000 an hour. And over the course of the year, these manufacturers lost $1 trillion in manufacturing failures.

Errors can happen for many reasons, and the high cost makes it in your best interest to do everything you can to avoid them. CPQ software is just one way to prevent production errors.

In this guide, you will learn about the most common types of errors in manufacturing and how to reduce them.

Common Errors in Manufacturing

Reducing manufacturing errors begins by understanding the most common mistakes. Unfortunately, the complexity of modern manufacturing processes makes it challenging to identify where things need to be fixed. But manufacturing errors should not and do not need to be built into your financial projections for the year.

First, here’s a brief rundown of the most common problems your business can come up against.

• Misquoting – Your margins can take a hit by quoting the wrong price to a customer. While this can be updated, it risks upsetting the customer, meaning most companies will choose to honor the original quote.
• Wrong Documents – Supplying incorrect documentation to the engineering and production departments can lead to products with the wrong specifications.
• Human Error – Human errors at every stage of the manufacturing cycle can ruin production and lead to costly mistakes. An estimated 26% of all errors have been attributed to human error.
• Order Processing – Figuring out how can we reduce order processing errors will prevent delays or incorrect orders from being produced.
• Damaged Machinery – Machinery breakdowns can be catastrophic, leading to the complete breakdown of production. The causes of this manufacturing problem could relate to human error, a lack of maintenance, outdated machinery, using the wrong materials, or inputting incorrect information.

These are just a taste of what can cause problems for industrial manufacturers. Even the most straightforward issue could lead to devastation. So, it’s in every manufacturer’s interest to invest in solutions that lend themselves to mitigating the risk inherent within every order.

How to Reduce Manufacturing Errors

Reducing manufacturing errors begins by examining your current processes and keeping track of every event. Pinpointing the cause of every problem can provide you with more information on areas where you need to improve.

However, innovative companies take a proactive approach to reducing errors. Here’s a guide to addressing the most common manufacturing problems before they happen.

Invest in Human Error Solutions

Every business has its weaknesses. The problem is that many companies need to be aware of where these weaknesses lie, even when ruthlessly exposed during the hustle and bustle of day-to-day business.

Equipping your senior management team with business intelligence will enable you to point your organization in the right direction. That makes hiring a company specializing in uncovering and addressing these errors an investment worth making.

A consultant can explore every aspect of your operation, review previous events, and make targeted recommendations for where you need to catch up. Instead of taking the time to self-audit, a fresh pair of eyes can yield insights that help you to plan for the future.

Enhance Your Communication

Communication across every department will enable you to perform to a higher standard. For example, if your sales and engineering teams exist within siloes, this is a problem. Not reading from the same playbook means that your production team might be guessing what the customer wants if your sales team isn’t sharing pertinent information.

Production errors in manufacturing could result from a simple problem of your sales team not sharing information directly from the customer or the department not having a firm grasp of what’s viable. CPQ solutions can help to streamline your communication channels by providing one-click distribution of automatically generated documents like CAD papers.

Reduce Inaccuracies During the Customer Lifecycle

Inaccuracies can arise at every stage of the customer lifecycle. Processes must be accurate, available, and enforceable, which all goes back to data.

For example, your salesperson may have provided an incorrect quote to a customer. Alternatively, they may have failed to communicate any special requirements to the production team.

Whatever the problem, the result will be lost dollars, dissatisfied customers, and a reduced lifetime customer value. And 91% of customers say they would not willingly do business with a company that dissatisfied them.

CPQ software can play a vital role in preventing these problems through its advanced constraints-based engine. Your sales agents can produce instant, accurate quotes based on set parameters and then communicate this information to every part of your company.

It essentially sidelines the human aspect, leaving no room for mistakes, regardless of an employee’s proficiency or competence.

Address Product Misunderstandings

Mass-produced standardized products are fast becoming a thing of the past. Today’s manufacturing clients demand products customized to their needs. From the manufacturer’s point of view, these new demands enhance the complexity of the process, leading to even more opportunities for misunderstandings and mistakes.

