In modern times, a supplier of complex, customer-order driven production cannot work without an ERP- and CPQ package in their pre-production process. How does integration between these two work? ECI Software Solutions and Elfsquad enhance their respective platforms so that it becomes beneficial for every possible manufacturing business. By constantly further developing the platforms and making cooperation and integration flexible, both parties create a flawless, digital, and scalable pre-production process for every type of manufacturer. In this blog Robin Dijkstra, Content Marketeer at ECI Software Solutions, and Jelmer Reitsma, Marketing Coordinator at Elfsquad explain all about the advantages of an ERP- and CPQ-software integration.
ECI Software Solutions supplies integrated, branch-specific software solutions for manufacturing businesses. Not limited to: ERP-software, APM-software (equipment- and quality management), CAD/CAM-software, Business Intelligence-solutions, and solutions in the field of chain integration and mobile applications. Elfsquad creates CPQ software for the manufacturing industry. Based in AI, fully in the cloud, and fully integrated.
One of the largest benefits of CPQ-software and ERP-software is the ease of translating customer requests for production. CPQ-software is able to create a design based on the pre-delivered features and parameters at a remarkable pace. Perfectly aligned with the order and all possibilities. This eliminates the time-consuming process of interpreting the customer’s request and estimating the product specification. This design process is much faster with the integration of ERP with configuration software.
An ERP-solution in combination with CPQ-software makes it much easier to quickly and accurately create a quotation and generate an extensive, layered bill of materials. Even when creating complex customized products. Using the data you save in the system beforehand, the user is able to quickly create accurate quotations for their customers. Additionally, it becomes easier to determine which materials are required and how much this will cost.
Because you gain an overview of the production process, you become able to drastically reduce the time between the order and the reception of the product. Designing, quotation, production and logistics can all be resolved by the software, allowing the company to easily and quickly meet the customer’s request. Without threatening the quality of the delivered product.
A flexible integration between the two packages creates extensive applicability of the software for manufacturing businesses. On the one hand, this flexibility is required because no process is the same as another, and on the other hand you need to be able to adapt quickly when optimizing your processes. Below you can find an application of the most common workflow between CPQ-software and ERP.
The logic of your product is built up in your CPQ-software. Your salesperson is able to configure the desired product, in-house at the customer’s organization, and can then roll out a quotation right after. All products and price specifications have been synchronized from ERP beforehand. When your salesperson is configuring, a multi-layered bill of materials is already being built in the background, specifically for this customer’s configuration. Is the quotation accepted? A production order with the correct BOM will immediately be placed in the ERP system.
Does your pre-production process require a different application? Then this will not create problems for the integration of your packages. You want to reduce your runtimes. ECI Software Solutions and Elfsquad will support you in this process. The standard integration is flexible enough for you to determine your own workflows between the software. On the integration page of Elfsquad CPQ and ECI Ridder iQ you are able to find more information about the connection between the two software packages.
In the first part of this blog we talk about ‘flexible chain integration’. This chain consists of more than ERP & CPQ, you also have CRM, CAD, and possibly PLM in your IT-landscape.
This is the exact reason that Elfsquad and ECI have also set up their cooperation with other parties and business applications in a flexible manner. There are many applications that once again have to relate to the integration between ERP and CPQ. These software packages should seamlessly integrate into your processes. To demonstrate how price data between CRM, CPQ, and ERP flow, an overview of a sales process is shown below:
Are you curious about how our CPQ software solution could also support your processes? We would gladly tell you more about it. Request a demo. During a demo we explain all about:
Elfsquad removes all worries from your pre-production process. With Elfsquad as backbone, we realize the digital factory that smart industries have been trying to find for so long. We do this through a product configurator, with integrated solutions for marketing, sales, and operations.
Let us know what you think.