Salesforce CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) offers a robust solution for complex product configuration and pricing, providing technical architects with compelling reasons to choose it over custom development. From its native integration with Salesforce core objects to advanced features like product configuration and complex pricing, CPQ addresses critical enterprise needs while reducing technical complexity and maintenance overhead. However earlier this year Salesforce launched Revenue LifeCycle Management.

In this post, I would share my perspective, however before that, lets recap CPQ (Steelbrick) basics last time.

Salesforce CPQ

Core CPQ Objects

• Account
• Opportunity
• Product
• Pricebook
• Pricebook Entry
• Quote (Package)
• Quote Line (Package)
• Opportunity Product

Additional objects that play crucial roles in CPQ functionality include:

• Custom Action: Used to perform specific actions on Quotes in the Quote Line Editor (QLE).
• Custom Action Condition: Defines conditions for when Custom Actions should be executed.
• Search Filter: Helps narrow down product selection based on specific criteria.
• Product Bundle: Represents a group of related products sold together.
• Product Feature: Defines characteristics or components of a Product Bundle.
• Product Option: Represents individual items within a Product Bundle that can be selected or configured.
• Configuration Attribute: Allows for customization of products with specific characteristics.
• Product Rule: Enforces business logic for product selection and configuration.

Detail objects information can be found here.

Product Bundles and Attributes

Product Bundles and Configuration Attributes are key features in Salesforce CPQ that enable businesses to create complex product offerings and customize them to meet specific customer needs. Here’s an overview of these important concepts:

Product Bundles:

• Product Bundles are group of related products sold together as a package
• Three types of bundles in Salesforce CPQ:
  1. Static Bundle: Pre-packaged, fixed bundle with no customization allowed
  2. Configurable Bundle: Allows customers to select or modify components
  3. Nested Bundle: A bundle that contains other bundles
• Benefits include simplified quoting process and increased cross-selling opportunities

Configuration Attributes:

• Allow for customization of products with specific characteristics
• Can be auto-mapped to Quote Lines for efficient data transfer
• Two types:
  1. Configuration Attributes: Related to a single bundle
  2. Global Attributes: Can be associated with multiple products

Product Rules:

• Enforce business logic for product selection and configuration
• Can be used to:
  • Select or deselect products
  • Hide or show options
  • Validate user selections in the Quote Line Editor

By leveraging Product Bundles and Configuration Attributes, sales teams can create tailored solutions that meet complex customer requirements while maintaining pricing accuracy and streamlining the quoting process.

Twin Fields and Supported Objects

Salesforce CPQ provides out-of-the-box support for Twin Fields and auto-mapping between specific objects, enhancing data consistency and streamlining the quoting process. This feature is particularly useful for maintaining data integrity across related objects without the need for custom code or additional automation. Below are some of major and commonly used Twin fields, for full list visit Salesforce CPQ documentation.

Source Object	Target Object	Auto-Mapping Direction
Product	Quote Line	One-way (Product → Quote Line)
Opportunity	Quote	One-way (Opportunity → Quote)
Account	Quote	One-way (Account → Quote)
Configuration Attribute	Quote Line	One-way (Configuration Attribute → Quote Line)
Product Option	Quote Line	One-way (Product Option → Quote Line)

MDQ – Multi-Dimensional Quoting

Multi-Dimensional Quoting (MDQ) in Salesforce CPQ is a powerful feature that allows sales teams to create complex, segmented quotes for subscription-based products. MDQ enables the breakdown of a single product into multiple time-based segments, each with independent pricing, quantities, and discounts.

Key aspects of MDQ include:

• Segmentation: Products can be divided into monthly, quarterly, or yearly segments, with custom periods also possible.
• Independent pricing: Each segment can have its own pricing structure, allowing for introductory rates or yearly increases.
• Flexible quantities: Sales reps can adjust quantities for individual segments, accommodating scenarios like ramped user adoption.
• Granular discounting: Discounts can be applied to specific segments rather than the entire subscription.
• Quote line representation: Each MDQ segment appears as a separate quote line, providing detailed visibility and reporting capabilities.