For example, a customer may communicate their desires, but they need to be adequately incorporated into the production documents. Likewise, the customer may ask for a product that doesn’t meet their needs.

Manufacturers can counter these problems by allowing customers access to a self-service platform to help in reducing order errors.

Tacton’s CPQ software offers 3D and Augmented Reality (AR) visualizations to empower customers during the order process. With these features, customers can build their products, get precise technical specifications, and review their orders from every angle before finalizing them.

This approach ensures buyers and sellers know what they ordered before a concept goes into production.

Invest in Training

Training at every level is required to make your team more competent and address production errors in manufacturing.

With one in four errors resulting from a human mistake at some stage, investing in both ongoing professional development and refresher courses for personnel can target a range of problem areas, including:

• Sales
• Engineering
• Production
• Post-production
• Delivery

But what makes an effective training scheme for the manufacturing sector?

Impactful training begins with the “what” and the “how,” but it should address the “why” as part of both classroom and on-the-job training and certification. Within manufacturing, the human aspect cannot be entirely replaced by technology, making relevant and lasting training regimes a core part of your operations.

Launch Your Digital Transformation

Manufacturing operations have never been more technologically advanced. Today’s precision engineering requirements demand the incorporation of next-generation technologies, including automation and AI, to fulfill customers’ needs.

But what does it mean to digitally transform your manufacturing facilities?

Digital transformation must occur throughout every part of your organization. It cannot be confined to investing in more advanced production machinery. Instead, it has to include document control, data management, communication, management processes, and supervision.

Most manufacturing facilities now use CPQ software because of how far it can extend throughout an organization. Although the essential tools focus exclusively on the instant quoting feature, Tacton offers a variety of add-ons that can address other manufacturer-specific areas, such as:

• Omnichannel sales
• Integration
• Analytics
• Visualization
• CAD automation

In other words, innovative solutions can take advantage of state-of-the-art systems to provide more oversight and reduce the human element.

Evaluate Individual Performance

Your top performers will remain superstars even as technology significantly reduces manufacturing errors and produces better customer outcomes. Technology is there to make your employees more effective rather than replace them.

Evaluating individual performance requires in-depth data to provide your management team with the information needed to identify areas for improvement.

Knowing what each employee is doing, how they are doing it, and whether they are maintaining your compliance is crucial to avoid errors that could lead to thousands of dollars in losses. And various tools exist to provide greater transparency, including CPQ software.

Reduce Manufacturing Errors with Tacton

The most significant mistake manufacturers make is assuming all errors begin in the factory and production lines. Errors can happen as early as the conversation between your sales rep and the customer.

Overall change begins with solutions that take an end-to-end approach. At Tacton Systems, we have supported the world’s leading multinational manufacturers in transforming how they do business. 

With our innovative CPQ software, we can provide your company with a suite of tools that mitigate human error, streamline communication, and better the customer experience. Discover the power of industrial manufacturing CPQ solutions by 3D and Augmented Reality (AR) visualizations now.

CPQ and sustainability are two things that are shaping manufacturing in 2023 and beyond

Like any business, manufacturers are always evolving and adapting to new challenges to keep up with their competition, meet customer needs or new regulations. In the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic manufacturers are beginning to look for new ways to lessen the odds of disruption to their businesses.  

One major disruption that is on the horizon is climate change. The world is dealing with an uncertain future when it comes to climate change. Many countries are beginning to create laws and regulations that require manufacturers to adhere to certain sustainability standards. Companies investigate how they can make a positive contribution to the change in society. 

These regulations will require manufacturers to find sustainable business models at a global level. In addition to meeting the standards, companies will also need to report these numbers to government agencies.  

That’s why businesses are also still investing heavily in their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ambitions and requirements as a top priority in 2023 for manufacturers across industries.  

