SAP CPQ is one of the best sales configuration systems that any business can use to ease the complexity of selling solutions that feature multifaced combinations. Choosing CPQ can streamline and automate the selling process so that you deliver a solution that perfectly matches the requirement of your customers.

SAP CPQ is designed with a purpose that can help users to automate and accelerate the sales cycle. While combining products, there is a possibility that you might have to deal with product combination complexities. Simplify this entire process with the help of robust configuration tools that SAP CPQ provides and give your user the advantage of defining component requirements, analyzing functional specification, combing various solution components, and settling interdependencies.

Why CPQ and CLM could be better together?

Enhanced sales, better customer experience, quick processing of deals and minimised errors, these are a few basics required by a sales team in any big or small business. CPQ is the most trusted and efficient system to deal with sales-related problems and provide quick and accurate quotes to the customers with the help of which error-prone and time-consuming processes of sifting through multiple spreadsheets can be avoided.
Automating the complete sales process, including the contract, is another added advantage when it comes to improving the sales cycle. The pace of business is growing faster than ever and businesses in this situation cannot afford to experience any kind of delay in deal/contract finalization. And here’s when CLM (Contract Lifecycle Management) makes your task easy and provides complete surety to the sales reps so that they do not face any difficulty during the legal steps’ finalization.
There are a lot of companies today that have already realised the importance of Contract Lifecycle Management for the business growth and moreover has understood that it is not just record-keeping system but CLM Software’s combination with CPQ system can be the best choice to get you one step closer to your revenue goals
Here are 5 major reasons that show why SAP CPQ integration with CLM is a good idea for businesses today –

1. Helps in Closing Contracts/Deals faster

The complicated manual process of contract finalization demands the sales team to wrap up the legal formalities which indeed are time-consuming and also carry the risk of losing the deal as the customers can lose patience and step back due to frustration.
While at the same time, the automated process guarantees a smooth and quick deal processing where sales reps have the freedom to:

• Easily create contracts with the help of self-service wizards and templates.
• Import third-party contracts.
• Get the advantage of automated approval escalation.
• Negotiate contracts with the help of pre-approved clause library.
• Get a collaborative workspace that enables real-time tracking of all redlines plus version control

The reason why a CLM solution streamlines and speeds up the contract process is its parallel cloud presence that gives the flexibility of contract reviewing to multiple approvers at the same time.

2. Enhances Sales Experience

The Sales reps, instead of focusing more and more on the selling process, are required to indulge in the manual process of preparing proposals and contracts for customers. This affects the overall sales of the organization and also demotivates the sales team. Using CLM and CPQ together enhances the sales experience by allowing the reps to speed the entire process from the quote to closing the deal with a signed contract. It gives reps a streamlined and easier way to interact with legal teams and the deal desk. They can focus on selling and driving more revenue.

3. Generate for revenue by never missing renewals

The combination of CPQ and CLM is very helpful for the sales reps as through it they can receive email notifications of contract milestones, renewals, expiration dates, etc. well in advance. You will not need any extra process for the renewals as with this combination all the required information remains at the fingertips and can be easily processed whenever the contract is requiring renewal. This facilitates the sales reps to:

• To take action ensuring contracts are renewed correctly
• Follow-ups on upsell suggestions are provided by an AI-enabled CPQ

All this process saves a lot of time and manual efforts which in turn generates more revenue for the business.

4. Boost the overall productivity of your business

Reaching your revenue goals and increasing the productivity of your business is a lot easier with the combination of CPQ and CLM. The SAP CPQ integration with SAP CLM not only simplifies the sales process, but it is also helpful in minimizing the total amount of time that a legal team might take to wrap the entire contract process.
Store all your contracts in a single online repository with the help of which you can have complete visibility and version control to keep a track of each step. You won’t require different applications for different processes like contract creation, negotiation, renewal, etc. and all this can be done with the combination of CPQ and CLM.

