CPQ Software for HVAC Manufacturers and Distributors
The heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) industry has complex supply chains. HVAC manufacturers offer products with thousands of potential configurations and accessories, so it’s no wonder that distributors and dealers find it difficult to stay competitive while still meeting customer needs and timelines.
Using the latest sales tools is essential to your profitability when selling HVAC equipment. To ensure the sales process runs smoothly and customers receive the products that meet their specifications, you need configure, price, quote software, also known as CPQ.
How HVAC Manufacturers Use CPQ
CPQ software is used in the HVAC manufacturing industry to create 100% accurate quotes that generate equipment schedules for Engineering. The software checks that all the necessary components and options are considered when configuring products and quoting their prices so sales reps can generate accurate submittals for each project. CPQ automates and streamlines the quote-to-order process for higher close rates and increased customer satisfaction. CPQ software can also help to ensure that prices are accurate and consistent across sales channels.
Additionally, CPQ software helps manufacturers improve their forecasting capabilities through detailed analytics. This allows them to better predict demand trends in their industry and adjust production levels accordingly. In addition, CPQ software helps enhance operational efficiency by providing real-time data about inventory levels and stock availability throughout the supply chain.
Challenges CPQ Solves for HVAC Manufacturers and Distributors
Here are some of the many business issues that CPQ helps solve:
- long sales cycles
- incorrect product configurations and quotes
- last-minute design changes
- miscommunication between Sales and Engineering
- delays in quote approvals
- inaccurate data on inventory and materials
- revenue leaks due to incorrect quotes and billing
- siloed Sales, CRM, and ERP solutions
How CPQ Supports Omnichannel Selling for HVAC Manufacturers
CPQ’s automated quoting capabilities allow HVAC manufacturers to quickly generate customer quotes regardless of the sales channel. With CPQ, customers can easily customize their products to fit their needs—from changing features and add-ons to comparing products side-by-side—and instantly place orders. Data synchronization across business operations systems such as ERP, CRM, CPQ and PLM ensures streamlined multi-channel selling.
CPQ has built-in collaboration tools that allow channel partners, sales reps, Engineers, and the factory to collaborate around deals and validate product configurations and contracted pricing. Manufacturers can also use CPQ to streamline the sales process across all channels by integrating data from CRM solutions such as Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics 365. This allows them to better understand customer preferences and craft personalized offers tailored specifically to each customer’s needs. Additionally, CPQ gives HVAC manufacturers visibility into their inventory levels so they can accurately track stock allocation across multiple channels and supply chains.
CPQ Solutions for HVAC Manufacturers and Distributors
Epicor CPQ Overview
PandaDoc CPQ Overview
Oracle CPQ Overview
DealHub CPQ Overview
CPQ Software Benefits for HVAC Manufacturing and Distribution Companies
CPQ offers many advantages that help HVAC manufacturers and distributors remain competitive and grow revenue. CPQ automates product configuration and quote generation, reducing the sales cycle and increasing efficiency and productivity. By integrating price lists, product configurations, discounts, and product availability from their ERP into CPQ software, manufacturers help customers accurately configure the products they need at approved prices.
Now, let’s dive into the benefits of implementing CPQ software in your HVAC equipment company.
Faster Sales Cycle: With CPQ software, sales teams quickly create accurate quotes and orders, shortening the sales cycle. This can be especially helpful for HVAC equipment companies with highly configurable products. Using a product rules engine, CPQ software can ensure that orders are correct, which reduces the chances of errors and delays.
Streamlines Ordering Process: CPQ software can also help HVAC manufacturers and distributors streamline their ordering process. Automating order creation and shipping documentation ensures that orders are fulfilled quickly and shipped correctly. This reduces the time it takes to get products from the shop floor to the customer, increasing customer satisfaction.
Automates Manufacturing Instructions: Many CPQ software platforms for HVAC sales teams include visual product configuration capabilities in 2D or 3D. CAD drawings and bills of materials (BOMs) based on the products’ configurations are integrated into the company’s ERP, ensuring a seamless transfer of orders between Sales and Engineering.
