Packaging and processing machinery is getting more complex, not less. Machines need to handle more formats, stricter regulations, higher output speed, and seamless integration into complete production lines. At the same time, customers expect faster quotes, clearer proposals, and shorter lead times.
For many manufacturers, that creates a painful dilemma: how do you scale sales and delivery without simplifying your machines or overwhelming engineering?
The answer isn't reducing customization. It's changing how configuration knowledge is captured, applied, and reused.
For packaging and processing manufacturers, quoting rarely stops at a single machine. Customers buy complete production lines: multiple machines, conveyors, peripherals, and integrations that must work together as one system.
That’s where many tools fall short. They handle individual products, but struggle when configurations span entire projects.
Elfsquad CPQ is built to model and configure full project configurations.
Multiple machines combined into one coherent line
Shared dependencies between modules and stations
Automatic validation across the entire system
One consistent configuration as the basis for pricing, BOMs, and documentation
Sales teams can configure a full line in one flow, while engineering knows every combination is technically valid and production-ready.
Even small changes, like switching packaging film or adjusting pouch size, can ripple through the entire configuration:
Module compatibility changes
Throughput calculations shift
Dimensions, pricing, and documentation must be updated
In many organizations, this logic lives in scattered documents, spreadsheets, and the heads of senior engineers. Sales teams rely heavily on engineering just to validate feasibility.
That works... Until volume increases.
Slow response times due to repeated back-and-forth between sales and engineering
Higher error risk from outdated price lists, incorrect module combinations, or missed dependencies
Engineering bottlenecks that pull valuable experts away from innovation
Dealer dependency on HQ for approvals and checks
In a market where buyers compare multiple vendors and expect fast answers, these delays directly impact win rates. Scaling sales with the same processes doesn't just slow growth - it actively limits it.
Manufacturers that scale successfully don’t simplify their products. They standardise how decisions are made.
By capturing configuration rules - compatibility, dimensions, pricing, compliance - once, those rules can be applied consistently by sales and dealers.
Complexity shifts from people to systems. Flexibility stays in tact.
Packaging and processing companies often start in an engineer-to-order (ETO) model. Every quote is checked manually, and engineering validates nearly every detail.
As product portfolios mature, that models becomes a constraint. Moving toward configure-to-order (CTO) doesn't remove customization - it removes repetition. Engineers define rules once. Sales and dealers apply them safely, every time.
That transition:
Reduces engineering involvement in routine quoting
Shortens sales cycles
Improves quote consistency across regions
Engineering time shifts back to where it belongs: innovation and complex exceptions.
Global dealer networks are essential in packaging and processing, but they amplify inefficiencies if tools are lacking.
Without structured configuration support, dealers must:
Request approvals for every deviation
Wait for manual checks
Rely on HQ for pricing clarity
Modern CPQ enables dealers to configure and quote independently within predefined boundaries. Multi-language, multi-currency support and dealer-specific pricing are no longer optional. Empowered dealers sell more, faster, without increasing risk.
Would you like to learn more about Elfsquad?