CPQ Tools for Salesforce worth considering in 2023

CPQ tools for salesforce are gaining popularity. World’s #1 CRM solution is number one for a good reason. Thanks to its community, a wide variety of developers decide to build Salesforce CPQ tools. Just like Apple did with iPhone. Salesforce enables its customers to benefit from the ecosystem. In this article, you will find CPQ tools compatible with Salesforce.

While choice is great there is another side. Sometimes it could be overwhelming to pick the right product. Even finding a good list of products could be challenging. Especially when it comes to Salesforce CPQ tools. One other day I was doing research for my customer and discovered that there is no single list of available CPQ tools compatible with Salesforce. So I decided to create one. A complete list of CPQ tools for Salesforce which are worth evaluating for your business in 2023.

Before we jump into the list of tools, let me make a small side note. Not all CPQ products are made equal. Some of them fit manufacturers. Some of them are designed with Telecom companies in mind. That said – it’s up to you to decide which product fits your company best. Even San Francisco company has multiple CPQ tools for salesforce 🙂

Another note. There are many more solutions on the market, but I’ve listed those solutions, which have native integration with Salesforce. It doesn’t mean other solutions do not have integrations. It means – they are not too user-friendly and I decided not to put them on the list. Anyway. Hope this helps.

List of CPQ Tools for Salesforce

1. Salesforce CPQ
2. Salesforce industries CPQ (ex. Vlocity)
3. Zuora
4. SAP for Salesforce
5. Oracle
6. PROS
7. Bit2win
8. Tacton
9. FPX
10. ServicePath
11. Pricefx
12. Epicor (KBMax)

Salesforce CPQ (Revenue Cloud)

I can’t start reviewing CPQ tools for Salesforce before actually mentioning this one. A lot of companies go with Salesforce CPQ by default. I can understand them. It seems native solution and is offered by Salesforce. It’s handy to have one supplier for all your CRM needs. There are a few flaws with Salesforce CPQ. One of the is definitely lack of developers.

Oh, by the way. Salesforce CPQ is now called Revenue Cloud. It means it’s not just a pricing and configuration tool. It’s a fully pledged billing solution to forecast revenue and generate complicated quotes. Its quote-to-cash cycle is stunning. When you learn it. Opposed to CPQ tools compatible with salesforce, revenue cloud is a native Salesforce application and it’s a great place to go before studying other places.

Salesforce Industries (ex. Vlocity)

Vlocity was one of Salesforce’s recent acquisitions. It’s now called Salesforce Industries CPQ. Despite the name having changed the product remained. The company was founded at the beginning of 2014 by Graig Ramse and his partner David Schmaier. It was acquired by Salesforce in early 2020. Company valuated at unicorn value of $1B. Impressive numbers, aren’t they?

Salesforce Industries CPQ focuses on Industrial customers. Just as the name says. It helps quickly build quotes and create orders. It’s packed with tones of features, like document creation, templates, product bundles. Overall, Salesforce Industries CPQ is a great choice for manufacturers and industrial companies.

Zuora

Zuora was founded by its CEO in 2007 by Tien Tzuo. What I love about the company is its message. “Welcome to subscription economy”. Company message is fully aligned with their product. They are building all possible tools for shifting a business from a conventional sell-once model to a subscription. I remember a while ago I was inspired by their Sales Deck (which is one of the best I actually ever seen). After that, I have copy-created my own sales deck. And I got quite impressive results by the way.

But back to the CPQ topic. Zuora is on my list of CPQ tools compatible with Salesforce. It has great and Native integration with Salesforce and is definitely worth evaluating. Zuora positions its product as an ultimate tool to shift the company’s business model. It’s not far from true, but be careful. If default functionality does not fit your company’s needs, customization will become a significant investment. Anyway, they have a great CPQ tool for salesforce.

SAP

Hopefully, SAP doesn’t need an introduction. German IT giant produces nice CPQ tools compatible with Salesforce. Their CPQ solution for salesforce is natively available through the interface of salesforce. That way users don’t have to switch between platforms. Not all the features, however, are available within Salesforce. So do careful research before buying.

Users of SAP report relatively quick implementation of the product. There is one serious flaw, however. SAP CPQ is missing visual quote customization tools. Probably for large corporations it’s not that of a big deal. But consider how quickly the market is changing. This can become a problem later. Administrators would want to implement visual changes. And every time this happens you are forced to produce SoW for developers. Also, lots of users report a long learning curve with the product. However, I should say it’s the same with most if not all CPQ’s out there.

Oracle

Oracle has an impressive track record. With HQ in Austin, Texas Oracle is recognized worldwide. I remember, after acquiring Siebel, Oracle kicked open a door to CRM. At least I thought so back in the days. Reality check proves that Oracle products are very “corporate”. And In my opinion, look outdated. Anyway, CPQ tools for the Salesforce list would not be complete without Oracle.

