New reports from Gartner, Forrester, and IDC are highlighting key trends shaping the future of Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) solutions. Eric Carrasquilla, CEO at Vendavo, explores long-term deal negotiation, AI-driven pricing, omnichannel sales, and cloud-based architectures – and why selecting the right CPQ solution is more critical than ever.
The recent release of comprehensive CPQ market reports from Gartner, Forrester, and IDC shows there has never been a better time to reassess your Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) solutions. These reports provide valuable insights into key trends, buyer considerations, and the growing strategic importance of CPQ for B2B manufacturers and distributors.
The guidance from these reports serves as an essential roadmap as businesses seek to modernize their sales processes and maximize profitability. Let’s take a look at the key takeaways and what they mean for companies navigating complex B2B sales.
Key Trends Shaping the CPQ Market
1. Long-term deal negotiation capabilities are a critical differentiator
Gartner’s Critical Capabilities report points out that most CPQ solutions provide limited support for managing long-term agreements, contracts, and complex subscription models. I see long-term deal negotiation as a business imperative. The ability to efficiently structure, manage, and optimize these agreements is critical to maintaining customer relationships and ensuring predictable revenue in an increasingly volatile market. Being able to negotiate and manage long-term deals effectively is becoming more than a “nice to have” for B2B businesses.
Impact on B2B manufacturers and distributors: Long-term deal negotiation capabilities are essential for companies selling high-value, long-cycle products and services. These features enable businesses to:
- Secure predictable revenue streams: Multi-year agreements create financial stability and reduce the risk of revenue fluctuations.
- Streamline contract amendments and renewals: Automating contract adjustments, extensions, and modifications reduces administrative burden and speeds up sales cycles.
- Optimize pricing over the contract lifecycle: Dynamic pricing adjustments ensure that agreements remain competitive and profitable in response to market changes.
- Improve customer relationships and retention: Businesses can increase customer satisfaction and reduce churn by offering flexible, tailored agreements.
Investing in a CPQ solution that prioritizes long-term deal negotiation helps manufacturers and distributors build stronger, more profitable customer relationships while driving operational efficiency.
2. CPQ is evolving into an omnichannel selling engine
According to Gartner, leading CPQ solutions now extend beyond direct sales to support reseller channels, self-service digital commerce, and API-driven integrations into broader ecosystems. From my perspective, businesses that fail to embrace omnichannel CPQ capabilities will struggle to meet modern buyer expectations. Customers demand frictionless, seamless experiences across all sales touchpoints, and companies that invest in enabling true omnichannel sales will gain a sustained competitive advantage. Seamless, productized support for omnichannel sales remains rare, but buyers are demanding solutions that enable end-to-end sales motions across all touchpoints.
Impact on B2B manufacturers and distributors: Manufacturers and distributors must ensure their CPQ investments align with the shift to omnichannel sales. Buyers expect self-service options, guided selling, and seamless transitions between sales channels. A CPQ solution that enables consistent pricing, configurations, and approvals across all routes to market is a necessity.
3. AI and machine learning are transforming pricing and quoting
IDC highlights AI-powered price optimization as a key differentiator in modern CPQ solutions. AI is a necessity here, not a luxury. As Vendavo customers can attest, companies leveraging AI-driven pricing and automation see tangible, measurable improvements in profitability, deal velocity, and sales efficiency. AI enables precision in discounting strategies and helps sales teams focus on the most valuable opportunities. AI-driven CPQ can improve pricing accuracy, recommend optimal discounting strategies, and accelerate quote generation by reducing manual intervention.
Impact on B2B manufacturers and distributors: Companies that rely on cost-plus pricing or static discount structures risk losing competitive ground. AI-driven CPQ helps optimize margins dynamically, ensuring competitive yet profitable pricing strategies that adjust in real-time based on customer and market data.
