Were it not for the fact that IBM CPQ lacks mobile and tablet applications, I would have recommended it 100%. However, I still have that 99% recommendation rate since this solution has saved us a lot by allowing us to close more sales within a short period by creating a channel where we collaborate with customers by offering coupons, sending price lists and orders.
Do you need consistency of messaging across multiple countries/products/divisions/languages? Do you want to be able to tailor content access per team/division/country? Do you want to be able to report on/track use by user, document, searches, compliance, etc.? If so, PMAPS is the most versatile proposal management tool I've come across so far.
Searching for boilerplate material--PMAPS allows you to search by keywords, as well as filter by categories (e.g., implementation, training, company information, etc.) I set up all the categories, subcategories, audience types, etc. We used to spend a significant amount of time searching for previously written information, but now we can find it within seconds. I only use it to search for information stored within PMAPS, but you can also set it up to point at other places to search for information as well.
Manage proposals--PMAPS has a dashboard that lists all of the proposals I'm working on as well as key information that I want to have available for each of them. You can decide what information you want to show on your dashboard (I use mine to show due date, production date, review date, salesperson for proposal, etc.) It is very convenient to have all of that information available at a glance. PMAPS also has a built-in calendar that will show you key dates for all of your proposals.
Generate custom documents--PMAPS allows you to set up templates that you can use to generate documents. You can set up forms that allow yourself or other users to specify what information should be included in that document, and then PMAPS will generate the document based on how users respond to the questions (e.g., what references to include, what products to list, etc.).
Word Replacement--PMAPS allows you to set up codes that will automatically be replaced with the correct term when you generate the proposal. For example, in our boilerplate information, any place where I would want the final proposal to say the prospect's name, I use the code <>. Those codes are automatically replaced with the prospect's name for that proposal when either I generate a document or when I simply select the icon that searches for and replaces codes.
Easily edit boilerplate documents--PMAPS allows you to easily edit boilerplate information. You can select a document one at a time, or you can select a whole bunch of documents at once (simply by doing a search and/or filter to limit the results to the documents you want to edit) and download them onto your computer, edit, and then re-upload.
Store material--PMAPS allows you to store Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF documents.
Unfortunately, IBM CPQ does not have on-premises applications to use while not connected to the internet. This is no more a challenge since we have a robust WIFI connection in our organization premises.
There are times when I'm having a problem and I call the general line and have to leave a message and then wait for someone to call me back. I'd like to be able to speak with a live person every time.
I'd like to see the program handle Excel documents with the ease that it handles a Word document.
I have been a PMAPS user for over 5 years. I started on their client/server version and renewed/upgraded this past year to their cloud version, WebPro. When you have a good product that delivers all the bells and whistles you need, there is no need to go searching anywhere else. We have a great partnership with the PMAPS staff and find them very resourceful and appreciative of our business
There are tons of Configure, Price and Quote software, but I have not used a lot of them. However, unlike IBM CPQ, HubSpot Sales Hub isn’t operated in compliance with any ISO standards and secured in a data center making it easy to leak customer sensitive data such as payment details.
I did the vendor analysis and narrowed my selection to Qvidian (which I had used before) and PMAPS (which I had not). I've never regretted my choice. In ease of use alone, PMAPS wins hands down. We're able to use PMAPS when collecting intelligence from our Subject Matter Experts in ways that weren't possible with other tools.
I don't have any actual ROI numbers readily available but I will say that compared to our last solution (a home-grown document repository), PMAPS has made every aspect of our business more efficient.
One of our primary goals in procuring a vendor to provide a better solution was our increased need to become more consistent in our messaging, more relevant as things change, and more efficient in getting our user's the answers they need quicker. We accomplished all three.
