The document discusses how CPQ solutions are integral to the future of smart manufacturing. It describes how technological advancements like the Internet of Things, robotics, and artificial intelligence are powering the new industrial revolution. CPQ solutions allow manufacturers to efficiently handle complex product configurations, leverage AI to offer optimal solutions for customers, and automate documentation. The document argues that CPQ solutions help manufacturers address trends toward customized, complex products and guide them toward success by reducing errors, shortening sales cycles, and optimizing configurations through artificial intelligence capabilities.

1. The Future of Manufacturing:
CPQ Solutions Are Integral to
Smart Manufacturing
The “new” industrial revolution we’re experiencing now, commonly referred to as Industry 4.0 or “smart
manufacturing” is powered by advancements that include robotics, artificial intelligence and the Internet
of Things (IoT). According to the latest industry reports, manufacturers are expected to invest more than
$267 billion U.S. dollars in the IoT by year 2020.
With these technological advancements, new tools are allowing companies to simulate the product-
creation process in which highly complex products can be configured and 3D models can be shown
before an actual product is created. As a result, manufacturers can increase their efficiency and automate
their workflow more seamlessly.
The Current State of the U.S. Manufacturing Industry
There is a widespread belief that manufacturing in the U.S. is disappearing because the country no
longer makes things. This is merely speculation, and data from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics proves
it wrong; in fact, the real manufacturing output has risen by 75% in the past 25 years. Not only that,
according to Manufacturing Institute, the manufacturing industry in North America is valued at more
than $2.18 trillion USD.
What is actually happening is that manufacturing’s role is changing in the U.S. Manufacturing is starting
to promote innovation, productivity, and trade more than growth and employment. In the U.S., more
than half of all employees work in service roles, such as R&D, engineering and others. Furthermore,
the International Federation of Robotics forecasts that by 2019, we will see close to 2.5 million units of
industrial robots, which is more than double the number from 2010. While these robots can handle some
of the routine tasks, customers are asking for more variations and require after-sales services. Due to the
rising innovations in materials and processes including 3D printing, advanced robotics and IoT, there is
fresh demand and customers also expect higher productivity from their manufacturers.

2. Moving From Transactional to More
Collaborative Relationships
Customers are increasingly becoming more
actively involved in the process and see their
manufacturers as partners rather than vendors. It
is no longer a one-way transactional relationship
but rather a partnership.
“You need to put your customers at the center of
your business. When it comes to manufacturing,
typically before it was geared towards mass
production, cost control, mainly focused on internal
efficiencies, but now and moving forward, it’s about
customer profitability. Remove the barriers and
put the customers front and center,” according to
Tacton’s Chief Product Offer, Nils Olsson.
Total Integration with IoT + Artificial
Intelligence
We are starting to see a shift towards more
automated facilities, allowing for more
customization and flexibility for each account as
the changes and updates come up in real time.
This type of “configurable” facility represents
decentralized components that can and will
network with one another rather than having one
centralized control system. Even as the equipments
in these manufacturing facilities incorporate smart
devices and AI, they will still need people to design,
program and service them. In fact, IoT drives the
demand for complex products and manufacturers
need to ensure all the complex requirements are
handled accurately from start to finish, which is
exactly what CPQ solutions are suited to do. CPQ
solutions allow manufacturers to handle complex
configurations and leverage artificial intelligence to
offer optimal solutions that satisfy their customers.
Rapid Growth of 3D Printing
According to Computerworld, the size of the 3D
printing industry could possibly triple in the next
few years, growing to $21 billion USD in revenue,
and some experts, from a recent report from
Wohlers Associates, claim that it could one day
become more than a $600+ billion market.
3D printing has allowed for manufacturers to easily
create a prototype or rendering of highly complex
and customized products they are building for
their customers that they can show early in the
process of production to avoid errors. Again, this
drives more demand for complex, customized
products, and manufacturers can manage these
complexities with CPQ system. Design automation
capabilities allow for 3D models and renderings
to be produced and manufacturers can show
exactly what the end products will look like to avoid
potential errors in the process.
Mass Production and Customization
Mass customization emerged in the 1990s
as a solution and a bridge between mass
production and customization. The efficiency
associated with mass production is merged with
the personalization that goes into customized
products. With many technological advancements
today, mass production is well on its way to
change the future of manufacturing. It is now
possible to create small products tailored to meet
specific needs without incurring massive costs
as would have been the case before. There is
growing interaction with customers and super
configurability of the products that suit their
requirements perfectly. With the rise of “Smart
Industry” in the U.S., what you are producing is
produced once and highly customized, but it goes
through your factory as if you were doing mass
production. CPQ solutions allow for manufacturers
to produce highly complex, customized products,
but the process of producing and selling such
products becomes easier with CPQ solutions.
What future trends can
we expect to see?
$600+ BillionThat’s the potential growth of the 3D printing
industry from a report by Wohlers Associates.

3. For more information about CPQ systems, visit Technicon CPQ on www.technicon.com
Preparing for the Future of
Manufacturing with CPQ
CPQ solutions are a key component of a long-term strategy for
manufacturers to address the trend towards real-time, AI-based access to
complex products and can guide manufacturers towards exponential growth.
The Configure Price Quote industry is estimated to be more than $157M USD
and is likely to see a 20% increase by 2020, bringing that estimate closer to
$190M USD, according to Forbes.
How Do CPQ Solutions Guide Manufacturers to Success?
Reduce work errors and shorten sales cycles, leading to greater efficiency: CPQ solutions can
reduce time-to-quote from weeks to same day all the while providing 100% accuracy between customer
requirements and the final delivery. For instance, leading CPQ software provider such as Technicon CPQ
states that it has helped manufacturers shorten the sales cycle and cut sales support costs by more
than half while reducing order errors up to 80%. CPQ solutions also speed up the quotation process
dramatically and eliminate the manual tasks of gathering information and tailoring the proposal.
Guided selling: Guided selling helps your sales team lead customers to the right decision, based on
their specific needs and the factors that matter to them. A sales rep can directly address each customer’s
requirements and present the most appropriate solution and that’s also where CPQ solutions help
immensely. There is no need to walk through and configure the product feature by feature – just plug in
the customer’s specific needs, in any sequence. Anything that isn’t of importance can be skipped entirely.
The best configurator will fill in the blanks and propose the best overall solution for the objectives that
the customer wants to achieve. As a result, you provide a compelling customer experience.
Design automation + document generation: Once the product is specified, the CPQ solutions
automatically generate the quote and any supporting documents needed – including technical
summaries, 3D visualizations, price lists, user manuals and even bills of materials. You can control
the layout, design and branding of quotes and work with tools that are familiar to your team, such
as Microsoft Word and Excel. With multiple language and currency support, you can also produce
documents in any preloaded language and currency you require.
Optimization and total system configuration using AI: Manufacturers can specify products,
assemblies and systems with assemblies of assemblies and the automatic optimization finds the right
optimal solution using AI capabilities, not just what’s valid. Tacton CPQ is uniquely positioned in this area.
In sum, CPQ solutions help manufacturers of complex products navigate the business
challenges of today and help them prepare for the future as they face growing
technological disruptions in the industry.