The rising demand for sustainable products from customers and regulations are driving manufacturers to find ways to sell sustainably. Check out how a recent Tacton survey highlighted the importance of improving sustainability for our respondents:  

Preparing for upcoming regulations and laws is an important topic for manufacturers in 2023. 20% of the respondents we polled noted that they are extremely prepared to improve, that’s up 8% from 2022. Even the manufacturers who were hardly prepared decreased 3% from last year. This increase in preparation isn’t only because of regulations, but also because of customer demands. 

That’s a lot of information to take in for manufacturers and finding a place to start their CPQ and sustainability journey can seem daunting but tackling these challenges head on can lead to new and exciting ways to sell while meeting regulatory requirements and customer demand.  

Let’s take a closer look at what’s driving sustainability for manufacturers and where to start.  

Who’s driving changes in sustainability?  

Combating climate change will make everyone a stakeholder when it comes to finding a solution. Manufacturers, customers, investors and regulators will all have choices to make to find the best way to combat these challenges. Two of the main drivers of sustainability are regulations and customers.  

Regulations and policies 

The EU Green Deal and SEC´s proposed climate disclosure Rule in the United States are a few examples of initiatives countries are putting into place to better achieve goals of carbon neutrality. These can include items like carbon emissions impact, waste management and energy efficiency. 

Many countries now require publicly traded companies to report on their sustainability practices and environmental impact. This helps to promote transparency and accountability and encourages companies to improve their sustainability performance. 

Buyers: Customers are demanding more transparency from manufacturers. With buying power shifting to a younger generation, it’s important to deliver on their demands for more sustainable products. This provides an excellent opportunity for manufacturers who find ways to create sustainable products that can drive higher sales and profits. 

Catering to customers who want sustainable products may seem challenging for manufacturers, but the demand is there, and it can lead to higher profits, and more visibility amongst buyers. Making customers happy is at the center of any good business, that’s one reason why leading manufacturers across the globe are starting to invest in sustainability to meet their customer needs.  

Why does investing in sustainability make sense for manufacturers? 

Manufacturing is typically slow to react to change, but manufacturers can’t afford to wait to invest in sustainable business practices. As we talked about, regulations and customer demand for sustainable products is here to stay. Here are five reasons manufacturers should invest in sustainability:  

1. Cost savings: Adopting sustainable manufacturing practices can lead to significant cost savings in the long run. For example, using renewable energy sources can reduce energy costs, while reducing waste and increasing efficiency can lead to lower operating costs. 

2. Improved brand image: Consumers are increasingly conscious of environmental and social issues, and they are more likely to support brands that are committed to sustainability. By investing in sustainable practices, manufacturers can enhance their brand image and reputation, which can lead to increased customer loyalty and sales. 

3. Compliance with regulations: Many governments around the world are introducing regulations that require manufacturers to reduce their environmental impact. By investing in sustainability, manufacturers can ensure that they comply with these regulations and avoid potential fines and penalties. 

4. Access to new markets: Many companies are now requiring their suppliers to meet certain sustainability standards. By investing in sustainable practices, manufacturers can access new markets and increase their business opportunities. 

5. Long-term viability: Sustainability is about creating a long-term, resilient business that can thrive in a changing world. By investing in sustainability, manufacturers can create a business model that is better positioned to adapt to changing market conditions and consumer preferences over time. 

Creating new and exciting ways to buy sustainable products will be a key success factor in the upcoming years for manufacturers. By showing the environmental impact of any product purchase manufacturers will give their customers the best option to meet their needs while also adhering to their own possible regulations.             

Reducing costs has become increasingly important to manufacturers, especially with looming uncertain economic conditions. In our latest survey we saw 59% of manufacturers investing in ways to reduce costs in 2023. Manufacturers who invest in sustainable selling can reduce oversizing of solutions, excessive waste and more. 

Overall, a strong ESG plan that prioritizes sustainability, ethical practices, and social responsibility can help a company build a strong reputation in the marketplace. This, in turn, can lead to increased brand loyalty, customer trust, and reduced costs. Companies with a strong reputation are often able to command higher prices for their products or services, which can boost revenue and profitability. 

