Configure-to-Order, CPQ
Ina Rogalev
26. June 2026
Anyone talking about digital sales processes will sooner or later come across two terms: CPQ and 3D product configuration. These two technologies are often used almost interchangeably. That is exactly where the problem begins. Because even though the systems can overlap, they serve different goals — strategically, technically, and from the user’s point of view.
For companies with highly configurable products, this distinction is becoming increasingly important. Not least because modern customers now expect the same digital product experience they know from the consumer world — even in an industrial context.
So the central question is no longer whether companies should configure digitally. The real question is how.
Kurz erklärt: Was ist ein CPQ-System?
CPQ steht für Configure, Price, Quote. Ziel eines CPQ-Systems ist es, komplexe Vertriebsprozesse zu standardisieren und zu beschleunigen. Im Kern geht es darum, Angebote schneller zu erstellen, Preislogiken zu vereinheitlichen, Rabatte kontrollierbar zu machen, Konfigurationsfehler zu vermeiden und Vertriebswissen systematisch abzubilden. Besonders bei variantenreichen Produkten sorgt CPQ dafür, dass weltweit dieselben Angebots– und Produktlogiken gelten — unabhängig davon, welcher Vertriebler oder Standort beteiligt ist.
Its real value lies not only in automation, but in translating complex product logic into reproducible sales processes.
While CPQ mainly optimizes internal processes, 3D product configuration primarily addresses customer perception and buying confidence.
A 3D configurator makes products visually tangible.
Customers can immediately see:
This creates trust and trust directly increases the likelihood of conversion.
The traditional distinction between CPQ and 3D configuration is becoming increasingly blurred. Today, companies expect digital processes that work efficiently internally while also creating compelling product experiences externally. As a result, hybrid systems are emerging in which sales, configuration, visualization, and technical validation are merging.
A salesperson no longer wants to configure prices alone. They want to provide customers directly with visual models, dimension drawings, or technical data. At the same time, customers expect an intuitive user experience, even though highly complex product logic is running in the background.
This creates a new requirement for configuration systems: they must make technical complexity manageable, without making that complexity visible.
This is one of the biggest differences between CPQ and 3D product configuration.
In a CPQ system, complexity can remain visible. The user is trained and understands products, pricing logic, and technical dependencies. Here, precision matters more than user experience.
In 3D product configuration, the opposite is true. The experience must remain intuitive, even if millions of variants and technical rules are being processed in the background.
The real development is therefore not about choosing “CPQ or 3D product configuration.” It is about how both work together.
Because modern customers expect:
At the same time, companies need:
Only the combination of both worlds creates a modern digital customer experience.
For a long time, 3D product configuration was seen as a nice-to-have. Today, it is increasingly becoming the central entry point into digital sales processes.
Customers no longer buy complex products based on data sheets alone. They expect digital product experiences that are understandable, visual, and reliable.
CPQ creates structure and process reliability. 3D product configuration creates trust and understanding.
The companies that combine both intelligently do not just create more efficient processes and more convincing product experiences, they benefit from the strengths of both worlds, whose boundaries are increasingly dissolving in digital sales.
CPQ systems digitize quotation and sales processes. 3D product configuration, on the other hand, focuses on the customer’s visual and interactive product experience.
Yes, modern CPQ solutions increasingly integrate 3D product configuration as a visual entry point into the sales process.
It increases buying confidence, improves the customer experience, and helps customers better understand complex products.
Above all, companies with highly configurable and technically complex products benefit from CPQ systems.
Because modern companies need both efficient internal processes and convincing digital product experiences.
BYRON WELLS
Solution Manager
LENA SCHÖNLEBEN
Head of Online Marketing & Communications
Das könnte Sie auch interessieren