4. The move to modular, cloud-based architectures
Forrester and IDC both emphasize the growing demand for modular, microservices-based CPQ solutions that offer greater flexibility and scalability. In my view, businesses locked into rigid, monolithic CPQ systems will find themselves at a severe disadvantage. That’s because the future is all about agility.
Adopting a cloud-native, composable architecture ensures that companies can adapt to shifting market dynamics and evolving customer needs without costly overhauls. Enterprises are increasingly moving away from huge, on-premise systems in favor of cloud-based solutions that integrate easily with their existing ERP, CRM, and ecommerce platforms.
Impact on B2B manufacturers and distributors: Outdated CPQ systems hinder agility. Businesses should prioritize solutions that support a composable architecture, allowing for easy updates, integrations, and enhancements as their needs evolve and their business scales.
What Buyers Should Look for in a CPQ Solution
According to analysts, companies evaluating CPQ solutions should focus on:
- AI-driven pricing and automation: IDC stresses the importance of AI in optimizing pricing and accelerating approvals, but buyers should be cautious of AI models that lack interpretability. Unclear pricing recommendations can lead to lost deals or margin erosion. Solutions (like Vendavo Intelligent CPQ) that prioritize explainability and control empower businesses with data-driven confidence.
- Scalability and integration: Forrester recommends assessing CPQ’s ability to integrate with CRM, ERP, and ecommerce platforms.
- End-user adoption and usability: The best CPQ solution is one that sellers and partners will actually use. Gartner advises checking click-to-click response times and ease of use in live demos.
- Support for self-service and omnichannel sales: Buyers should ensure CPQ enables a consistent experience across direct sales, resellers, and e-commerce.
How Vendavo Aligns with These Trends
Vendavo’s solutions align closely with these analyst insights, making them well-suited for B2B manufacturers and distributors looking to modernize their CPQ capabilities with:
- Advanced long-term deal negotiation capabilities: Vendavo enables businesses to manage complex agreements, ensuring flexible and profitable long-term contracts. Native tiered pricing and automated amendment capabilities help businesses proactively adjust terms, pricing, and conditions, reducing manual effort and improving deal execution efficiency.
- AI-powered pricing and quoting: Vendavo leverages AI to optimize pricing, helping businesses maximize margins while remaining competitive. Unlike opaque, black-box AI models that obscure decision-making, Vendavo’s AI provides full transparency into pricing logic so sales teams and executives maintain control over margin strategies and compliance requirements. Machine learning-driven price optimization and dynamic pricing strategies mean businesses can respond to market shifts in real time, enhancing sales velocity and margin control.
- Strong omnichannel capabilities: Vendavo supports direct sales, partner channels, and self-service digital commerce, ensuring consistency across all sales motions. API-driven integrations and a seamless user experience across digital and in-person channels help Vendavo empower businesses to provide consistent quoting and pricing across all customer touchpoints.
- Cloud-based, composable architecture: Vendavo is built for flexibility and integrates seamlessly with ERP, CRM, and ecommerce platforms. Its modular, microservices-based structure allows businesses to scale their CPQ capabilities as needed, minimizing disruption while maintaining enterprise agility.
The Bottom Line
The CPQ market is evolving rapidly, with AI, omnichannel capabilities, and long-term deal negotiation emerging as must-haves. B2B manufacturers and distributors must select solutions that align with these trends to enhance sales efficiency, improve pricing precision, and enable seamless customer experiences.
More importantly, these businesses must ensure that AI-driven pricing solutions provide clear, interpretable, and controllable insights — rather than relying on “black box” algorithms that make pricing decisions without human oversight.
Analysts emphasize that organizations should look beyond incumbent CRM and ERP providers to evaluate best-of-breed CPQ solutions. As the industry continues to shift, Vendavo remains well-equipped to help businesses navigate these changes and drive profitable growth.
The key takeaway for B2B organizations is clear: investing in the right CPQ solution goes beyond automating quotes. It’s about future-proofing sales strategies in an increasingly digital, AI-driven world.
Reach out to speak with a Vendavo expert about your CPQ needs today.