MDQ is particularly useful for businesses offering complex subscription models, enabling them to create more accurate and tailored quotes for their customers. However, it’s important to note that MDQ products cannot be bundles themselves, though they can be part of a larger bundle

From the Lens of CTA or Technical Architect

Why should I bring CPQ in my solution if its just some product combination and bundle selling ? Can be done with LWC or Flow or Claude with some good prompts to write code for me ?

Salesforce CPQ offers numerous technical advantages that make it an attractive solution for businesses seeking to streamline their quoting processes.

Here’s a list of key technical benefits:

• Native Salesforce Integration: As a native Salesforce application (AppExchange), CPQ seamlessly integrates with existing Salesforce data and processes, reducing implementation complexity and maintenance overhead.
• Scalability: CPQ is designed to handle complex product catalogs and high-volume quoting, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes and industries.
• Customization and Extensibility:
  • Custom Fields: Easily add custom fields to CPQ objects to capture unique business requirements.
  • Apex Triggers: Leverage Apex to create custom logic and automations.
  • All other platform capabilities like Flows, LWC etc can be leveraged
• Advanced Pricing Capabilities:
  • Tiered and volume-based pricing models.
  • Contract-based pricing.
• Automated Calculations:
  • Real-time quote calculations reduce errors and improve quote accuracy.
  • Complex pricing rules and discounting logic can be implemented without custom code.
• Performance Optimization:
  • Large data volume (LDV) considerations built into the product architecture.
  • Efficient querying and data retrieval mechanisms for faster quote generation.
• Security and Compliance:
  • Inherits Salesforce’s robust security model, including field-level security and sharing rules.
  • Supports compliance with various industry standards due to Salesforce’s certifications.
• API Access:
  • Out of box and CPQ specific RESTful APIs allow for integration with external systems and custom applications.
• Reporting and Analytics:
  • Built-in reporting capabilities leverage Salesforce’s powerful analytics tools like Salesforce reports or CRMA.

These technical advantages contribute to reduced development time, lower maintenance costs, and improved system reliability compared to custom-built quoting solutions. The platform’s flexibility and robust feature set enable businesses to adapt quickly to changing market conditions and scale their quoting processes efficiently.

Most common errors faced by customer in CPQ

However, as we all know from experience , what we see in documentation is not always true at customer side because of many other reason and decisions implementation partners or client makes.

Here’s a list of the most common errors customers face when using CPQ, along with their causes and potential solutions:

1. Apex Heap Size Limit Exceeded:
   • Salesforce enforces an Apex Heap Size Limit of 6 MB for synchronous transactions and 12 MB for asynchronous transactions
2. Performance Issues with Quote Line Editor:
   • Slow loading and saving of products, even with a small number of items.
3. Over-Complicated Configuration:
   • Excessive customization leading to time-consuming setups and maintenance.
4. Data Inconsistencies:
   • Cause: Using irrelevant or incorrect data in CPQ processes especially if Product MDM is not in Salesforce. Its not just simple integration that sync products from SAP to Salesforce. It has to be well thought through and planned.
5. Constraint Rule Evaluation Errors:
   • Incorrect setup of product rules and constraints.
6. Quote Generation Failures:
   • Complex pricing calculations or large volume of quote lines. CPQ being complex there are processes to create quote, calculate price, create order, subscriptions etc. There are many places where silent error is killing business trust on systems
7. User Adoption Challenges:
   • Insufficient training or overly complex price configurations and their handshake with external systems like enablement or fulfillment.

Revenue Life Cycle Management (RLM)

CPQ and RLM Evolution

The future of Salesforce CPQ is evolving with the introduction of Revenue Lifecycle Management (RLM), which represents a significant shift in how businesses manage their sales and revenue processes. While CPQ remains a crucial component, RLM is poised to expand and enhance its capabilities, offering a more comprehensive approach to revenue management.

Salesforce RLM is designed to streamline and automate the entire quote-to-cash process, incorporating CPQ functionality while extending its reach across the complete revenue lifecycle. 

