10 Ways AI Will Change CPQ and Commerce

Dec 6, 2023 11:41:53 AM | CPQ 10 Ways AI Will Change CPQ and Commerce

For CPQ, advanced configuration, and omnichannel commerce, the age of AI has arrived

Innovation is all around us. With the recent explosion of artificial intelligence, the pace of change across so many industries has been moving at rocket-booster speed. Just look at the advancements in the medical field with AI-powered surgical procedures. Look at cars that drive and park themselves. Look at the countless consumer apps leveraging to do anything from writing emails for you to ordering groceries before you even realize you’re out of your favorite snack.

Why should some industries or business areas be left out of all the AI innovation fun? At Logik.io, we certainly think CPQ and Commerce professionals deserve to benefit from the best AI has to offer. 

But, can artificial intelligence truly help in these areas? Is there a true fit for AI in CPQ and advanced configuration, or would it just be “innovation” in air-quotes?

In our view, AI has the potential to dramatically enhance and advance the CPQ and Commerce space. 

Here are 10 ways we believe AI will change the game for CPQ and Commerce:

  1. Function Assistance & Rule Writing
    AI can offer assistance with functions in CPQ. As a first-of-its-kind solution, Logik.io’s Cosmo FunctionAssist has launched as an intelligent rule-writing assistant built to make configuration administration simpler than ever by using generative AI to create advanced rules.  

  2. Smart Predictions
    AI will have a major impact on enabling sellers to predict product and service configurations and to suggest options based on what end-users have configured in previous deals. 

  3. Intelligent Guided Selling
    Configuration professionals can leverage large language models (LLMs) with AI to generate custom messages that shepherd users through the sales process and guide them to the best configurations in seconds.

  4. Dynamic Pricing
    AI can be used to optimize complicated pricing strategies—without endless calculations or manual intervention.

  5. Supplier Integration
    AI will enable integration with suppliers and their inventory systems, providing businesses with real-time updates on availability, lead times, and pricing.

  6. Customer Data
    With AI, CPQ systems will be able to use customer data in order to instantly recommend fully configured products, services, and solutions based on previously selected options.

  7. Chatbot Assistance
    Similar to the guided selling model, AI-powered chatbots can answer questions and provide information on product configurations and pricing right in the buying-and-selling workflow.

  8. Sales Forecasting
    With AI, businesses can use trend data and demand insights to better forecast sales, optimize inventory, and allocate resources–all in real time.

  9. Unstructured Data
    Under the AI umbrella, natural language processing (NLP) can enable businesses to make sense of text-based data from customer inquiries, emails, and other unstructured sources. This enables CPQ end-users to provide quicker and more accurate responses while improving CPQ performance overall.

  10. Localization
    As businesses grow and expand, AI can assist in adapting quotes and product configurations to meet the localized requirements and regulations of different regions and markets.

AI is here to claim its rightful place in the world of CPQ and Commerce. At Logik.io, we have moonshot plans to apply artificial intelligence in smart and purposeful ways to CPQ and Commerce so that our customers and their end-users can have the best transaction experiences possible.

Speaking of what’s possible, we’ve always said that “we make the rules.” Why stop now? You heard it here first: the age of AI in CPQ and Commerce has arrived.

 

Blake Grubbs

Written By: Blake Grubbs

Blake has successfully helped several high-growth tech startups build and scale marketing over the past 10 years. Held marketing leadership roles at Seismic, Drift, Alyce, and Simplr, all who successfully doubled and tripled ARR bookings during his tenure. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Management from Boston University's Questrom School of Business.