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In this episode of the CPQ Podcast, Frank Sohn speaks with Rourke McCarron, founder of Kabaido, about building a modern CPQ solution for precision manufacturers. Rourke shares how his experience in the tooling industry revealed a disconnect between sales and engineering teams, which ultimately led him to launch Kabaido in late 2025.  The conversation explores how Kabaido is approaching complex quoting and product configuration for manufacturers that process high volumes of quotes. Rourke explains the company's focus on precision manufacturing, its support for 2D and 3D configuration use cases, and how its platform is designed to help companies move faster from customer request to quote and integration. He also discusses implementation timelines, customer size fit, and why adoption can matter just as much as technical deployment.  A key part of the discussion centers on AI. Rourke talks about KAI, short for Kabaido Applied Intelligence, and describes how AI is being used to support quoting, configurator logic, and integrations with tools such as Excel, Symphony CRM, and Microsoft Dynamics. The episode also touches on Kabaido's MCP-native approach, current growth stage, global team setup, and efforts to obtain SOC 2 Type 2 and related certifications.  For anyone interested in CPQ software, AI in manufacturing, product configuration, quoting automation, or the future of digital sales in complex manufacturing, this episode offers an early look at how a new vendor is approaching the market. 🔗 Learn more about Kabaido at https://www.kabaido.com/  📬 Contact Rourke on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rourke-mccarron-a78374207/ 

In this episode of the CPQ Podcast, Frank Sohn speaks with Tyler Moini, Founder and Managing Director of Expedite Commerce, about how the company has evolved since its earlier positioning around composable commerce and API-first architecture. Tyler explains why Expedite Commerce now describes its approach as a governed execution platform, designed to help organizations manage commercial processes across pricing, quoting, contracts, subscriptions, billing, and asset-related workflows. A central topic in the discussion is Genesis, the company's underlying AI system. Tyler outlines why Expedite Commerce sees AI not as a separate add-on, but as part of the foundation of the platform. The conversation looks at how this approach is intended to support user guidance, manage commercial state across the revenue lifecycle, and help organizations handle complex selling environments with more structure and consistency. The episode also covers the company's target market, including mid-market and early enterprise organizations with complex revenue models, such as subscription businesses, manufacturers, and companies managing configured products, services, warranties, or serialized assets. Tyler also discusses support for CRM platforms such as Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zoho, as well as ERP integrations with systems including SAP S/4HANA, NetSuite, Oracle, and Workday. In addition, Frank and Tyler discuss e-commerce capabilities, billing support for more complex pricing models, and how AI may affect the future of revenue management and CPQ. The conversation provides useful context for listeners interested in CPQ, revenue lifecycle management, AI in CPQ, subscription management, digital commerce, and enterprise sales technology. If you follow developments in CPQ software, AI-driven quoting, revenue management platforms, or enterprise monetization, this episode offers a detailed look at how one vendor is approaching those challenges today.  🔗 Learn more about Expedite Commerce at https://www.expeditecommerce.com/  📬 Contact Tyler on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylermoini/ 

In this episode of the CPQ Podcast, Frank Sohn speaks with Garima and Pulin about how AI-driven fair market value (FMV) intelligence can support pricing and CPQ-related processes in the used IT asset market. The conversation goes beyond product features and also explores the personal stories behind the business. Garima shares her journey from flight attendant to entrepreneur and explains why perseverance has been such an important strength throughout her career. Pulin talks about starting out in finance, teaching himself computer skills, learning from a failed startup, and even driving Uber in the early days of the company to help keep the business going. On the business side, this episode looks at how their platform is designed to bring more structure and pricing transparency to the used IT asset industry. Pulin describes the goal as creating something similar to a Kelly Blue Book for used IT assets, while Garima explains why fair market value is at the center of the platform. The discussion also covers why they see CPQ and their business as mirror images, how FMV-based intelligence can influence pricing decisions, and why this matters for organizations involved in reverse supply chain and asset monetization processes. Frank, Garima, and Pulin also discuss the company's ideal customer profile, including OEMs, VARs, and ITAD organizations, as well as broader trends around AI, data, integration, and the future of pricing.  This episode is especially relevant for anyone interested in: CPQ AI in pricing Fair market value intelligence Quote-to-cash Used IT asset pricing Reverse supply chain technology IT asset disposition (ITAD) If you work in CPQ, pricing, revenue operations, or B2B technology, this conversation offers a different perspective on how pricing intelligence can shape commercial processes in markets that have historically lacked consistent benchmarks. 🔗 Learn more about Pyxtech at https://www.pyxtech.com/  📬 Contact Garima on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/garimaoza/         Contact Pulin on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/pulinkumar/ 