5. Offer Better Customer Experience

Deliver optimal customer expertise by providing accurate and quick services with this advanced combination of SAP CPQ and CLM. Avoid any misunderstandings that might occur when working without an automated tool and speed up the entire process by opting for this new online platform. Do not let small manual mistakes and confusions ruin your reputation in front of your valuable customers. When you choose SAP CPQ integration with CLM, you not only choose it for offering the perfect and accurate quote to your customer but also give them the flexibility of being updated with the complete contract processing through this advanced and straightforward integrated system offered by SAP.

Apart from CPQ, CLM can be integrated with –

SAP C4C

The combination of C4C with CLM allows businesses to manage contracts and quote negotiations more efficiently! This happens because a new CLM tab is added to C4C just after the integration is done thus giving the users the privilege of switching between both the applications (CLM and C4C) without having to log in again and again. Other settings such as Contract status check and permissions etc. are configured in CLM just the way it is done in CPQ.

Salesforce

CLM’s integration with Salesforce can help businesses in leveraging CRM data in making informed decisions and managing contract negotiations efficiently. While using this combination, your sales team can easily manage all the related activities through a single dedicated platform thus simplifying the entire workflow for them.

Netsuite

while used along CLM, Netsuite can help users in utilising the guided selling capabilities that are provided by the ERP solution. This integration is also most helpful in streamlining the entire contract management process for the businesses.

DocuSign

CLM and DocuSign integration cut downs the unnecessary costs that you might be spending on printing, scanning, and copying paper documents and enables a completely electronic workflow. This automated system collects information, and sign contracts online with electronic devices like your computer or mobile phone and speeds up the process.

Adobe Sign

Speed up the workflow, manage contracts efficiently, offer clear and full reporting compliance by integrating CLM with Adobe Sign. This combination allows businesses to securely automate workflows and sign contracts online electronic devices like computers, laptop or mobile phones. As an administrator, you can integrate and set up Adobe Sign with CLM and add the e-signature capability by signing an agreement.

How Acuiti Labs can be your best choice for integrating CPQ with CLM?

Acuiti Labs is an UK based SAP Silver partner with expertise in SAP’s latest technologies including Configure Price Quote (CPQ), Cloud for Customer (C4C), Contract Life-cycle Management (CLM), SAP Billing (BRIM), SAP Subscription Billing, and more. We have already deployed several SAP solutions successfully with Global Clientele and have also created a system with the help which you can easily go for SAP CPQ integration with SAP CLM.

Contact us to get more details about how Acuiti Labs can be your best partner in getting CPQ integrated with CLM and making your businesses process a lot more seamless and quicker.

SAP is the new age technology and calling it as one of the most intelligent, yet simplified technology of the last decade couldn’t be wrong! From digitally transforming a lot of businesses to giving them an entirely new face for the customers, SAP has truly been a technology that has changed the business game for many in the past years.

As 2020 is already here, many businesses involved in big data spaces are eager to understand and grab upon the next set of SAP Innovations and latest technology trends that this new year has got in for them. Measures to achieve organisation’s bigger goals, transforming and redefining business strategies to offer significantly better customer experience, and focusing on the latest trends to remain ahead of the competitors are a few points that every business promises to follow while at the starting of a new year. 2020 is no different when it comes to enhancing the business and following the latest tech trends.

Another thing that remains static, is the focus on innovation. These innovations could be in the form of anything like launching a new product, or a solution, or it could also be a service. The businesses that will keep innovation as their primary focus in 2020, will flourish and here is when SAP’s latest tech trends are going to help you!

Role of SAP Innovations to fulfill Customer Demands

Customers are evolving over the period of time and so are their expectations. This has somehow created a virtual world of outgrown competition with which every business is dealing in reality. If you are looking for a solution to solve the most complex business problems and want to bring your company’s vision to life, SAP’s innovative solutions can help you. Many businesses are already taking advantage of SAP’s offerings and had achieved the greatest goals through unique and leading-edge software innovations. In 2020, it’s your turn to collaborate with SAP to provide a unique experience to your customers right from discovery to delivery.