How can manufacturers start their CPQ and sustainability journey?  

Conduct a sustainability assessment: The first step is to assess the current state of sustainability within the organization. This includes evaluating the environmental impact of manufacturing processes, energy consumption, waste generation, and resource usage. This assessment will provide a baseline from which to measure progress. 

Set sustainability goals: Based on the assessment, set sustainability goals that align with the company’s values and priorities. These goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely.  

Develop a sustainability strategy: Develop a sustainability strategy that outlines the actions needed to achieve the goals. This may include reducing energy consumption, sourcing sustainable materials, implementing recycling programs, and reducing waste. 

Engage employees: Engage employees at all levels of the organization in the sustainability journey. This may include providing training, establishing a sustainability committee, and encouraging employee participation in sustainability initiatives. 

Partner with suppliers: Work with suppliers to ensure they also prioritize sustainability. This may involve incorporating sustainability criteria into supplier selection, auditing supplier sustainability practices, and collaborating with suppliers to improve sustainability performance. 

Track and report progress: Monitor and track progress towards sustainability goals and report on progress to stakeholders. This includes tracking key performance indicators (KPIs), such as energy consumption, waste generation, and emissions reduction, and reporting progress through sustainability reports and disclosures. 

By following these steps, manufacturers can begin their sustainability journey and make progress towards more sustainable and responsible manufacturing practices. 

What other solutions can manufacturers deploy to help with sustainability?  

CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) software can help with sustainability by streamlining the sales process and enabling companies to make more informed decisions about their products and services. Here are some ways CPQ can contribute to sustainability: 

Optimize product configurations: CPQ software allows companies to create and configure products that are more efficient and sustainable. By using CPQ to optimize product designs, companies can reduce material waste, minimize energy consumption, and decrease the overall environmental impact of their products. 

Enhance supply chain management: CPQ software helps companies better manage their supply chain, by automating processes such as vendor selection, procurement, and order fulfillment. By reducing supply chain inefficiencies, companies can minimize their carbon footprint and contribute to a more sustainable economy. 

Enable data-driven decision making: CPQ software provides real-time insights into sales performance and customer behavior. This data can be used to inform strategic decisions, such as which products to prioritize or which markets to focus on. By making data-driven decisions, companies can optimize their resources and minimize waste. 

In closing CPQ and sustainability are two factors that can influence manufacturers to make the right choices going forward: 

Sustainability takes time and commitment from manufacturers. Seeing results may take time, but patience will be rewarded. Planning this shift towards more sustainable selling will create new opportunities and new markets to sell in. This all starts with a rock-solid plan and the commitment of the entire organization to deal with the changing landscape.  

Find out how Tacton is helping manufacturers like Xylem and Plus Pack achieve these goals with our industry leading and trusted CPQ. 

Schedule your call with our experts today!

The Benefits of CPQ: A Comprehensive Guide

Your customers expect timely, accurate quotes whenever they place an order. But in the era of mass customization, providing these quotes on an infinite number of product variations is challenging.

Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) software is designed to address these challenges by fueling a self-serve product customization process that offers updated pricing without damaging your margins through inaccuracies.

So, how does CPQ work, and what are the benefits of CPQ software?

What is CPQ?

CPQ consists of a sales tool or a suite of tools designed to optimize the purchasing process and streamline your sales pipeline. It supports organizations across various industries to create accurate sales quotes personalized to the customer.

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.

The Benefits of CPQ

CPQ advantages allow your sales team to spend less time on administration and more time interacting with customers. Instead of dealing with a mountain of Excel spreadsheets, they have automated instant quoting at their fingertips.

The benefits of CPQ software also extend to the customer’s purchasing process. So, here’s a breakdown of how CPQ’s competitive advantages can lend themselves to your digital transformation.

Protect Deal Margin

Every organization has a set deal margin to determine its profits on its products and services.

