Report:

The Forrester Wave™: Configure, Price, Quote Solutions, Q2 2023

Top Vendor Products for Configure, Price, Quote Solutions in 2023

• Conga
• Oracle
• PROS
• Salesforce CPQ
• Salesforce Industries CPQ

Configure, Price, Quote Solutions Vendor Product Comparisons 2023

• Conga - Leaders
  

  Pros:

  • Strong on revenue lifecycle management with customer-first approach
  • Attribute-based product configurator with subscription management
  • Strong workflow management capabilities
  • Offers contract lifecycle management (CLM), billing, and order management
  • Reference customers praised pricing engine, advanced approvals, ease of implementation and maintenance, and faster computation of TurboPricing
  • Large partner ecosystem with over 700 SIs, ISVs, and resellers
  • Long-term strategic partnership with Accenture

  Cons:

  • Pricing information is not publicly available
  • Leverages partners for 3D configurator visualization, AI/ML-based pricing optimization, and rebate channel management rather than native capabilities


• Oracle - Leaders
  

  Pros:

  • Most complete CPQ capabilities addressing core and extended use cases
  • New consumer-grade user experience (UX) called Redwood
  • Attribute-based configurator with pricing optimization
  • Full omnichannel capability and order lifecycle support
  • Subscription management included
  • One of the most robust solutions in the market
  • Tight integrations across CRM, ERP, and B2B commerce platforms
  • Reference customers valued power of configurator and document designer

  Cons:

  • Offering's complexity makes it poor fit for smaller organizations
  • Reference customers expressed concern about prioritizing new complex products rather than simplifying processes and integrations
  • Best suited for organizations already in Oracle ecosystem


• PROS - Leaders
  

  Pros:

  • Unmatched AI-powered price and cost optimization science with PROS Gen IV AI
  • Handles large complex configurations with 10,000+ line items
  • Only solution offering AI recommendations for configurable products powered by neural networks
  • Fully integrated rebate management solution
  • Available in three editions at aggressive price points
  • Reference customers praised real-time pricing engine performance, AI-based pricing guidance, and ease of use
  • Expanding strategic partnerships with Microsoft and Adobe

  Cons:

  • Focus on pricing has taken spotlight away from CPQ configuration and quoting capabilities
  • Reference customers noted integration challenges
  • Some customers cited the positives and negatives of such a flexible system


• Salesforce CPQ - Leaders
  

  Pros:

  • Runs seamlessly with Salesforce CRM on common code base
  • Familiar administration and maintenance UX
  • Integrates with broad diverse set of platforms
  • Subscription management included with billing and rebate management available
  • Recently launched Salesforce Contracts for document creation/updates
  • Expansive portfolio and ecosystem of partners, SIs, and ISVs with AppExchange
  • Reference customers valued subscription management and pricing flexibility

  Cons:

  • Does not yet offer out-of-the-box AI-enabled pricing optimization on par with external ISV solutions
  • Use cases requiring large/complex configurations may not be ideal fit and may require external ISV configurator
  • Reference customers cited performance challenges with complex configurations
  • Issues with consumed licenses for some non-CPQ users


• Salesforce Industries CPQ - Leaders
  

  Pros:

  • Industry-specific solutions for communications, media, energy/utilities, and insurance
  • Attribute-based and rules-based configurator with constraints
  • Visual configuration tools included
  • Contract lifecycle management and self-service purchasing APIs
  • Industry-specific process libraries
  • Reference customers praised ease of integration, configuration, and customization
  • Supports direct sales, channel partners, and online buyers

  Cons:

  • Use cases with large/complex configurations may have longer-than-desired response times
  • Reference customers noted need to improve performance tied to caching
  • Need to increase number of lines per order
  • May create confusion for customers choosing between Salesforce CPQ and Salesforce Industries CPQ


• Pricefx - Strong Performers
  

  Pros:

  • Major provider for AI/ML-enabled price optimization
  • Intuitive UX with ease of implementation and maintenance
  • Lower total cost ownership (TCO) and improved time-to-value
  • Unique price waterfall benchmarking vs. industry average with PricefxPlasma
  • Standard way to measure value after go-live
  • No-code product configuration
  • High customer retention rate
  • Reference customers valued solution flexibility, customization, and speed/ease of implementation
  • Strong partnership with SAP

  Cons:

  • Product focus on price optimization has left gaps in other CPQ capability areas
  • Lags in support of 3D visualization, subscription management, and self-service purchasing
  • Reference customers expressed need for better communication on product upgrades that come too fast


• SAP - Strong Performers
  

  Pros:

  • Capable solution for all core use cases
  • Ability to generate quotes of over 10,000 lines in seconds
  • Visual attribute-based configurator
  • Friendly and intuitive UI
  • Strong fit in high-tech, industrial products, and professional services industries
  • Good fit for customers with existing SAP platform wanting tight integration across suite

  Cons:

  • Extended capabilities (3D visual configurations, pricing optimization, contract lifecycle management, rebate management) provided through partners only
  • Does not integrate with non-SAP platforms and applications as extensively as other major providers
  • No longer supporting API integration with Salesforce as of June 2023, moving to partner-based integration
  • Strategy may create risk with customers feeling locked into SAP ecosystem
  • Declined to participate in full Forrester Wave evaluation process


