June 29, 2021

CPQ & Subscription – The Pillars of Subscription Economy


CPQ & Subscription – The Pillars of Subscription Economy

CPQ & Subscription – The Pillars of Subscription Economy

What has the last year and half taught us? Everything can be done DIGITALLY! Our whole world as we know it was flipped upside down and tossed around for a ride. Companies who thrived amidst the chaos all had one thing in common, Subscription Business Models. Companies such as Netflix, Amazon, Google, Uber Eats, GrubHub, and many other subscription services became richer! Payment for usage and instant gratification has now trumped ownership! A century year old business model of purchase to own has now become extremely outdated. Whether or not a company is digital or not, many different businesses are considering subscriptions as a viable source of income.

The USA and Europe are the one’s who have accepted this trend the most. This year, 560 million subscriptions will be purchased in the European market, which has 353 million households and more than 2,100 linked devices (22 percent of the total worldwide) (25 percent of the worldwide total). In 2021, 2.2 billion memberships will generate a global business worth over $228 billion, up 31% from $174 billion in 2020. This market will have a turnover of more than $481 billion by 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 23%.

You can refer here on How Subscription Business Models Work


The End of Ownership

Another thing we learned over the past year and a half was, how a new completely digital world can become a reality. From ecommerce to connected cars, transit, smart health, and reader-driven news, the corporate sector is increasingly defined by relationships rather than things.

Currently, subscription services are used by 78 percent of consumers around the world. People are reducing physical ownership of products and going for more subscription-based services which are instantly gratifying and less costly. Companies are increasingly providing personalised information, products, and services, including unique products available only to subscribers. Customers are expecting an unsaid understanding like this.

With this new digital world, there are some common must have options that provide the consumer with a world class experience. These can include cost per service hour, price per cycle, tier usage schedule, and more. This service requires a lot of effort to create a loyal customer that will lead to a monthly subscription. There are many different issues to discuss before locking down a month-to-month bill, such as how much time is left to spend, can I modify the billing date, when is the contract renewing, what is included in this service, and so on. These options can directly lead to whether a potential customer will only enjoy the free trial, or potentially be a subscriber for years to come.

There is an easy and successful way out!

Amazing Combo of Subscriptions + CPQ Platform Solutions

So, what are the advantages?

  • Enables fixed and recurring orders - Supports hundreds of variable customer touchpoints, pricing, delivery, and billing models.
  • Asset Based Ordering (ABO) for renewals, modifications, and upgrades.
  • Resolves subscriber issues - Ability to make subscription changes (upgrades, downgrades, future dates, modifications etc.). Ensures long-term client satisfaction and back-office alignment.
  • Full stack solution from a single vendor - Cloud-based SaaS with seamless Oracle ERP, financials, CPQ, commerce, engagement, and contracts integration.
  • Provides a subscription 360° perspective - Get a unified picture of all consumer-impacting data in one place to improve customer happiness.
  • ERP revenue recognition rules are maintained - Revenue recognition rules are maintained in your core ERP systems.
  • Make the most of your solution's flexibility by extending existing core functionality and avoiding niche solutions with duplications and overlaps.

CPQ Platforms – Our Recommendation – Oracle CPQ Cloud


Oracle has been named as a leader for the fourth consecutive year in Gartner Magic Quadrant for CPQ Suites.

Oracle CPQ is the only CPQ software that can integrate with a variety of front-end and back-end apps to provide a complete end-to-end sales process solution. Oracle CPQ has been demonstrated to execute at a large enterprise scale with customers who have complicated requirements, many users, and significant transaction volumes.

To know, Why Oracle CPQ is right for your company and how Oracle CPQ helps to increase revenue

Oracle CPQ Cloud is a guided selling solution that includes validation and error-reduction procedures. It aids in increasing sales productivity, improving customer experience, and reducing errors so that margins can be maximised.

The following are the primary advantages of Oracle CPQ:

  • It aides’ sales teams, channels, and e-commerce sites in selling efficiently on any device, as well as making the sales process faster and more accurate
  • The guided selling tool allows the user to answer a series of questions to precisely capture the customer's needs
  • Valid setups are enabled by built-in rules, which reduces errors
  • Very basic and user-friendly interfaces that work on any device
  • Allows you to order subscriptions
  • A robust pricing engine allows sales professionals to concentrate on selling by providing accurate and timely pricing
  • Multiple price books, discounts, promotions, and localizations are among the pricing aspects.
  • Provides deal management intelligence as well as necessary approval protocols
  • Document Designer supports several document formats and electronic signatures, allowing for automated sales pitches and contract management.