Industries that have been benefited with SAP innovations in 2019:

SAP’s latest tech trends and innovations had already helped many organizations in bringing their vision to life and transformed the way they use to deal with their business problems.

Get Benefited from SAP’s experts who have built over 4000 innovative solutions for more than 1500 clients across the range industries including:

1. Health Care

The American Society of Clinical Oncology is shaping the future of cancer care by providing individualised solution. With the help of big data stored in the cloud, people can easily access it and use it to create personalised evidence-based treatment plans which will further result in better patient care.

2. Agriculture

In agriculture, ‘Stara’ – which is a farm equipment manufacturer is reimagining its ecosystem and fundamentally changing its business models with the exceptional solutions by SAP that are helping to digitally connect ‘the internet of things across people, plants and machines. These innovations are helping the company realise its goals in a better way.

3. Transportation

Trenitalia, a high-speed rail company is using a tailored, dynamic magnets management SAP solution that harnesses the internet of things to analyse censored data from trains in real-time. Now customers enjoy better service and the company is saving 8-10% cost annually

4. Retail

A retailer company, Tata CLiQ launched the first of its kind ‘phygital’ marketplace with SAP Hybris Solution to combine the Physical and Digital world. Now, the customers are enjoying seamless omnichannel shopping experience that is personalized so that they feel special every time they visit or buy from here.

5. Entertainment:

Cirque du Soleil, has revolutionized its fan experience by investing in an interactive mobile app. This app is creating a more impressive fan experience.

Make your innovations real with SAP innovative solutions. Now, it is your turn to best utilize these and let your business bloom in 2020. Bring your concepts to life with high value, individualised solutions built by SAP experts.

SAP Tech Trends and Predictions for 2020

1. Big Data

Big Data is the huge collaborated data that we deal with almost every day in our lives. This data keeps flowing and moving from one computer to another computer or devices like mobile or machine sensors. With the use of the right big data tools, your organization can easily manage, store, and analyse this data and get valuable insights that were earlier impossible to imagine.

Big Data can play a vital role in transforming the decision-making ability of you your business with the help of technologies like in-memory data management, analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning. Big data solutions for SAP can easily manage your various data landscape – across data warehouses, data lakes, and databases – with perfect to use on-premise and Big Data cloud solutions.

With the use of SAP HANA, you can easily transform the way you deal with the business challenges and get the responsiveness and processing power to make the most out of new opportunities.

2. Machine Learning

Machine learning is a smart technology that educates the computers to perform tasks in a desired way through learning from data – instead of getting it done to explicit programming.

Through the collaboration done with top universities in the world, SAP is all set to explore the more futuristic choices of machine learning and expand the technology for businesses. This collaboration will help SAP in focusing on a lot of different machine learning research topics and work on resolving open AI challenges in various industries.

3. Cloud Computing

Cloud computing can be simply defined as the process of delivering the applications, platforms, data storage, operating systems, and other computing resources over the Internet instead of doing it over on-premise infrastructure.

Businesses like yours can be benefited by choosing the cloud solution as by doing so you don’t need to make direct investments in hardware or IT staff, but get a subscription to the computing resource based on your requirement and pay the amount only for what you use.

These are three main SAP innovations cloud deployment options from which you can choose the best fit for your business requirement – public, private, or hybrid cloud. SAP promises to provide the most secure cloud platform that is maintained with the highest quality standards so that your data is safest.

4. The Internet of Things

The Internet of Things can be defined as a network of physical objects like vehicles, objects, machines, home appliances etc. that use sensors & APIs to connect and exchange data over the Internet.

5. Blockchain

Unlock the potential to revolutionize the way your business currently operates with Blockchain technology. Blockchain is based on distributed ledger technology, which securely records information across a peer-to-peer network. Join SAP Blockchain group and stay ahead of the competition. Easy communicating and networking with peers, staying updated with the latest industry trends and knowledge from speakers and SAP experts are a few best advantages that any business will be able to take while using Blockchain.

