A Comprehensive Comparison of Salesforce Standard Quote and Salesforce CPQ for Manufacturing Companies

As a seasoned Salesforce consultant, I have spent countless hours assisting all kinds of companies, including Tech, Sanitary, Service and... Manufacturing in optimizing their quoting processes. Throughout my career, I have observed the differences between Salesforce's Standard Quote Object (yes, that one that comes with Sales Cloud) and Salesforce CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote). Both tools provide similar functionalities, but there are key differences that can impact a business.

In this article, I will compare these two solutions for a Manufacturing company.

Salesforce Standard Quote: An Overview

The Salesforce Standard Quote is a built-in module available for Performance and Developer Editions or in Sales Cloud Professional, Enterprise, and Unlimited Editions.

This solution offers basic quoting features, including:

• Standard product and price book objects
• Standard contract and asset objects
• Multi-currency compatibility
• Integration with e-signature tools
• Standard approval process
• Introductory list pricing, discounting, and bundling features
• Basic quote document generation

The Standard Quote Object is ideal for companies with simple quoting requirements that don't require advanced features.

Don't forget to check out: Discount Categories in Salesforce CPQ

Salesforce CPQ: An Overview

Salesforce CPQ, a powerful solution acquired from Steelbrick, is designed to provide accurate pricing and quoting for any product configuration scenario. CPQ offers robust capabilities and is integrated with Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Einstein AI. Some of its features include:

• Dynamic quote document generation
• Multi-record product validation
• Automated contracts and quote renewals
• Advanced discounting options like volume, multi-tiered, automatic, and partner/distributor
• Subscription and Assets pricing/control
• Custom product bundling
• End users automation, such as Product Rules, Price Rules, Discount Schedules and Option Constraints

Salesforce CPQ is suitable for businesses with complex quoting needs, such as manufacturing companies with a diverse product range and intricate pricing structures.

Quoting Functionality Comparison

While both solutions allow you to create and sync quotes with opportunities, Salesforce CPQ provides a more robust and extended line editor. It also offers a guided selling experience, helping users navigate complex product configurations with ease.

Product Bundling

Product bundling is a significant advantage of Salesforce CPQ over the Standard Quote Object. CPQ enables users to create custom product bundles, allowing for a more streamlined quoting process and improved customer experience.

Discounting

Salesforce Standard Quote Object offers basic discounting functionality, while CPQ provides multi-tiered discount schedules, automatic discounts based on volume, and partner or distributor discounts. This advanced discounting feature is beneficial for manufacturing companies with complex pricing structures. Some automation that is possible to configure to give different discount types are: Price Rules, Discount Schedules, Block Price, Partner Discounts and others.

Product Validation

Salesforce CPQ offers advanced product validation rules that evaluate product options, quotes, or quote lines against user-defined conditions. This feature ensures accurate product configurations and prevents errors, while the Standard Quote Object relies on basic validation rules.

Generated Quote Documents

Both solutions can generate quote documents, but Salesforce CPQ provides more dynamic and customizable templates. CPQ also allows for content translation, Microsoft Word output, and automatic generation and sending of quote templates to primary contacts.

Subscriptions and Contract Management

Salesforce CPQ simplifies subscription sales, automating pricing, prorating, and co-terminating subscriptions on contracts and renewals. The Standard Quote Object does not natively offer this feature. Moreover, CPQ can automatically create contracts, orders, and assets, as well as facilitate contract renewals and amendments.

Check out another amazing blog by Guilherme here: Ensuring a Seamless Customer Experience with Option Constraints | Salesforce CPQ

Advanced Pricing Control with Salesforce CPQ Bundling

Salesforce CPQ offers additional benefits for manufacturing companies through its advanced bundling feature. With CPQ's bundling functionality, organizations can include comprehensive pricing models for products, taking into account various factors such as resources, labor, fixed and variable costs.

This approach allows manufacturing companies to maintain greater control over their pricing processes, as all these elements can be embedded within the product bundle. Consequently, customers receive a final product with a transparent price without being exposed to the underlying cost breakdown.

Furthermore, this advanced pricing control enables manufacturers to keep a close eye on profit margins, ensuring that they can adjust pricing strategies to account for fluctuating costs and market conditions. This level of control is particularly beneficial in the manufacturing industry, where various factors, such as supply chain disruptions or changes in raw material costs, can impact overall profitability.

In contrast, the Salesforce Standard Quote Object lacks this advanced bundling functionality, limiting the ability of manufacturing companies to manage complex pricing structures effectively.

In summary, Salesforce CPQ's bundling feature provides manufacturing companies with an essential tool to manage advanced pricing models efficiently. By incorporating resources, labor, and various costs into product bundles, organizations can maintain better control over their pricing processes while ensuring that customers receive clear and accurate final product prices. This advanced functionality positions Salesforce CPQ as a valuable solution for manufacturing companies seeking to optimize their quoting and pricing strategies.

Conclusion:

Manufacturing companies should consider migrating from Salesforce Standard Quote Object to CPQ when they require a scalable and advanced quoting solution, handle high volumes of quotes daily, have complex product selections, or need sophisticated discounting structures. However, if your company has simpler quoting requirements and a limited budget, the Standard Quote Object may suffice. Ultimately, the choice between these two solutions depends on your company's unique needs and goals.