CPaaS | Configuration & Pricing as a Service (a registered trademark of FPX, LLC). CPaaS enables cloud developers to
build custom applications that integrate with FPX’s world class, multi-tenant configuration engine. |
CPQ | Configure-Price-Quote (a registered trademark of FPX, LLC). |
CRM Mode | CPQ OnDemand is typically accessed through a CRM application. Users may access CPQ OnDemand through custom links created within the CRM application. Each user can only access data associated with the user name and the user’s organization. Data for each organization is stored in a separate database. |
CRM Plug-In | CPQ OnDemand uses plug-ins to retrieve Opportunity, Account, Contact and User data from an integrated CRM application. The plug-in requires a one-time data mapping by the designated administrator using CPQ OnDemand Setup. |
Direct Mode | CPQ OnDemand can be accessed directly through the CPQ OnDemand login page or other portal. |
Distribution Channel | Alternative sales channel to the direct sales model - a channel to create additional revenue for a company or group of companies.
May be used exclusively or in addition to the direct sales process. Typically the distributor has a specific market focus or value
that enhances the ability to sell the product to end users. See also Partners. |
CPQ OnDemand | FPX's flagship SaaS application used by thousands of salespeople to configure, price and quote products and services. The application generates an accurate customer proposal in real-time. |
CPQ OnDemand Offline Edition | The FPX application that users run locally on a business-class computer with a periodic Internet connection for the purpose of downloading data updates and uploading work. |
CPQ OnDemand Setup | Allows designated system administrators to specify many settings for their CPQ OnDemand sales system implementation. |
CPQ OnDemand Web Services API | Provides programmatic access to an organization's CPQ OnDemand information using a simple, powerful and secure application programming interface (API). |
Implementation | The process of importing and organizing product, pricing and workflow data, creating proposal templates and
setting up integration to enable CPQ OnDemand. |
Integration | Techniques used to exchange data and functions among applications. FPX applications integrate with other applications through the use of
plug-ins, connectors, APIs and data import/export processes. FPX has decades of experience in this area. |
Multi-Tenant | A single instance of the application runs on a group of servers, providing service to multiple organizations (tenants).
Benefits include a lower cost of operation, better efficiency, and the ability to update all tenants to a new version of the
application simultaneously. |
Partners | A means of distributing products and services through intermediaries such as retailers or dealers.
FPX's CPQ OnDemand supports sales partner users. |
Product Configuration | The process of selecting a product, sub-products and options. Product configuration applications typically validate the selections to ensure all selected items are compatible. Advanced applications are able to perform this validation in real time and also calculate the correct pricing every time a change is made to the product configuration. |
Product Configuration Data | All of the product and option descriptions, business rules (compatibility, availability, discounting, etc.), pricing calculations, messages and images used in the product configuration process. |
Product Configurator | An application used for product configuration. The advent of product configuration applications in the 1980s dramatically reduced the time it takes to complete the sales cycle because salespeople were empowered with all the data needed to properly specify products, even highly complex products. CPQ OnDemand uses FPX’s powerful configuration engine to generate error-free configurations. The engine relies on a configuration database (created with FPX's Product Data Manager) that includes business rules. These rules represent the knowledge of a company’s engineers, legal staff, product specialists, and marketing experts. |
Product Data Manager (PDM) | A configuration engine is only as good as the database behind it. FPX’s Product Data Manager (PDM) allows an organization to
assemble all of its product and pricing information into a compact data set. Business rules are expressed using simple syntax developed by
FPX. The PDM was designed for use by product experts – not programmers. The PDM easily supports multi-language and multi-currency
applications – a necessity for most global organizations. |
Production Environment | The applications and systems, and supporting systems infrastructure, that provide the "live" CPQ OnDemand service. |
Proposal | One key to quickly closing a sale is the ability to present proposed products to customers in an easy to understand format.
CPQ OnDemand generates proposals that present detailed information, even pricing down to the option level if desired, in an attractive format.
Users can select the pages to include in the proposal, and even the order in which the pages appear. |
Quality Assurance | The process of testing code to ensure it functions as intended. This process identifies defects that then are queued back into the
development cycle. A new version of any FPX application is not released or installed on the production environment until FPX's
Quality Assurance department has certified it. |
Quoting Application | An application used to generate product/services pricing for a prospect so that a purchase decision can be made. Users can prepare several quotes to allow their customers to choose from a variety of options. For example, they may want to prepare quotes with slightly varying configurations, or varying discounts based on what options are selected. CPQ OnDemand is known for its ability to generate "Perfect Quotes" for complex products. CPQ OnDemand is used to generate thousands of quotes every month in multiple languages and currencies representing billions of dollars in configured products. |
Sandbox Environment | The applications and systems, and supporting systems infrastructure, that provide the "testing" CPQ OnDemand service. The sandbox environment allows
FPX customers to test pending data updates and also get an advanced look at upcoming CPQ OnDemand enhancements. |
Subscription | A license for a user to access the CPQ OnDemand application. FPX typically prices its CPQ OnDemand product on a monthly per-user subscription. |
Workflow | Many organizations have an approval process that occurs before salespeople can offer quotes and discounts to their customers.
This process ensures that business rules associated with quote approvals and discount thresholds are adhered to. CPQ OnDemand Workflow
automates approval process notification and tracking resulting in a faster response to customers while still adhering to business rules. |