1. INTEGRATED CPQ AND CLM
The Missing Link in an Optimized
Quote-to-Cash Process

2. /02
TABLE OF CONTENTS
03 Introduction
04 What are CPQ and CLM?
05 Why CPQ and CLM Need to Work in Harmony
09 Connected Quotes and Contracts
Accelerate Business Growth
12 What a Seamless Connection Looks Like
17 10 Reasons Top Businesses Need an
Integrated CPQ and CLM Solution from Apttus
19 Conclusion
20 About Apttus

3. INTRODUCTION
With the rise of Software as a Service (SaaS) and the subscription economy, the emphasis for many
companies has shifted to retention and renewals. Recognizing that effective revenue generation requires
a focus beyond the initial transaction, companies are re-evaluating their entire Quote-to-Cash process,
specifically around Configure Price Quote (CPQ) and Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM). After all,
these two Quote-to-Cash sub-processes are at the heart of every business deal.
It’s no wonder numerous companies across industries tap into CPQ and CLM solutions to streamline
and improve their processes. Unfortunately, these businesses are not reaping the full benefit of either
solution – or maximizing revenue generation – if they are using them as separate, standalone systems.
Businesses realize the true value of CPQ and CLM when these solutions are fully connected, share a
common platform and data model, and have integrated workflows that manage the end-to-end process.
This paper explores the value of each solution on its own, the exponential value when the two are
working seamlessly in concert, and what is required to unite CPQ and CLM.
/03

4. /04
WHAT ARE CPQ & CLM?
Quotes are at the core of any business deal,
defining the products and/or services being
purchased and the agreed-upon price. CPQ is
a software solution designed to help companies
quickly and accurately produce highly
configured quotes. It does so by making all
complex product, pricing and business rules
centralized, automatic and available in real time.
This ensures that sales reps have everything
they need to rapidly produce accurate and
professional quotes and proposals, which helps
them close bigger deals faster.
Quoting continues until finalized quotes convert
into contracts — or in some cases, completed
orders. Once a buyer agrees to a quote, the
quote details – along with additional detail
around the purchase, price, and vendor-buyer
relationship – are captured in legally binding
contracts. Simply put, contracts add more
detail to the vendor-buyer relationship beyond
what was agreed to in the quote, defining critical
elements such as delivery terms, publicity rights,
procedures for settling disputes, and much more.
By bringing visibility and control to the contract
management process, CLM software helps
ensure these legal agreements become a
strategic advantage instead of a burdensome
cost center.
While CPQ and CLM are part of the Quote-to-
Cash process, they are often run as fixed,
separate sub-processes that run sequentially.

5. WHY CPQ AND CLM NEED TO WORK
IN HARMONY
On the surface, it would appear that the use of
separate CPQ and CLM solutions would serve
a business just fine. And for many years, this
approach worked. However, sales reps and
their companies are no longer focused solely
on transactions as they develop quotes and
contracts.
With the surge in new business models – such
as Software as a Service (SaaS) –
subscriptions and renewals are now far more
important than a single transaction. These
modern business models may require a
business to put several contracts in place with
its customer in order to complete the first sale,
and can have commercial terms that depend on
many variables. With many more potential
points of interaction between processes
traditionally handled by CPQ and CLM
separately, the limitations of using separate
systems are multiplied.
Moreover, as businesses see their networks
expand, they must integrate their processes with
those of their partners and suppliers. This
integration is needed so they can:
• Orchestrate all customer-focused activities
across multiple channels
• Maintain visibility and insight across all
channels and the entire value chain
• Ensure consistency of offers throughout the
Quote-to-Cash process
Pair this with today’s empowered buyers and the
need to satisfy higher customer expectations to
earn and cultivate loyalty, and it’s easy to see why
businesses must reconsider their approach to
CPQ and CLM processes.
Customers expect businesses will use information
from the pre-sales phase in the contracting phase.
Seeing errors or requests for the same
information frustrates them – and creates
questions in their minds about the vendor. To win
and keep a customer’s business, organizations
need to make the quoting and contract processes
/05