• Tacton - Strong Performers
  

  Pros:

  • CPQ for manufacturers of complex products
  • Over 25 years serving the industry
  • Native real-time configuration visualization engine
  • CAD automation to generate 2D/3D drawings
  • Standard integration to CRM, ERP, and PLM systems
  • Powerful constraints-based configuration engine
  • Reference customers praised 3D visualization and integration with external price master data tool
  • Easy to work with according to references

  Cons:

  • Does not support subscription management, pricing optimization, and rebate management
  • User interface needs refresh to allow more customization
  • APIs described as immature with some performance issues
  • Documentation needs attention
  • Needs to further strengthen and leverage strategic partnerships to scale


• Vendavo - Strong Performers
  

  Pros:

  • Over two decades helping global manufacturers and distributors
  • Combination of Intelligent CPQ and B2B pricing optimization
  • Starter templates for manufacturing and distribution verticals
  • Rebate and channel management through Market Medium acquisition
  • Vendavo data cloud for managing data synchronization
  • Can ingest raw data from CRM/ERP and manage data transformation
  • Reference customers liked deal management with guided price points and volumes

  Cons:

  • Requires splitting R&D budgets between CPQ and pricing optimization
  • Needs more work to build out and expand ecosystem of SIs and implementation partners
  • Lags in enabling self-service buyers
  • Does not provide subscription management
  • Professional services generally required for implementation
  • Reference customers expressed challenges with scoping requirements


• Cincom - Contenders
  

  Pros:

  • Over 50 years providing software and services
  • Integrates with major enterprise platforms and omnichannel solutions
  • Low-code/no-code integration building for partners and developers
  • High customer retention
  • Does not require professional services
  • FASTPATH Enable methodology for quick implementation
  • 2D/3D native configuration visualizations
  • Constraints-based and attribute-based configuration engine
  • Reference customers praised powerful configuration engine

  Cons:

  • Needs to step up vision and innovation roadmap plans
  • Lags in subscription management
  • Omits pricing optimization
  • Reference customers called out lack of ease of use and flexibility with document generation
  • References reported longest implementation time among all vendors


• CloudSense - Contenders
  

  Pros:

  • Focus on telecommunications and media industries
  • End-to-end, fully defined CPQ solution for telecom
  • Deployed globally across large telecom customers with high success and retention
  • Salesforce ISV Platinum partner
  • True e-commerce journeys with APIs supporting marketplaces, portals, and headless commerce
  • Central product model with order and subscription management
  • Stated rapid time to value of typically three to six months

  Cons:

  • Target expertise and offering need to expand to compete with other vendors
  • Only integrates with Salesforce CRM
  • Does not offer pricing optimization or accrual-based rebate management
  • Did not provide customer references for Forrester Wave evaluation
  • Needs professional services


• Configit - Contenders
  

  Pros:

  • Designed to handle very complex quotes with multipatented Virtual Tabulation (VT) technology
  • Handles large scale models with millions of rules and configuration options
  • Agnostic configuration platform combining rules from various sources
  • Deep integration with SAP and out-of-the-box integrations with other major vendor systems
  • Reference customers liked application speed, product customization, and ease of use
  • Configuration lifecycle management (CLM) supporting full product lifecycle

  Cons:

  • Does not offer pricing optimization or subscription management
  • Does not manage pricing itself, leverages external pricing information
  • Reference customers said it lacked integration with other systems
  • Needed more responsive and flexible UI
  • Needs to expand to adjacent use cases and market presence


• Infor - Contenders
  

  Pros:

  • Industry-specific capabilities for industrial manufacturing
  • Extensive industry-specific functionality without complex customizations
  • Prebuilt industry capabilities with out-of-the-box integrations
  • Faster and simpler deployments through prepackaged workflows and templated content
  • 3D configuration visualization
  • Roadmap leveraging Infor Coleman AI and machine learning for price optimization, demand forecasting, cross-sell recommendations

  Cons:

  • Focus serves manufacturing well but doesn't address distinct needs in other industries
  • Lags in subscription management and CLM integration
  • AI-enabled capabilities being leveraged on ERP but work ongoing to expand to CPQ
  • Offering needs to mature
  • Declined to participate in full Forrester Wave evaluation process


• Zuora - Contenders
  

  Pros:

  • Built specifically for subscription-based business models
  • Included as part of Zuora Billing
  • Purpose-built to address challenges of monetizing services from quoting to billing, payments, and revenue recognition
  • Can configure dynamic service terms on a single page
  • Quote complex multipart deals over any time period
  • Can quote on its own or integrate with other major CPQ platforms
  • Reference customers liked flexible options for billing structures and data sync with CRM

  Cons:

  • Light on configuration capabilities, not for quoting complex configurations
  • Should be considered in context of broader end-to-end subscription monetization process
  • Not an option for customers committed to another billing platform
  • Reference customers expressed concerns with support and limited documentation
  • Declined to participate in full Forrester Wave evaluation process

Reference

• Forrester, The Forrester Wave™: Configure, Price, Quote Solutions, Q2 2023, 05-Jun-2023, ID RES179313

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