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ABB Builds Lasting CPQ Adoption Through Local Support and Shared Ownership
Download the Success StoryThe company
Global electrification and automation solutions
ABB is a global technology company focused on electrification and automation. Within Process Automation, its CPQ program supports complex system and solution configurations. The transformation spans two business areas, each with several local units, requiring a shared global approach that accommodates different customer needs and ways of working.
THE CHALLENGE
Migrating from a legacy tool used for decades
ABB set out to replace offline, product-specific tools and local processes with a connected commercial workflow. Its legacy configurator had been used for decades. Experienced employees were reluctant to change, particularly while a phased migration meant using different systems for different product lines.
Technical deployment alone could not deliver the intended value. Local units needed training that reflected their responsibilities, access rights, and handoffs. In some units, one person handled the entire quoting and ordering process. Others divided those tasks across several people. ABB needed to help each team complete real work in CPQ and build confidence in the
connected process.
The Solution
A structured approach to adoption
ABB paired its Tacton CPQ rollout with a structured approach to adoption. Each wave combined priority product lines with local process mapping, practical training, and ongoing support. Feedback from users informed improvements before further expansion.
- Training built around real opportunities: After initial orientation, sessions focused on live customer opportunities and the tasks each local team needed to complete. Users helped shape subsequent sessions around their own questions.
- Daily access to support: The team introduced fixed, half-hour daily Q&A sessions for weeks, helping users resolve problems as they worked. ABB also trialed extended support hours to better serve users in the Americas.
- Clear ownership across systems: ABB assigned owners for business processes, platform architecture, product modeling, and training and operations. Program leadership remained accountable for resolving barriers across the connected workflow.
- Local champions and continuous feedback: ABB gave early adopters extra support and a voice in development priorities. Their experience built confidence among colleagues, and recurring Q&As surfaced issues for the team to address before expanding the rollout.
The Impact
Ongoing trust and improvement
ABB has seen substantial progress in adoption and user trust, with ongoing measurement guiding where the team focuses next.
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Greater confidence in using CPQ: Recurring support gave users access to help beyond their initial training. Chintan
Shah, Global Program Manager at ABB, credits this approach with building trust that the team would be available when needed. -
Feedback guiding improvements: Support inquiries have helped ABB identify whether users face product, pricing, or
integration issues. Those findings guide changes to training, modeling, and support. -
More useful adoption measurement: The team tracks monthly active users, the share of eligible opportunities handled through CPQ, and progression from configuration to order. This distinguishes repeat use from a temporary spike after training.
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Clearer accountability from quote to order: Users know who to contact when issues cross system boundaries. ABB can coordinate resolution across teams and provide local units an owner across the process.
“It’s actually creating a commercial process that works end to end and is traceable. That’s the key.” – Chintan Shah, Global Program Manager
Looking Ahead
Establishing a CPQ foundation for AI
ABB is working toward making CPQ an established operational function, with ongoing ownership and improvement beyond the rollout project. It is also evaluating Tacton’s AI Modeling Assistant for system and solution modeling and exploring AI support to help users find answers when specialists are unavailable.
Key Takeaways
Lessons in CPQ adoption
Map the work before scaling
Local roles, access rights, and handoffs determine whether users can complete the process.
Build confidence through real work
Live opportunities and accessible support help users apply training to their daily responsibilities.
Make ownership visible
Users need to know who will resolve a problem, including when its cause sits in another connected system.