6. Digital Transformation

A fundamental rethinking of customer experience, business models, and operations is what digital transformation is all about. Any business that chooses digital transformation automatically chooses new ways to deliver value to the customers, generate better revenue, and improve efficiency.

Now or later, every business will eventually have to opt for digital transformation. A few businesses are under pressure to go for digital transformation and built a strong clientele, while there are others that are looking forward to it and moving ahead with slowly. Are you among those businesses that need to be transformed digitally in 2020?

Customer Satisfaction remains the primary goal for businesses in 2020 too –

Just like 2019, 2020 will also be a year for businesses that will keep their primary focus on Customer Satisfaction. The market will be dominated by the businesses that will understand the customer requirements better than ever before and offer them exactly what they need, even before they know they need that.

Innovation and success of your business success go hand in hand and thus SAP innovations are going to play a vital role in defining the success rate of business growth in 2020.

Contract activity is an essential business aspect that requires proper management during the complete cycle. SAP Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) service is a practical and systematic way to manage the entire contract lifecycle right from initial stage, through award, agreement and renewal (if required). A few advantages of using CLM for your business includes simplifying sourcing and procurement processes, accelerate compliance with negotiated terms, and enhance competitive advantage.
Below listed are a few reasons why businesses find it difficult to manage contracts –

• Contracts management take significant time to copy, file and store which businesses fail to give and thus the process becomes difficult for them.
• There’s no streamlined process to keep a track of price and payments which creates revenue loopholes.
• Lot of time consumption in approval process from various ends can put a wrong impression on the customers and can also make you less valuable in their eyes
• If working without a proper CLM software, split management can result in incorrect and incomplete information or even overlook policy compliance

Choosing SAP CLM can be very helpful in overcoming all the problems that you might face and can also be helpful in improving cost savings and efficiency of your business. Having proper understanding and automating CLM minimises organisational liability and increases compliance with legal requirements.

Benefits of Using CLM (contract lifecycle management) for your business

Here are certain ways through which you can understand the use of automation software and how it can benefit your business with contract lifecycle management (CLM):

1. Standardized and managed process right from start to end

You need to first properly understand how the complete process of customer lifecycle management works. We can take an example of following steps that a CLM could involve:

• The first step is ‘generating a quote’ with the help of CRM (Customer Relationship Management system) that you might be using.
• Next, you will be sending over an e-sign document to bind the contract.
• Further, you might have to carry out the operation of making the sale and supplying the product
• Once all this is done, you will store your contract in a database
• And at the last, you will book the contract using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and keep track of your contracts from there.

CLM, instead streamlines all contracts based on the business’s operations thus helping you in managing multiple applications like separate CRM and ERP software from the same place. By doing this, you will be able to manage all steps of all contracts in one single program, where the collaborating with your partner or client becomes faster and you can also easily manage and track different tasks.

CLM minimises your chances of missing any deadlines and also provides access to required information from any part of the process just with a few clicks.

2. Minimises the requirement and dependency of manual tasks

Contract Lifecycle management is the new generation, smart software with the capability to deal with contract’s front end and back end experience without any requirement of creating custom code. The standard businesses today use a dedicated CRM software for customer relations, and an ERP software for doing the booking. However, they carry out the steps in between manually.

CLM is the best solution to automate the complete manual process and streamline it in the following ways:

• An auto-generated contract sent to the customer to sign based on the quote that has been selected
• Approval and renewal notifications are sent to the appropriate people and applications in charge of moving the contract along once the task is complete
• Contract is automatically updated and stored in the database once it has been signed by the customer.

When you choose to use CLM, you make sure that you are not missing any important steps in your contract’s lifecycle with the freedom of running through the complete sales process without worrying about completing and focusing on manual tasks.

3. Automate everything between and after first and last step of the contract

The above two steps clearly signify how CLM can imitate the contract procedure and manage it smartly for you. Though, these steps are covering up the entire process of managing a contract, there are many businesses that need to be smart enough while taking care of a few little details that they might come across before and after the first and the last step of the contract.