CPQ Solution from Oracle is compatible with Salesforce and has plenty of features to offer. Document generation, guided selling, pricing models. Just like other CPQ solutions. After talking to the community I came to the conclusion that Oracle CPQ has almost identical problems with SAP. Users report not so friendly user interface and lack of visualization tools. You will have to spend plenty of time (and money) to get the look and feel of you document you want.

PROS

PROS is one of the very few long-standers in the IT industry. Founded in 1985 by Mariette and Ron Woestemeyer it’s still on the edge of corporate technologies. Compared to other CPQ solutions, PROS seems to position itself more of an analytics company with an AI-powered engine to drive better pricing for teams (whatever it means). On their website, a specialized Aviation pricing product is available which gives a clue on company focus. Their pricing algorithms are capable of tracking multiple factors which affect pricing.

PROS is a Salesforce partner since 2010 offering in-app experience. It means you won’t have to switch between apps to make a quote.

Bit2win

An Italian company which is oriented on the European market. Impresses with its design and overall feel of the product. No wonder – Italy always was a place for beautiful, yet functional products. The company was founded in 2011 by business technology experts. Bit2win experienced rapid growth through the Salesforce ISV Partner program. As a result – integration with the Salesforce ecosystem is seamless.

Users report great integration with Salesforce. However many users find the product is missing features. What surprised me was Bit2win customers report “lack of b2b functionality”. Whatever it means, it clearly indicated company policy. Less functionality, yet better user interface and overall design. This reminds me of one company from Cupertino. Design vs functionality is always a challenge and I don’t have a clear opinion here. It’s you who decide towards the product in the end of the day.

Tacton

A Swedish IT company founded in 1998. An impressive track record for an IT company. Focuses mostly on the industrial sector. According to some sources, is considered the #1 CPQ solution for manufacturers. Positions itself as a company that helps manufacturers digitally transform their business. Has plenty of stunning use cases published on their website.

Tacton offers fully integrated CPQ tools for Salesforce. As with other products on the list, provides a seamless experience for users. I have however found one issue which is uncommon with this class of software. Many users complain that software is lacking documentation. The professional services team also seems to underperform. I believe the industry experiences exponential growth right now and employees overloads have an effect on everyone.

FPX

FPX is a Minneapolis company focused on CPQ solutions for complex sales. They target manufacturers of mechanical equipment like pumps, valves, compressors, blowers, fans, HVAC, and other configurable engineering equipment. FPX offers well-designed integration with salesforce. By good design, I do not mean user interface. In my opinion, it’s quite outdated. But let’s be honest – when it comes to getting things done. FPX seems to do the job. And according to user reviews it does its job well.

ServicePath

Company founded in 2011. The Canadian company is producing another CPQ solution for telecom, semiconductor, and similar companies requiring configuring complex offers and orders. ServicePath has an amusing customer acquisition strategy. While reading case studies on their website, I’ve noticed a clear message. “Have your previous CPQ failed? Will fix that”. Not sure what it means, but that’s definitely an interesting way of getting new customers on board.

ServicePath has seamless integration with Salesforce. Their CPQ product focused on managed service providers, system integrators, software, and technology companies. CPQ tools for Salesforce from ServicePath are worth the attention at least due to their marketing message. Go ahead and check yourself.

Price f(x)

German CPQ vendor with a focus on retail, food & beverage, discrete manufacturing, and more. Provides seamless integration with Salesforce. At least it states so on their website. Users report limited customization options and sometimes a lack of expertise from the team. Apart from that Pricefx was awarded as Enterprise Leader by the G2 software review portal.

Epicor (KBMax)

Epicor CPQ (ex. KBMax) was founded in 2009 as a CPQ company in Austin, Texas. The company focuses on manufacturing, biotech, building supplies, modular building, heavy equipment, high tech, and retail industries. What impressed me was their 3D visualization tool which allows seeing changes made in the configuration. I haven’t seen anything similar in the Salesforce ecosystem so far. Could be a very attractive solution for construction companies or any other companies requiring visualization during the sales process.

I would say the product is almost exclusively available with Salesforce which is a great sign. The user experience could be great.

Summary

Well, it’s time to roll up. This article was a big challenge to me personally because there are so many solutions on the market. Producing a list of CPQ tools for Salesforce is not something you do every day. I had to pick those compatible with Salesforce and worth evaluating. So many factors to decide. Hopefully, it will save you some time and allow a more seamless experience in implementing CPQ.

Remember, that we are a CPQ company helping others to implement Configure, Price, and Quote solutions. You can always get advice from professionals, so let’s talk.

Thank you for reading and have a great day/night. Whatever it is now when you are reading this.

Jeff.