At Conga Connect 2026 in Orlando, Conga made one thing clear: it wants to be seen as more than a CPQ or CLM vendor. In this episode, Frank Sohn shares his high-level takeaways from the event, including Conga's new brand direction, what the company's "connected commerce" message means, and why the future of its three CPQ paths matters for customers and prospects alike. Frank also looks at the emerging split between Advantage and PROS CPQ, Conga's iFrame-based approach to surfacing Advantage capabilities inside its Salesforce-based product, and why price optimization and AiMe stood out as important parts of the story. The result is a balanced, practical debrief for anyone trying to understand where Conga appears to be heading — and what buyers should watch next. Note: We go on a short spring break and will be back by April 5

It's a solo episode this week — interview scheduling has been unusually tough this year, so I'm using the opportunity to talk about something that's top of mind for many teams early in the year: CPQ selection. In this episode, I share the six questions that fix most CPQ shortlists before demos start: business model, biggest challenge, CRM fit, ERP fit, go-live speed, and company complexity. The goal isn't to rank vendors — it's to get to a realistic shortlist faster, using a repeatable framework grounded in high-quality briefing research. I also tease a new way I'm building to help teams decide which CPQ briefings to read first — without showing the app. If you tell me your preferred tone (more neutral/analyst vs more conversational), I can tighten this into a single final description that matches your usual intro style exactly.

In this episode of the CPQ Podcast, Sergey Jermakov joins Frank Sohn to explore how CLARITY is moving beyond classic Quote-to-Cash into intelligent revenue operations management—a broader approach that connects CPQ with billing, revenue processes, and monetization models. Sergey explains how his role has shifted from "sales leader" to Revenue Architect, focused on designing scalable solution architectures and packaged delivery. They discuss CLARITY's focus on mid-market to enterprise organizations (now often $50M+ revenue) in high tech and hybrid product + services businesses, plus their expanded delivery footprint across Europe, North America, and Asia. A major theme is AI: not as magic, but as an accelerator. Sergey shares where AI adoption is strongest today (especially sales and marketing) and how AI can help with document-heavy work and data-driven pricing support—while also exposing weaknesses in process and data readiness. They also dig into why CPQ projects fail—reactive architecture, over-customization, and unclear ownership—and why CLARITY increasingly favors implementation packages over open-ended custom projects to drive faster time-to-value and more controlled releases. Finally, Sergey outlines why many SAP customers are moving from Quote 1.0 to SAP Quote 2.0, with performance and scalability as major drivers. Topics: CPQ, AI in CPQ, revenue operations, SAP Quote 2.0, CPQ implementation best practices, solution architecture, packaged delivery, hybrid selling. 🔗 Learn more about CLARITY at https://www.CLARITY.cx/  📬 Contact Sergey on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jermakov/  

In this episode of the CPQ Podcast, we sit down with Dustin Anglen, Strategic Partnerships Manager at PandaDoc, to discuss how PandaDoc CPQ supports faster quoting for SMB teams (roughly 5–500 employees). PandaDoc is widely known for proposals and eSignature, and Dustin explains why CPQ is a natural extension—especially for organizations that want a practical, easy-to-administer approach without heavy configuration overhead. We cover where PandaDoc CPQ fits best (including SaaS, software & technology, professional services, and education) and how customers typically use it alongside their CRM. Dustin outlines PandaDoc's API-forward SaaSapproach and its key integrations with HubSpot, Pipedrive, and Salesforce. We also discuss what's available today—and what's still evolving—such as ERP connectivity (currently not a standard integration, with MVP work underway) and common customer expectations around implementation, which is often 8–12 weeks. On the capability side, Dustin shares the top requests he sees from the market: product configuration, contract-based pricing, and CRM integration. We talk about product structure support (including bundles), pricing flexibility across segments and regions, usage-based pricing, and how PandaDoc positions its CPQ as a rules engine that is largely no-code (with options for more advanced logic when needed). We also dig into PandaDoc's AI direction—template generation, OCR and document intelligence, metadata-driven automation, and an admin-focused AI feature for helping set up product and pricing rules (currently in testing, with broader availability expected later this year). You'll also hear a few personal moments from Dustin—from his early career in the Salesforce ecosystem (including starting at Apttus in 2014), to an unexpected chapter running a beekeeping business in Santa Barbara, to his passion for freediving near San Diego. A PandaDoc CPQ free trial is available on PandaDoc's website. 🔗 Learn more about PandaDoc CPQ at https://www.pandadoc.com/lp/cpq-software/  📬 Contact Dustin on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/danglen/   