Some of the key differentiators of Oracle CPQ over the competitors are:


  • A superb independent middle-office platform for Product, Pricing, and Quoting Management
  • A full API enabled platform for Configuration, Data, and Transaction objects Oracle CPQ is not dependent on the company's CRM or ERP system
  • Any front-office or back-office system can be linked with Oracle CPQ. Oracle CPQ includes integration packages for CRM systems such as Oracle CX Sales, Salesforce, and MS Dynamics
  • Oracle CPQ's pricing engine can handle complicated pricing algorithms and can be fully customised to handle complex price logic
  • Oracle CPQ works with a variety of sales channels, including direct sales, resellers, and self-service
  • Oracle CPQ integrates with Oracle Subscription Management Cloud to provide extensive subscription order support, including renewals, modifications, suspensions, terminations, order stacking, and subscription invoicing.
  • Oracle CPQ allows to develop a solution that is customized, modern, and clean user interface with JET UI

Subscription Platforms – Our Recommendation – Oracle Subscription Management


Billing and Subscription Management at a Global Level From $3731.2 million in 2020 to $4090.3 million in 2026, the market is predicted to grow at an annual rate of 8.9% between 2021 and 2026.

Several businesses are adopting subscription business models as a result of the increased requirement to upgrade ageing systems and maintain compliance. This development is also being accelerated by a growing focus on minimising subscriber churn to promote customer retention, as well as widespread adoption of subscription and billing management technologies.

As a result, Oracle, as a market leader, has increased subscription management updates, which will assist businesses in building long-term client connections and increasing recurring revenue. With information from financial, supply chain, and customer experience applications, businesses can acquire a clear view of account health and boost customer satisfaction, retention, and renewals.

Know more about Best Features of Oracle Subscription management and some successful use cases


The Future

The subscription price model has been widely embraced during the last decade. After all, numerous tech firms have developed successful enterprises using this strategy. Customers gain from the convenience and predictability of subscriptions, while vendors benefit from recurring income.

Here are my thoughts on the future of the subscription economy:


Prediction 1 - Usage based Pricing will boom

A business is not compensated until the customer has adopted the product. From the customer's standpoint, this means that they can trial before they buy with no risk. Google Cloud Platform, for example, goes a step further by providing new developers with $300+ in free usage credits to try out their services.

To get new customers hooked on the platform, top-performing organisations provide a smooth customer onboarding experience and high-quality assistance. As more new users become engaged, the foundation for future customer growth becomes stronger.

You might find these strategies interesting and helpful to make Usage based pricing work for your business


Prediction 2 - Personalization & User Experience are the Key to Success

When it comes to digital experiences, users continue to seek simplicity and efficiency. Market demand, high expectations, and quick technological advancements have forced brands to deliver unique client experiences.


Prediction 3 - DTC will no longer be Unique

DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) businesses are transitioning to brick and mortar. Dollar Shave Club, Parker, Casper, and other such companies are examples. To live and succeed, they'll require an omni-channel strategy.


Prediction 4 - Harder to stand out, hence Innovate

Today, there are so many competitors that standing out is getting increasingly challenging. DTC items abound on Facebook, Google, and Amazon. To get noticed, you must either spend more or innovate and seek out new opportunities.


The SoftClouds Phenomenon

SoftClouds is a pioneer in the implementation of CPQ + Subscription Management. We've completed numerous projects in data centres, manufacturing, software, and other areas. We know our customers well and connect our innovation ambitions to provide the best possible experiences for them. Delivering original ideas, creating new value, and re-imagining creativity are the keys to our speed and success.

SoftClouds uses an excellently constructed architecture to help channelize quoting operations. Processes, quotations, orders, leads, contacts, opportunities, and products for clients should all be streamlined. System compliance with government rules is also improved, and systems are connected with their existing shipping solutions. We also help them with digital customer service if required.

Here are some intelligent use cases that are innovative and have beautiful customer experiences.

Many clients would be able to simply control pricing variances, have a streamlined workflow, and an automated, simplified quotation methodology with a 0% error rate. SoftClouds offers the ideal mix of innovation and experienced problem-solving, solutioning skills to assist companies on their path to the future.

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This post was written by Balaji Ramachandran, Founder & CEO of SoftClouds. He has over two decades of experience in Technology, Business Development and Operations and a very strong foundation in Customer Relationship Management for SMB and Enterprise. Utilizing his profound expertise, he has spoken in conferences around CRM & Technology around the world.

SoftClouds is a recognized leader in CRM/CX transformation with experience in numerous Service Cloud Implementations with pre-configured best practice business processes for multiple verticals/domains.