This new solution addresses some of the limitations of traditional CPQ systems, particularly in areas such as scalability for large quotes and managing complex, subscription-based business models.

Key aspects of RLM that will impact the future of CPQ include:

1. Enhanced Scalability: RLM is built to handle larger volumes of data and more complex pricing scenarios, addressing a known gap in the current Salesforce CPQ solution.
2. Subscription Management: With a focus on recurring revenue models, RLM provides improved tools for managing subscriptions throughout their lifecycle.
3. Automation and AI Integration: RLM leverages advanced automation and AI capabilities to optimize pricing, reduce errors, and improve forecasting accuracy.
4. End-to-End Revenue Management: Unlike CPQ, which primarily focuses on the quoting process, RLM extends to cover billing, revenue recognition, and customer success aspects of the revenue lifecycle.
5. Improved User Experience: RLM aims to provide a more intuitive and efficient interface for sales teams, potentially addressing some of the user adoption challenges faced with CPQ.

While these advancements suggest a shift towards RLM, it’s important to note that CPQ is NOT being replaced outright. Instead, Salesforce is positioning RLM as an evolution of CPQ, integrating its core functionalities into a more comprehensive revenue management solution. This approach allows businesses to leverage their existing CPQ investments while gaining access to new capabilities.

For organizations currently using Salesforce CPQ, the transition to RLM is likely to be gradual. Salesforce is expected to provide migration paths and tools to facilitate the move from CPQ to RLM, ensuring that businesses can adopt the new features at their own pace. If not, there are many companies and implementation partners like IBM has built tool for seamless migration from CPQ to RLM.

As the market evolves, we can expect to see:

• Continued support for existing CPQ implementations
• Gradual integration of RLM features into CPQ workflows
• New implementations favoring RLM over standalone CPQ
• Increased focus on subscription and recurring revenue management within the Salesforce ecosystem

At the moment there is no official announcement from Salesforce on CPQ sunset, but as history repeats like SControl, Aura, Visualforce etc , innovation in CPQ may stall. There is interesting thread on reddit on same topic if you like to read.

CPQ-RLM Feature Comparison

Feature	Salesforce CPQ	Revenue Lifecycle Management (RLM)
Core Functionality	Focused on quoting and pricing	Comprehensive quote-to-cash process
Object Model	Custom objects in managed package	Built on Salesforce Core (standard) objects
Scalability	Limited for large quotes	Enhanced scalability for complex scenarios
Subscription Management	Basic capabilities	Advanced recurring revenue management
Pricing Flexibility	Complex rules possible	Improved price adjustment schedules
User Interface	Quote Line Editor (QLE)	More intuitive and efficient interface
Integration	Native Salesforce integration	Deeper integration with Salesforce ecosystem being built on core platform
Automation	Custom actions and product rules	AI-driven automation and optimization
Revenue Recognition	Limited capabilities	Enhanced revenue recognition features
Billing Integration	Requires additional setup	Streamlined billing process integration
Migration Path	N/A	Many Tools available for CPQ to RLM migration from partner eco systems

A Word of Caution on Migration

While migration tools from partners offer a straightforward path from Salesforce CPQ to Revenue Lifecycle Management (RLM), simply mapping data between old and new objects may not fully leverage the potential of this transition. Instead, organizations should view this as an opportunity to reassess and optimize their entire quoting and revenue management processes.

Key considerations for a strategic migration include:

• Product Catalog Rationalization: Simplify and standardize your product offerings, eliminating redundancies and streamlining configurations.
• Process Redesign: Reevaluate existing workflows to align with RLM’s enhanced capabilities, focusing on automation and efficiency.
• Data Cleansing: Use this transition to clean and normalize data, ensuring accuracy and consistency in the new system.
• User Experience Optimization: Design intuitive interfaces and guided selling processes that leverage RLM’s improved UI capabilities.
• Integration Assessment: Review and optimize integrations with other systems to create a cohesive revenue management ecosystem.

By taking a holistic approach to the CPQ-to-RLM migration, organizations can not only preserve existing functionality but also unlock new efficiencies and capabilities that drive revenue growth and improve customer satisfaction