In this CPQ Podcast episode, Frank Sohn sits down with Nils Olsson, Chief Strategy, Product, and Customer Officer at Tacton, to discuss how Tacton is evolving beyond traditional CPQ into a broader platform for configurable products. Nils shares his unique perspective as a former Tacton customer who joined the company in 2015, and explains why staying close to manufacturing customers—through regular conversations across North America, Europe, and Japan—is central to Tacton's strategy. He outlines why 2026 will be a transformative year, with new offerings planned not only for CPQ, but also for engineering, order fulfillment, and services. The conversation also explores how customers are responding to Tacton's recent acquisitions of Variantum and Serenytics, and where AI is delivering real value today. Rather than replacing core CPQ logic, AI is primarily being used to support product modeling, helping customers turn unstructured data into usable configuration knowledge faster and with less effort. Additional topics include hybrid sales models in manufacturing, the shift from ETO to CTO, and why trust, security, and enterprise certifications matter more than ever. Topics covered: The shift from CPQ to end-to-end configurability AI adoption in real-world CPQ projects Manufacturing sales and automation trends What's next for Tacton in 2026 A must-listen for anyone tracking the future of CPQ, configurable products, and manufacturing transformation. 🔗 Learn more about Tacton at https://www.tacton.com/  📬 Contact Nils on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/nils-olsson-400715/ 

2025 was full of CPQ and Quote-to-Cash headlines: AI agents, platform transitions, consolidation, and promises of faster execution. Following those announcements is important — but it rarely tells the full story. In this episode, I look at what often gets lost between public messaging and real-world CPQ decisions. Drawing on patterns observed throughout 2025, I explore where market narratives diverged from evaluation and delivery reality — and why that gap becomes even more important as we head into 2026. The discussion covers AI and agent-based capabilities, platform transitions, consolidation, and delivery constraints — not to judge vendors or predict winners, but to explain how execution, readiness, and sequencing shape actual outcomes. If you're involved in CPQ as a buyer, vendor, system integrator, or investor, this episode offers a practical lens for reading headlines without mistaking them for reality. Contact Frank at [email protected] for any questions LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/franksohn/ 

It's the beginning of the year — a common time when companies evaluate a new CPQ or Revenue Management solution, or consider replacing what they have. If you've started researching and feel more confused than before, you're not alone. In this solo episode, Frank Sohn explains why CPQ selection is uniquely challenging: there are 125+ CPQ vendors, plus analyst rankings, review sites, partner input, Reddit threads, and now AI tools — all creating information overload. In this episode, you'll learn: Why there are so many CPQ vendors (and what that really means) The difference between CPQ and Revenue Lifecycle Management Why CPQ is a system decision, not just a sales tool What a unified data model is — and why it matters for AI Why subscriptions, amendments, and usage-based pricing change requirements How to build a smarter shortlist without relying on demos or rankings alone If you're in the market for CPQ — first-time or replacement — this episode will help you cut through the noise and focus on what matters. Any questions: Send an email to [email protected]  Check out our CPQ Briefing Subscription @ https://novuscpq.com/cpq-briefing-subscription/  Check out our CPQ Sales Report @ https://novuscpq.com/cpq-sales-report/ 

In this CPQ Podcast episode, Frank Sohn sits down with Vinay Toomu, who leads both ScaleFluidly (CPQ / quote-to-order platform) and CommerceCX (a systems integrator working with Salesforce and Conga). Since Vinay's last appearance in 2023, ScaleFluidly has matured into a full quote-to-order revenue orchestration platform—built on a composable core engine that customers can extend with their own apps. Vinay shares what he sees across real implementations: the biggest wins come from improving adoption, reducing friction for sales teams, and putting the right governance in place. They discuss support for direct sales, partner sales, and ecommerce, ScaleFluidly's low-code/no-code approach, and how their architecture differs for SMB (multi-tenant)versus enterprise (environment separation). The episode also covers newer capabilities like role-based controls, security certifications (ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2), and a Chrome assistant designed to streamline CRM workflows. Finally, they unpack ScaleFluidly's practical view of AI in CPQ—where it works today, what's harder at enterprise scale, and how consolidation in the CPQ market could influence innovation. 🔗 Learn more about ScaleFluidly at https://scalefluidly.ai/  📬 Contact Vinay on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinaytoomu/ 