One Source of Truth: CPQ software integrates seamlessly with your ERP and CRM systems, so sales reps access not only accurate customer information, real-time product or materials availability, and updated pricing. When Engineering and Sales teams collaborate in one system, problems can be identified before they derail production.
Improves Sales Performance: The tool’s guided selling and sales playbook features enable sales reps to capture customers’ requirements and identify potential upsell and cross-sell opportunities. Extending the value of customer orders helps HVAC manufacturers grow revenue in a highly-competitive industry.
Better Data: CPQ software helps sales managers track and analyze data to identify best practices and optimize pricing strategies. In addition, tracking quotes across sales channels helps update sales and revenue forecasts.
Minimizes Errors: In HVAC manufacturing, quote errors can add costly delays. CPQ software helps to reduce product configuration and quoting errors with a click-to-customize system that delivers accurate quotes, even for complex customized products.
Increases Profitability: CPQ software helps sales reps uncover upsell and cross-sell opportunities, so they never miss a chance to add value to customer orders. Automated approval workflows eliminate rogue discounting and keep deals moving forward. Additionally, CPQ software helps manufacturers quote products based on real-time inventory and materials availability and updated product pricing. All of these benefits can help increase revenue and profitability.
Types of Companies CPQ Helps
Each type of manufacturing company has specialized needs when configuring and building equipment for their customers. Selecting and configuring the components for a machine requires exact specifications. CPQ software enables manufacturers to custom-build equipment based on valid product configuration rules. CPQ helps a variety of manufacturing companies, including:
- HVAC Manufacturers
- Compressor Manufacturers
- Refrigeration Manufacturers
- Pump Manufacturers
What can CPQ Software do for Your HVAC Equipment Company?
It’s a tall order to meet the needs of all the stakeholders in HVAC equipment sales. Sales reps, managers, Engineers, and production staff have two goals in mind – ship the correct product(s) as quickly as possible and keep customers happy. And CROs want to grow revenue. The functionality of CPQ software and its integration with other systems enables manufacturers to meet these goals.
Many CPQ platforms like FPX and Epicor are built specifically for manufacturing companies. They enable omnichannel selling by centralizing the sales process across channels and teams. Guiding the sales process and automating quotes creates an improved buyer experience that keeps customers coming back time and again.
Here’s what HVAC companies should look for in a CPQ solution:
Guided Selling: CPQ software is designed to help configure customized manufactured products with rules-based guided selling. Sales reps ask questions and customers provide information to create pre-approved product combinations. This provides an easy-to-use interface to simplify the configuration of complex products and generate accurate production documents for the manufacturing floor.
Pricing Configurator: Pricing and discounting can be complex, especially for custom-manufactured products. CPQ ensures real-time product and pricing accuracy. Dealers, distributors, and end customers can easily order specialized products in minutes. Sales reps can easily create multiple quote versions to send to customers to close deals faster.
Parts Catalog: CPQ software includes an easy-to-use parts and accessories catalog framework for non-configured items so that customers can add them to orders or quotes with ease.
Approval Workflows: A tightly-controlled rules engine and approval workflow ensure correct product configurations with correct prices are sent from sales to production. Built-in workflows also automate engineering approvals for special requests, reducing order processing time.
Integration: CPQ software integrates seamlessly with other business operations systems, preventing errors caused by manual quoting and data synchronization issues. Most manufacturing CPQ software platforms integrate with CRM, ERP, SFA, and PLM systems.
Reports and Analytics: CPQ software enables sales and engineering teams to leverage all product, pricing, and sales data in one place. Centralized data is essential for accurate business intelligence and reports that help sales teams reach their goals, drive business decisions, and improve forecasting.
Rhonda Bavaro excels in boosting SaaS companies’ growth through innovative content marketing, thriving in the dynamic sales tech industry amidst evolving technologies that drive revenue acceleration.