6. as fluid, simple, and appealing as possible. To do
so, they must make these processes seamless
and connected in a way that mirrors the sales
process.
Though many organizations refer to their sales
process as a “funnel,” it’s actually more of a cycle,
signaling a never-ending relationship with each
customer. The information captured in quotes and
contracts follows that same cycle. While
/06
information (including prices) from quotes feed
contracts, information from contracts feeds orders
and renewals. In fact, sometimes businesses need
to incorporate terms and conditions from existing
agreements into a new agreement. Put simply, the
CPQ process feeds the CLM process, which in
turn feeds the CPQ process. Moreover, the
uptake in SaaS and increase in renewals further
entwines quotes and contracts.
Quote
Contract

7. When their CPQ and CLM systems are not
connected, businesses often rely on paper-driven
processes involving a fair amount of manual data
transfer – a transfer that opens the door to data
errors and delays. If it takes weeks to negotiate
terms and conditions and execute a signed
contract, companies limit the advantages of a
CPQ solution. Instead, quotes should flow
seamlessly into contracts, so the company can
close deals and get them on the books as fast
as possible.
Even then, while the company might close a deal
with a customer, it may miss the chance to renew
or upsell the right products at the right time if the
CLM system is not feeding information to the
quoting engine. And it certainly couldn’t execute a
quote or contract on a mobile phone – a growing
necessity in today’s world.
A common mistake businesses make is to consider
a sent proposal the end of the quoting process. But
the sales cycle doesn’t stop there.
/07

8. “CPQ and CLM, in terms of automating for scale,
are a good start. But it’s really important that we
still manage to retain that connection to the
customer. Competing on customer intimacy is
what Citrix is all about, and we believe that Apttus
gives us this bridge between the investments
we’ve made in our traditional technologies and
the technologies that enable customer intimacy.”
Michael McKiernan, Vice President of IT, Citrix
/08

9. /09
CONNECTED QUOTES AND CONTRACTS
ACCELERATE BUSINESS GROWTH
On the other hand, a single continuous data flow
between CPQ and CLM keeps all systems and
stakeholders updated with the latest information. This
enables faster time to initial revenue, along with
seamless cross-sells, up-sells and renewals, enabling a
better experience for all. In fact, a combined CPQ and
CLM system even enables this at the speed of today’s
business – on mobile devices.
Remember: renewals with add-ons, cross-sells and up-
sells supercharge enterprise growth. After all, sales to
existing customers lead to higher margins because the
organization can eliminate costly acquisition expenses.
To quickly and accurately process renewals, sales reps
and other involved parties need information around the
existing agreement, previous purchases, delivery
performance to date (i.e., scorecard), payment
performance, earn-out of incentives, rebates, and more.
They get that when all sub-processes and related
systems in the Quote-to-Cash process are connected.

10. /10
Source: Aberdeen Group, End-to-End Sales Automation: Turning Discrete Technologies into Far-Reaching Business Results, April 2016
Agile Leaders Bring CPQ and CLM Together
Most companies rely on a system such as ERP
(Enterprise Resource Planning) or CRM
(Customer Relationship Management) to handle
many of the elements and activities associated
with the customer relationship once the deal
closes. This extends to transaction compliance,
which is the process of confirming that both
parties are satisfying their contractual obligations,
including rate of orders, quality of fulfillment, and
adherence to agreed-upon pricing. When
organizations connect both their CPQ and CLM
systems to ERP, they can efficiently and
accurately capture the quote-related information
that is critical to ensuring compliance.

