Magic Quadrant for Configure, Price and Quote Applications
Gartner defines configure, price and quote (CPQ) applications as software that enables sales organizations to automate and optimize the creation of quotes and capture of orders. A CPQ application is a sales tool that captures the new goods and services a customer wants to buy or the changes a customer wants to make to existing goods and services. While generally focused on assisted sales channels, CPQ capabilities such as product configuration and pricing must be shared with the self-service commerce channel. The new purchases and changes must be priced, and a binding contract must be formed with the customer before sending an order to downstream fulfillment systems.
No strategic planning assumptions provided.
Vendors must, among other requirements:
A: This research evaluates 16 cloud-based CPQ application vendors across their Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision. The evaluation focuses on products that enable sales organizations to automate and optimize quote creation and order capture across multiple channels including direct sales, reseller/partner channels, and self-service digital commerce. The research assesses mandatory features like sales force automation integration, product search and selection, configuration, automatic pricing, proposal generation, and order placement, as well as common features like digital commerce support, subscription management, complex goods selling, contract negotiation, approvals workflow, and ERP integrations.
A: This research should be used by sales leaders, revenue operations professionals, and IT decision-makers evaluating CPQ solutions to support their commercial goals. It is designed to help buyers create vendor shortlists based on their specific requirements for complexity and scale. Users should combine this Magic Quadrant with the companion Critical Capabilities report and discussions with Gartner analysts as part of their due diligence process. The research is particularly valuable for organizations seeking to modernize their sales technology stack, support omnichannel selling, manage complex product configurations, enable service and subscription selling, or improve quote-to-cash processes.
A: Mandatory features for CPQ applications include: support for sales users with CRM integration, product search and selection capabilities, product configuration (selecting options and features), automatic pricing of products and services, negotiation of terms with proposal generation, order placement functionality, and an extensibility framework that allows companies to customize the application for their specific processes, products and services.
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A: Ability to Execute focuses on a vendor's current product capabilities, market presence, and operational effectiveness, with heavy weighting on Product/Service quality. It evaluates tangible evidence of execution through customer deployments, financial viability, and sales performance. Completeness of Vision assesses a vendor's strategic direction and future potential, emphasizing Innovation and Market Understanding. It examines how well vendors anticipate market changes, develop differentiated strategies, and position themselves for future requirements rather than current execution alone.