Unfortunately, inaccurate quoting can cause this margin to erode. If a customer is provided with an incorrect quote that fails to reflect the various add-ons requested, your business has a choice: either increase the quote and upset the customer or eat the loss.

CPQ software ensures this never happens because of its advanced engine that accounts for all of the requests a customer might make and provides quotes based on specific needs.

Improve Efficiency

Did you know that 40% of sales teams still need to achieve their goals in 2023?

Your sales team might work hard, but are they working smart? Losing customers at the last second often occurs because of a glacial sales quoting process.

CPQ software streamlines the process by ensuring agents have all the necessary data at their fingertips to provide an accurate quote. Moreover, CPQ software creates consistency across your organization by guaranteeing this same data is available to all relevant personnel.

In other words, you can make “Let me get back to you on that” a thing of the past.

Improve Accuracy

Inaccuracies lead to a poor customer experience. If you return to a customer with an updated quote explaining that you made a mistake, expect it to leave a bad taste in their mouth.

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

Although humans make mistakes, this can cost your business hundreds of thousands of dollars. CPQ is designed to remove human error from the equation by delivering accurate quotes you can rely on every time.

Improve Customer Satisfaction

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.

Minimizes Quote Time

CPQ solutions reduce the time needed to create quotes. With set rule parameters and dynamic pricing as the customer builds their order, customers can receive instant quotes to inform their purchasing decisions.

Faster quoting also increases your overall quoting capacity because your sales team can skip meetings and manually provide data to decide on a quote. After all, the data is already there.

The core of CPQ is that it largely sidelines the human resources aspect of providing accurate quotes fast. Additionally, this means your personnel can spend more time building relationships and attracting more business.

Reduced Training Time

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 is a drain on your resources, which is why CPQ is such a powerful addition to any business. Since CPQ is a constraint-based engine, it can automate your sales team in designing and building complicated solutions for your customers with little to no training required.

By equipping your organization with an intuitive user experience, you can easily upsell and cross-sell items your agents may be unfamiliar with.

Apply a More Consistent Approach

Larger organizations can benefit from more consistency in their practices. Ideally, every sales rep would follow your company’s most effective practices to land new business. However, with varying competencies, this is easier said than done.

CPQ systems provide the data you need to capture and apply best practices from day one. That also applies to your newest and least technically-minded agents.

Every rep will also have access to the same data at their fingertips, which ensures everyone is on the same page.

Enjoy a Fast Return on Investment

Incorporating any new tool into your organization requires a sizable investment. Before deciding whether a solution suits your organization, you must crunch the numbers.

The advantage of CPQ solutions is that they are designed to deliver a fast return on your investment by enhancing your quoting capacity, increasing your conversion rate, reducing your cost of sale, and eliminating quoting errors.

It’s these benefits of CPQ that are convincing more and more companies to invest in it. To date, 83% of sales professionals are now using some form of CPQ.

Enjoy the CPQ Competitive Advantages with Tacton

Not all CPQ solutions were created equal. Essential tools may provide instant quoting capabilities, but these need to fulfill the true potential of what these systems offer. At Tacton, we focus on delivering innovative tools that push your capabilities to the limit.

Some of the added features you can take advantage of to enhance your competitive edge include:

• 3D Visualizations – Allow your customers to see the products they build in real-time. They can rotate, angle, and see their order from every angle before they spend a cent.
• CAD Generation – One-click generation of 2D and 3D CAD drawings for every product variant you can submit to the customer and different departments.
• Document Generation – Automatically create documents for quotes, certifications, technical specifications, and more.
• Administration – Make your front and back office even more effective with data management tools, sales, workflows, and approvals.
• Analytics – Benefit from custom analytics to feed your business intelligence to improve your offerings and how you serve your customers.

Quoting and constraints-based systems are just the beginning. Tacton is designed to change how you operate to drive performance enhancements using every conceivable metric.

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.

In short, you can move faster and more efficiently without compromising the accuracy or quality of your services.

So, what are you waiting for? Discover the power of Tacton and join leading manufacturers by scheduling your free demo today!