11. Consider these scenarios:
• A customer agrees to pay a higher price for
products if the cost of a key component rises
above a certain level, which occurs after the
customer has purchased a few of the units at
the original price
• A customer is entitled to a rebate after
fulfilling certain purchase obligations
• A contract will automatically renew at a
certain price, or will automatically be
cancelled if certain obligations are not
fulfilled by a certain time
When data in one system is shared with the other
systems, the ERP system will be aware of and
able to flag discrepancies and indicate an action,
such as that the customer needs to buy more
units or the company needs to charge a higher
price. Whatever the agreement, by connecting
their sales data in CPQ, their contract agreements
in CLM, and their customer interactions in ERP,
companies can manage these obligations, prevent
revenue leakage, and boost customer satisfaction.
/11

12. WHAT A SEAMLESS
CONNECTION LOOKS LIKE
Accurate quotes, proposals, contracts and orders
enable a smooth flow of all revenue-related data
and processes. With a single process and data
stream, companies can easily and accurately
measure effectiveness across the entire process
and take steps to optimize.
On the other hand, organizations dealing with
disparate systems find themselves failing to
capture key data, and struggling to fulfill and
reconcile orders, contracts, invoices and more.
Perhaps worst of all, they are unable to deliver the
frictionless buying experience that customers
demand.
Rather than continually try to merge multiple data
sources using spreadsheets and other manual
tools, the key is to streamline the data flow. This
can be accomplished by calling upon CPQ and
CLM solutions that work from a unified data
model. Such a data model enables a single
/12
-­‐25
Unified Data Model

13. CLM and CPQ in a unified data model also
prevent breakdowns for the business process of a
deal in progress. During commercial review of a
deal, a quote can change when a contract is
already out to the customer, requiring a new
validation check. For example, a change in the
price may require a senior sales leader to sign off
on the quote again, or change the contract terms
that a seller will offer. Without a single data model
for both CLM and CPQ, the change in the quote
may not get proper sign-offs, and may not be
reflected correctly in both the system of record
and final documents. Getting the systems to work
together without one data model becomes
extremely difficult and creates multiple points of
failure, all of which can be avoided using a
seamless connection.
/13
workflow throughout the sales cycle, from CPQ
to ERP and CRM and back again. As such, quote
details are automatically pulled into a contract.
Once the contract is executed, all details
flow into the ERP system for fulfillment, shipping
and invoicing, and into the CRM system to track
customer interactions and satisfaction. When it’s
time for renewal or any other follow-on sales-
related activity, the relevant information captured
and managed in the ERP and CRM systems will
flow automatically back into the CPQ and CLM
systems. By eliminating manual data entry,
organizations reduce the chance of errors,
accelerate the entire sales process, and gain
clear insight into each customer engagement
at every stage.
When hundreds or thousands of sales reps
are striking deals, it’s nearly impossible to
match up deal details manually and figure out
which customers are or are not honoring
their commitments.

14. /14
Apttus enables this unified data flow and single
workflow connected to back-end systems. No
wonder a survey of Apttus customers shows that
Apttus Customers Report Measurable Business Outcomes
these organizations are realizing significant and
quantifiable benefits across numerous mission-
critical measures:

15. Consider the case of Citrix, a multinational SaaS
company. Citrix’s ever-expanding product catalog
and fragmented quoting processes involved
multiple manual steps. Wanting a more modern
and innovative solution for its entire revenue-
generating team, it replaced its disparate quoting
and contract management tools with seamlessly
connected ones from Apttus. As a result, it was
able to streamline the entire sales process and
reduce exceptions and non-standard pricing, so
sales reps can spend more time building new
business and less time on each individual deal. At
the same time, it gained new levels of visibility and
control across multiple selling channels, making it
easier to cross-sell and up-sell to existing
customers.
Then there’s GLOBALFOUNDRIES, the first full-
service semiconductor foundry with a truly global
manufacturing footprint. As a custom
manufacturing company, GLOBALFOUNDRIES
uses customer requirements to configure tailored
products to be manufactured. Previously this
process took one to two weeks. The company
now uses both CLM and CPQ tools from Apttus,
reducing the time to generate a quote from weeks
to minutes while also making it easier to negotiate
the non-disclosure agreements required by both
sides at the outset of the sales process.
/15

16. “Efficiency gains and improvements in our sales
process thanks in part to Apttus CPQ and
Contract Management have contributed to a 20%
reduction in cost of sales over the past two years.”
Larry Dunivan, Executive Vice President of Sales, Ceridian HCM
/16

