Configure a Customer Solution
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Configure items in the cart to suit customer requirements.
- Configure items in bulk before adding them to the cart.
- Check and fix any configuration errors.
A Solution That Suits Your Customer
So far, you saw how an Infiwave sales person created a large quote. Now let’s switch gears and follow a different business scenario. In this case, you're a customer service representative (CSR) who’s providing a quote for a handheld device to a customer over the phone.
You’ve added the latest phone to your customer’s cart, but now they tell you they want it to be pink with loads of storage. Industries CPQ allows you to configure products before and after you add them to the cart.
Configuration Before Adding to the Cart
Your customer asks, “Is there a difference in price if I choose a pink phone?” You search the catalog for the phone using the catalog search or browse feature.
You then click Configure to check the product’s price before adding it to the quote. Industries CPQ guides you through the process of configuring the product. This includes adjusting attributes, amending the quantity, checking the pricing, and adding the product to the cart.
Configuration in the Cart
Your customer reviews the quote and wants to make some changes. You amend the configuration of items already in the cart. 
Locate the line item, and from the action menu, select Configure.
The configuration details for the line item are presented. Here’s an example.
Add the attribute information for the product. Note that any attributes with red asterisks (*) are required. You can only submit the order if you enter values for these attributes. In this example, Color is a required attribute.
Close the dialog box. The configuration changes are saved automatically.
Bulk Configuration from the Catalog
What if your customer wants to order three different types of phone and tablet for their family, but all in black? Rather than configuring each phone and tablet separately in the cart, you can select the items you want to configure. Then use the bulk configuration guided process to configure them all at once.
Industries CPQ guides you through product selection and configuration, including specifying quantities. Then you add the products to the cart.
Here’s an example that shows two products in the Bundle step of the guided bulk configuration process. Notice that each item to be configured is displayed, so you can amend all your configurations in one place.
The final step in the process is to review the configuration summary, which displays the products and their prices before they’re added to the cart.
Getting the Configuration Right
At each stage in the quote and order process, Industries CPQ checks your work to make sure your quotes and orders are accurate and deliverable. The application uses business rules, including availability, compatibility, eligibility, configuration, and validation rules, to ensure that every order is accurately configured and priced.
The rules filter products to ensure that:
- The right products, promotions, and discounts are presented to customers at the right price. This validation can be based on the customer context, existing assets, and recently selected products.
- The appropriate penalties for product or service changes and cancellations are in line with business objectives.
- Configuration is complete and accurate.
Sometimes, Industries CPQ automatically fixes things for you, and other times you see an alert, like this.
The alert shows at the top of the cart, and the line item that caused the alert has an orange warning sign. The Create Order button on the quote is inactive to prevent you from submitting an inaccurate order.
Hover over the yellow warning sign ⚠ to see what caused the error. In this case, you must add the missing attribute information for the Broadband Cable Service before converting the quote to an order. To fix the error, configure the line item to add the missing details. On the Office Internet Solution product configuration dialog box, the alert message and Download Speed picklist are highlighted.
Notice the warning message showing above the component that you need to configure. Remember, you must add any required information before you can convert a quote to an order, or submit an order for processing.
Depending on the rules set by your product design team, you may also see alerts if the customer has selected incorrect or incompatible configurations, such as a 5G service for a phone that has only 4G capabilities.
Once you’ve updated any missing or incorrect configurations, close the configuration dialog box. The alert disappears from your cart, and the Create Order button is active.
You’ve added and configured a solution for your customer. Now you’re ready to create a proposal.
