Understanding CPQ’s Role in Sustainable Manufacturing

Sustainability conversations in manufacturing tend to go one of two ways. Either you’re sitting through another PowerPoint about corporate environmental responsibility, or you’re dealing with real inefficiency on the ground.

The boardroom version involves carbon offsets and investments in renewables. The factory floor version is about why the warehouse is stacked out with expensive units nobody wants, or why sales promised something that can’t be made.

And more often than not, it’s the factory floor issues that matter more for sustainability.

Modern tools like Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) flip that around. Customers configure exactly what they want – a specific pump with certain valves, or a house with precise floor plans and finishes. Production starts after, meaning minimal material waste.

This article examines how CPQ enables manufacturers to reduce waste, lower emissions, and integrate sustainability into their operations, while also unlocking improved opportunities to sell, build, and compete.

Charting the Origins of Material Waste

Manufacturing waste receives considerable attention when it comes to the more obvious problems, such as scrap material or defective products being sent to landfills. But some of the greatest impacts happen long before anything reaches a dumpster.

Think about all the products that get built based on forecasts that go awry, or the configurations that sales teams quote without checking whether engineering can actually build them. 

These situations create an environmental impact without delivering any value to customers, so let’s explore them further:

The Forecasting Problem

Research shows that 20% of every dollar spent in the manufacturing industry gets wasted, adding up to $8 trillion annually, much of it from poor forecasting.

For decades, the manufacturing process worked the same way – make thousands of similar products and hope buyers showed up. This spray-and-pray method generated massive material waste because demand predictions were consistently wrong.

When Sales Quotes Something Engineering Can’t Build

Sales teams face pressure to win deals, which sometimes results in promising products that can’t be manufactured to spec or within the needed timeframe. This creates a different kind of waste – the cost of discovering problems after production starts.

Epicor customer FHC, a custom glass manufacturer, experienced this regularly before implementing a CPQ system.

“It’s a business based on custom hardware—custom-sized doors and openings with multiple options for glass types, handle types, colors, heights, widths, etc.,” explains President Christian Rodriguez. 

“All that quoting was previously done through Excel. But the problem was the prices were never up-to-date from the manufacturing side.”

The consequences can be costly. For example, a company might order materials for a configuration that proves impossible to build. Resolving the issue often means rush-ordering replacement parts, arranging additional transportation, and placing extra strain on production.

Overproduction as a Costly Default

When Henry Ford said, “Any customer can have a car painted any color so long as it’s black,” he understood that every color change meant shutting down the line, cleaning equipment, and running quality tests!

For too long, overproduction has been the path of least resistance, posing an issue when customer preferences change and stock accumulates, incurring storage costs and risking wastage. 

How CPQ Technology Drives Sustainable Manufacturing

CPQ software automates the process of building custom products, calculating costs, and generating accurate proposals.

The software connects to databases for real-time pricing and generates detailed specifications that the manufacturing process can follow exactly. These functions flip the script on some of the most persistent sources of material waste. Here’s why:

1. Smart Manufacturing Based on Orders Instead of Forecasts

CPQ enables true make-to-order production where manufacturing begins only after customers configure and commit to their purchase. 

Epicor customer Van Wijnen, a Dutch construction company, demonstrates the impact. Instead of building spec homes and hoping buyers accept standard configurations, customers design houses online using CPQ. They choose layouts, finishes, and appliances while the configurator enforces architectural constraints and provides real-time pricing.

This builds natural manufacturing efficiency while cutting waste:

• Raw materials ordered for specific projects rather than general inventory
• Energy consumption sized to confirmed demand rather than estimates
• Transportation moving products directly to customers instead of storage
• Labor focused on committed orders rather than speculative inventory
• Warehouse space turning inventory immediately instead of accumulating stock

“We are now able to build 2,400 houses and apartments within a year, which are assembled in a day—that’s a huge acceleration,” explains CTO Jan H. Wiebenga. 

Every house has a committed buyer waiting for their chosen configuration, keeping customers happy while delivering on the company’s sustainability commitments. 

2. Solving the Configuration Problem

Quote errors cost companies an average of $2.9 million annually, also representing material wastage and inefficiency. CPQ prevents costly quoting issues by automatically enforcing product rules throughout design and engineering. 

3. Unified Information Across Departments

As FHC’s experience shows, even small data mismatches – such as outdated pricing or incompatible product specifications – can result in avoidable waste.

CPQ eliminates these issues by creating a single source of truth. Everyone – from sales to engineering to production – works from the same up-to-date information:

Data alignment doesn’t just boost efficiency – it drives sustainability. When all departments work in sync, manufacturers avoid unnecessary materials, scrap, and energy-intensive rework.

By preventing these mistakes, CPQ ensures that companies build to order, reducing waste and overproduction. 

CPQ Unlocks Mass Customization For the Production Process

CPQ also unlocks fundamentally innovative ideas that integrate sustainability into business models while catering to trends in B2B sales.  

For instance, B2B buyers now expect the same level of customization they receive when ordering consumer products online. Moreover, some 75% don’t want a sales rep, instead preferring B2C-like self-service. 

Most manufacturers are still stuck in the old world. They offer standard products with limited options, hoping customers will settle for something close enough. Meanwhile, competitors who can deliver true customization are winning deals and building stronger customer relationships.

CPQ software enables the level of self-service mass customization modern buyers demand without the operational chaos typically associated with it.

The environmental benefits are an inevitable but welcome byproduct of building exactly what customers order. And beyond the operational gains, this redefines your market position. 

When you can offer more choice, move faster, and waste less, you’re proving that you’re built for modern manufacturing. 

Embedding Sustainability into the Purchasing Process and Supply Chain

CPQ can surface environmental information right where decisions are made – alongside technical specs and pricing – rather than hiding it in separate brochures.

For example, a customer configuring industrial equipment might see that switching to aluminium housing cuts emissions by 23% for just $50 more. Or while selecting HVAC components, they’re shown how high-efficiency options reduce lifetime energy use by 35%, saving $15,000 over five years.

Even small changes make a difference:

• Set sustainable materials as the default
• Prioritise local suppliers to cut transport emissions
• Show energy ratings and lifetime cost savings
• Highlight recycled materials and lower maintenance needs

When buyers experience how sustainable choices also reduce long-term costs, they stop treating them as optional and start factoring them into core business decisions.

Sustainable Production With Epicor CPQ

CPQ doesn’t just cut waste – it opens new ways to compete. Companies using it build exactly what customers want, move faster, and deliver experiences others can’t. Sustainability is built into every quote, every order, and every product – not treated as a separate initiative.

This isn’t about choosing between profit and responsibility. It’s about running smarter operations that deliver both, while leaving behind outdated manufacturing habits.

With true mass customization, you’re not just becoming more efficient – you’re setting the pace.

Epicor CPQ brings together advanced product configuration, 3D visualization, real-time pricing, and seamless integration with your existing systems. The result: fewer errors, shorter sales cycles, and customers who receive exactly what they ordered.

See how Epicor CPQ can work for you – book a demo today.