17. 10 REASONS TOP BUSINESSES NEED AN
INTEGRATED CONFIGUREPRICE QUOTE AND
CONTRACT SOLUTION FROM APTTUS
1. Improve customer satisfaction.Seventy percent of B2B
sales are to existing customers. If you quote to an existing
customer, you need to know all the agreed pricing in the
customer contract, along with special terms such as
rebates. Thus CPQ for current customers requires a
seamless connection to CLM, and also a two-way
communication with ERP that reports on the customer’s
performance against their contract to date. This type of
integration is virtually impossible using CLM and CPQ
systems from different vendors. With Apttus, this end-to-end
data flow is inherent in the single integrated CPQ and CLM
solution. You’ll issue the right quote without manual lookups
or mistakes.
2. Stay compliant across the sales process. Your business
has many policies to ensure correct selling procedures are
followed, and to comply with legal requirements. Policies
may be enforced in either the configure price quote stageof
the deal or the contracting stageof the deal—so if a change
is made in the CLM system that takes the deal out of a
policy that was enforced in the CPQ system, how will you
know? Only with Apttus, business rules are seamlessly
applied throughout the sales cycle, ensuring that your deals
meet all your guidelines and follow the law. With different
CPQ and CLM systems, any cross-systempolicy
enforcement will be manual, customized and hard to
maintain, or possibly ignored.
3. Avoid workflow fatigue.When using CPQ and CLM
systems from different vendors, you’ll need to develop
workflow and approvals processes twice—once for each
system. Workflow won’t flow between systems, doubling
the work of the staff who handle day-to-dayactivities. For
example, a sales leader will approvea price discount in a
quote, and may have to approveit again in the contract.
With Apttus, the approvalfollows the sale all the way
through CPQ and CLM, so the process is completed faster.
4. Add-on applicationsbecome possible. With all the
custom integration required to join CPQ and CLM from
different vendors, what happens when it’s time to add on a
new Quote-to-Cashapplication? Additional tools like billing,
revenue recognition, deal optimization, promotions,
incentives, rebates, renewals management, and machine
learning will become critical to your ability to win business
and grow—but each new integration is more difficult when
your core CPQ and CLM systems use different data
models. With Apttus, your add-onapplications are once
again part of the single data model, making it easy to
expand your Quote-to-Cashpower.
5. Enjoy faster speed. With all the ways that CLM and CPQ
interact, you need your systems to be in the same data
center for the fastest system performance. If you use tools
from different vendors, you’re virtually guaranteed a much
slower user experience, with painful load times and delays
to record updates, document generation, approvals, and
other functions. A unified CLM and CPQ solution from
Apttus offers the fastest user experience.
/17

18. 6. Single experience leads to higher adoption. Even if you
succeed in pairing CPQ and CLM systems from different
vendors, your users will still have two tools to learn, with two
user experiences, creating twice as much training and
change management. You’ll end up with lower adoptionand
lower user satisfaction than if you choose a combined CPQ
and CLM system from Apttus, which uses a common
interface across bothtools.
7. Save IT time and resources. With Apttus, bothCPQ and
CLM use a centralized data model and permissions model.
If you combine CPQ and CLM systems from different
vendors, you’ll have to manage two sets of permissions in
two different applications—and waste resources to build
custom code joining the two different data models.
8. No security holes. If you use CPQ and CLM systems with
different data models, you can create a security risk every
time the systems communicate with each other—possibly
hundreds of times for each sale managed in the system.
These communications are inherently insecure because they
have to be custom-developed and lack security validation.
Each communication opens a potential back door into your
critical systems that could be used by a malicious attacker
to hack your company. With Apttus, your system is
contained on one data model that has received numerous
security certifications.
9. Avoid upgrade nightmares.Because it is built on a
single data model, Apttus CPQ and CLM upgrade in
sync and without risk of losing functionality. If you use
different CPQ and CLM applications, any upgrade—
even a patch—could cause the integration between the
CLM and CPQ systems to break. You could end up
with frequent, frustrating repair projects to your custom
integration—or avoid all upgrades and end up with a
system that’s quickly out of date.
10. Pay once for infrastructure. Apttus built its CPQ and
CLM systems on a single platform. If you buy CPQ and
CLM systems from different vendors, you’ll pay each
vendor for their underlying platform. An end-to-end
CLM and CPQ solution from Apttus avoids this extra
hidden cost.
/18

