Conga CPQ
Configuring complex customized quotes has improved flexibility but still needs smoother approvals
What is our primary use case?
I have been using Conga CPQ for 3.5 years.
For Conga CPQ, we mainly use it to sell customized products to end customers. We have customized many products, such as Cobas medical products, providing many attributes and option products. Additionally, I have used Conga CPQ previously in an e-commerce site where users can select products from a catalog, add them to the cart, and create a quotation. The front end is in JavaScript, with data stored in Salesforce, and sales representatives can configure products accordingly.
When configuring a product such as a computer, there may be various cases involving RAM size, ROM, and hard disk. We provide attributes such as RAM where users can select from options including 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, or 24 GB. For ROM, it may be 256 GB or similar, along with including licenses and guarantees as add-ons. This is one example of a product configuration scenario.
What is most valuable?
There are many out-of-the-box features available in Conga CPQ compared to other CPQ systems, and we can easily customize the entire CPQ itself using many customizations and APIs that are not available in other systems.
Out-of-the-box APIs are the best features that Conga CPQ offers, as everything can be customizable.
The product bulk loader is a feature that has helped my team significantly. For instance, in other CPQ systems, implementing similar features requires extensive customization. However, with Conga CPQ, using the Add Multi-Prod API, we only need a CSV file with product codes and quantities. We check for any active price list items and prepare a wrapper class to input data to that API, which simplifies creating a cart with products.
Conga CPQ positively impacts my organization with many ongoing projects involving its features. People appreciate its extensive features and the support from the Conga team, who respond immediately to any cases we raise.
What needs improvement?
There are a few manual steps we need to take, such as handling a complex approval process in Conga CPQ. Deploying data from lower organizations to higher environments can be challenging, so Conga should consider improving the deployment of approvals. Additionally, there are maintenance tasks, such as product rule or price rule maintenance, that need automation to prevent errors. Performance issues exist since Conga CPQ cannot load 200 or 250 products on the cart page.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working at Infosys for almost the entire time since I started in my current field.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Conga CPQ is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Conga CPQ can handle a huge amount of data seamlessly, with many organizations utilizing thousands of users.
How are customer service and support?
The customer support is very good, as they respond immediately to any inquiries.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we used Salesforce CPQ and Sales Cloud solutions, which required a lot of customizations that slowed down the system. In contrast, Conga CPQ offers numerous out-of-the-box features, which is why we switched.
How was the initial setup?
Others looking into using Conga CPQ can proceed without issues, but it is important to consider their budget.
What about the implementation team?
We have a separate admin team handling pricing, setup costs, and licensing, but I manage to set up a few products. For pricing, we mainly use Price List Items, and some ERP systems provide pricing for other products when we add them to the cart. We have used Turbo and are currently using the RLP system.
What was our ROI?
If we train the model, it may take some time, but having the AI functionality is definitely going to help many developers.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did not evaluate other options before choosing Conga CPQ and directly chose it.
What other advice do I have?
I find Conga CPQ to be very secure. It is more secure because whenever we encounter an error, we often cannot find information online, and the only resource available for checking errors is the Conga documentation. I rated this review a 7.5 overall.
Excellent Tool with Effective Quoting Features and Incredible Proposal Management
Improved complex pricing and approvals has reduced order errors and accelerated quote cycles
What is our primary use case?
I use Conga CPQ for our e-commerce website related to a medical project to place orders using the cart. My experience primarily involves cart-related functionality, placing orders, creating quotes, and managing negotiations and approvals.
How has it helped my organization?
What is most valuable?
The best features Conga CPQ offers in my experience are quotations and approvals. In Salesforce CPQ, we don't have many out-of-the-box features in approvals and the quotation process, whereas Conga CPQ provides more out-of-the-box objects, allowing us to reduce customizations.
Conga CPQ handles complex pricing structures effectively with most out-of-the-box features, eliminating the need for extensive customizations. When issues arise, we can create cases and receive quick responses.
For complex pricing and orders, if organizations want more efficiency and error tracking, Conga CPQ is a strong choice.
What needs improvement?
After converting to Conga LP revenue life cycle platform, we identified several areas for improvement. We run into more sync issues and data synchronization problems.
After moving to the revenue life cycle platform, changing all the logic from Turbo to the platform has created many issues. While setting up the organization, it takes considerable time to sync all the data.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Conga CPQ for the past four years.
What about the implementation team?
We work with Conga such that when they have a client, they provide a few employees from our company. Our employees and Conga employees work together for that client, which operates similarly to a partner arrangement.
What other advice do I have?
For electrical instruments being sent, we create products and price list items, providing prices at the price list item level. We use search filters to add products based on the customer and provide discounts through Conga CPQ out-of-the-box objects, with any cart customizations handled separately.
We use Conga CPQ for a fast quote process with fast track quotes, enabling quick order placement. The salesperson can review any margin errors regarding discounts before approving the quote. We implement approvals based on the discount amount to prevent unauthorized excessive discounts.
For complex pricing and orders, if organizations want more efficiency and error tracking, Conga CPQ is a strong choice. I rate this review eight out of ten.