CPQ systems and product configurators are now among the most important investments made by the mechanical and plant engineering industry in IT systems, and their importance continues to grow rapidly. This is the conclusion of the latest survey by the German Engineering Federation (VDMA). In the past, CPQ and configuration solutions served primarily as a quotation cockpit for sales staff to offer technically complex products as reliably, quickly, and in detail as is otherwise only possible with standard products. However, the information and purchasing behavior of B2B decision-makers is in a state of flux. Expectations of digital procurement processes are being transferred from the B2C to the B2B environment, creating new challenges for automating quotation and sales processes.

So what does this mean for future CPQ solutions? Why are they so important for sales? What can the link between customer and production really do? What are the key success factors? And how does CPQ support the customer journey in B2B? Questions to which Dr. Darlene Whitaker, Manager Marketing & Corporate Development, and Byron Wells, Solution Manager at Plan Software, would like to find answers together.