This can be better explained with the help of an example in which, when you are sending a quote to you customer, then first you will have to go through your business’s pricing module to understand it and find out in which category your customer’s profile fits perfectly. You will also look for the discounts that your customer might be eligible for. Similarly, while finishing up the contract, there are some formalities that you might need to finish.

Once you choose CLM software for this, it will automatically take care of the all the details that require attention right before you start the contract and after the deal is done. Irrespective of what platform these details function in, CLM software can easily access them from anywhere. For example, if after the booking is done and contract is signed and now you need to activate a special benefit plan, CLM does it for you automatically.

4. Streamlined Process of Personalizing Contracts

When it is about details, we have to understand that contracts are the strong connection that two parties share with each other and it should be feasible enough for both the parties to remain updated and navigate through it. A streamlined process to personalize contracts assure that the both you and your customer have accurate and up-to-date info and neither you nor your customer is wasting time during negotiations.

Once you start using CLM, it takes all the responsibility of creating and managing numerous drafts of your contract. It accesses and edit the necessary information whenever you need. Contract Lifecycle management software along with easy tracking options also offers advantages like:

Transparency : When using CLM, you don’t have to worry about where and by whom the contract has been drafted. The details of the contract will always remain easy to track so there is no pressure on manager of going back and forth to manage the contract.

Effectiveness : Using CLM increases the efficiency as you and your customer will get alert notification about the latest drafts that are being used so that both the parties are not wasting time on the incorrect draft.

Accuracy : Stay more accurate as any manual or automatic change is always is being tracked, documented and automatically stored along with all the previous version.

5. Measure and stay updated about the Success of your contract

SAP CLM that you can use for the Contract Lifecycle management of your business comes with an analytics tool which will help you in having a 360-degree view of your success. It is very important to keep a track of how your contract is moving and how is the progress and this can be easily done with the help of SAP CLM Software. Here are a few ways how CLM software with the help of already installed analytical tool can help you in managing and tracking the whole process of contract signing or renewing:

• The software can easily find out steps in the process that are taking too long for the approval and get them wrapped up quickly.
• You can also check for step that require permanent changes in a pricing model.
• You can also remain updated about any change that customer might want to make in the e-sign document that needs your attention.

The CLM software keeps you ahead in the race so that there is no delay from your end when it comes to signing the agreements of making very important changes in contract’s lifecycle early on. This makes it easy to verify whether or not that particular contract is helping your business to reach the planned goal. By this it will be easy for you to determine if there is any serious change that you have to make in the process or even you have to continue working on the project. This is very helpful at the time when your business is dealing with a large number of complicated contracts.

Reasons to Implement Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) Software for your Business

1. Saves money and Time : When you choose good CLM, there are less chances that your business will have to deal with issues like penalties for non-compliance, missing important opportunities from special terms and rebates, missed payments or other payment errors, incurring fees and other penalties. This all is handled in the right manner because of good contract administration thus saving a lot of money and valuable time for you. CLM helps in simplifying processes in the contract administration and thus saves a lot of time and cost.

2. Prevent any legal process from contract non-compliance : There are many contracts that deal with a major of compliance. If contractual commitments remain incomplete, the potential for a legal action can be higher. A good CLM software prevents you from any such situation.

3. Deliver best to your customers : Being a business, what else would you need than fulfilling and exceeding your customer demands and expectations. This is only possible through a planned contract performance that can enhance any organization’s value and lead to better customer relationship.

4. Justifies the difference between the functionalities of contract managers contract administrators : The Contract managers and contracts administrators are different and are assigned to do different tasks. CLM software helps in letting them do their tasks the best, thus saving time and it also avoids any confusion that might occur.

How Acuiti Labs can help?

From contract drafting, it’s management, to its completion, SAP CLM software that we provide at Acuiti Labs is capable of supporting businesses to simplify their entire process of Contract Lifecycle. So, choose SAP CLM (Contract Lifecycle Management) for your business today and see how it plays an important role in closing deals faster and growing your business. Contact us for more details about CLM and Acuiti Labs.