19. CONCLUSION
Most companies base their Quote-to-Cash
process on a series of fixed, separate processes
(including CPQ and CLM) that – theoretically –
run sequentially. However, today’s customers
expect rapid response to their inquiries, a smooth
purchasing process, and fast delivery of products
and services.
The benefits of linking CPQ and CLM as part of
the larger Quote-to-Cash process are clear:
• Accelerates the entire sales process,
enabling faster time to initial revenue, along
with seamless cross-sells, up-sells and
renewals
• Provides clear insight into each customer
engagement at every stage
• Powers a better experience for all involved
parties at the speed of today’s business – on
mobile devices
• Enables organizations to easily and
accurately measure effectiveness across the
entire process and take steps to optimize
• Reduces errors caused by data entry
mistakes, syncing of quotes and contracts,
and discrepancies between documents and
systems of records, leading to lower risk
and greater compliance
When evaluating CPQ solutions, organizations
should make sure the CPQ software naturally
connects to a contract management system built
on the same data model and can extend into
order management capabilities. As the business
grows, the organization will need a single
system that connects all these parts of its
business.
Just as importantly, while many organizations
treat the various stages in the Quote-to-Cash
process as separate steps, it’s critical to view
and enable these in a holistic manner. Only in
this way can businesses handle the Quote-to-
Cash process as adeptly and accurately as
possible while enabling the utmost enterprise-
wide visibility and efficiency.
/19

20. ABOUT INTELLIGENT QUOTE-TO-CASH
Quote-­‐to-­‐Cash
is
the
vital
business
process
that
connects
a
customer’s
interest
in
a
purchase
to
the
realization
of
revenue.
It
includes
creating
a
quote,
responding
to
RFXs,
submitting
a
proposal,
negotiating
and
managing
a
contract,
fulfilling
orders,
recognizing
revenue,
ensuring
compliance
and
tracking
payments
–
all
within
visible
and
controlled
workflow.
Quote-­‐to-­‐Cash
solutions
include
Configure-­‐Price-­‐Quote
(CPQ),
Contract
Lifecycle
Management
(CLM),
and
Revenue
Management
applications.
Quote-­‐to-­‐Cash
is
the
single
link
between
top-­‐line
results,
bottom-­‐
line
results
and
customer
satisfaction.
No
other
process
is
as
critical
for
maximizing
the
value
of
capturing
revenue
in
a
profitable
way
as
well
as
meeting
the
needs
of
customer
sales
requests.
This
process
relies
on
the
collective
intelligence
of
the
enterprise.
The
impact
of
accurate
quotes,
proposals,
contracts
and
orders
make
the
flow
of
all
data
and
processes
within
an
enterprise
work
smoothly,
thus
creating
value
for
enterprises
and
their
customers.
About Apttus
Apttus,
the
category-­‐defining
Quote-­‐to-­‐Cashsoftware
company,
drives
the
vital
business
process
between
the
buyer’s
interest
in
a
purchase
and
the
realization
of
revenue.
Utilizing
a
patented
combination
of
SaaS-­‐based
applications,
the
Apttus Intelligent
Cloud
maximizes
the
entire
revenue
operation
by
driving
behavior
and
providing
prescriptive
data
to
company
decision-­‐makers.
Apttus
offers
enhanced
Configure
Price
Quote
(CPQ),
E-­‐ Commerce,
Contract
Management,
Renewals
and
Revenue
Management
solutions
on
the
world’s
most
trusted
cloud
platforms,
including
Salesforce
and
Microsoft
Azure.
Apttus is
based
in
San
Mateo,
California,
with
additional
offices
located
across
the
globe.
For
more
information
visit:
apttus.com.
/20