In this CPQ Podcast episode, Frank Sohn talks with Calvin Chow, Senior Director at Slalom Consulting, about what it really takes to move from Salesforce CPQ to Salesforce Revenue Cloud (RCA/ARM). Calvin has hands-on experience with multiple CPQ platforms — including PROS, Apttus (now Conga), Salesforce CPQ / Revenue Cloud, Zuora CPQ, and Vlocity — and shares what he wishes he had known about the end-to-end quote-to-cash process earlier in his career. Calvin explains how Slalom supports mid-size to Fortune 500 customers with strategy, process improvement, data management, and CPQ/Billing transformations, and walks through lessons learned from nearly 10 Salesforce CPQ to RCA/ARM migration projects. He highlights why RCA is more complex than many teams expect, why data migration is the single most critical success factor, and how to rethink processes when moving to usage-based and consumption billing models. The conversation also explores the growing role of AI, agents, and Agentforce in Revenue Cloud. Calvin shares real use cases where agents help create quotes, support renewals, and provide product and pricing recommendations — and why he believes AI will augment sales teams rather than replace them, with over 50% of Slalom's recent projectsnow involving AI and Agentforce. On a lighter note, Calvin also reveals his passion as a coffee connoisseur and aspiring future barista, adding a personal touch to a highly practical, insight-rich episode for anyone serious about CPQ, quote-to-cash, and Salesforce Revenue Cloud migrations. 🔗 Learn more about Slalom at https://www.slalom.com/us/en  📬 Contact Calvin on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/calvin-chow-3179425/ 

In this CPQ Podcast episode, Frank talks with Max from Prodly about the shift from Salesforce CPQ to Revenue Cloud Advanced (now Agentforce Revenue Management, ARM) and what it really takes to manage that transition successfully. They look at how Salesforce is moving customers to ARM, why this is not a simple upgrade but a separate implementation project, and what that means for CPQ teams, partners, and customers. Max reflects on the early Steelbrick days and how it helped democratize CPQ, his path from engineer and product manager to founder, and why he had to learn marketing, sales, and go-to-market the hard way. He also shares a few personal stories, including a 48-hour round-trip flight to Munich for a four-hour meeting, and his view on the coming agentic revolution in enterprise software. You'll also hear how Prodly has grown into an Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) / DevOps platform for Salesforce with ~35–40 employees and a global, mostly North American, customer base. Max explains how Prodly helps larger organizations automate complex CPQ and quote-to-cash deployments (configuration, price rules, discount schedules, install base data, etc.), and why one of their biggest differentiators is that the platform is not limited to CPQ—it also supports use cases like field service, e-commerce, and rebate management. Today, Prodly works with any CPQ solution built on the Salesforce platform, with plans to expand beyond Salesforce in the future. Topics covered: Salesforce CPQ, Revenue Cloud Advanced, Agentforce Revenue Management (ARM), CPQ migration strategy, Salesforce DevOps, application lifecycle management (ALM), Prodly, Steelbrick, quote-to-cash, agentic revolution in enterprise software. 🔗 Learn more about Prodly at https://www.prodly.co/  📬 Contact Max on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxrudman/ 

In this CPQ Podcast episode, host Frank Sohn talks with Andreas Westling, CEO and co-founder of Ignize, about how modern AI pricing and CPQ help B2B manufacturers increase EBIT, improve price fairness, and react faster to market volatility. Drawing on more than 20 years of pricing experience,  including his time as CEO of Navetti (acquired by Vendavo). Andreas explains why pricing fundamentals haven't changed, but the way manufacturers execute pricing has transformed. He also shares how Ignize supports mid-market and enterprise manufacturers with complex, multinational pricing operations that require both speed and precision. Andreas introduces Ignize's concept of Generative Precision Pricing (GPP) and the role of the Ignizer, a modern engine that turns pricing expertise into data-driven, explainable recommendations. You'll also hear how Ignize integrates with CRM systems such as Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics, ERP systems including SAP, Oracle, and legacy platforms, and CPQ solutions like Tacton to deliver consistent, value-based pricing across the commercial stack. We discuss why black-box AI pricing often fails in B2B manufacturing, and why explainability and transparency are essential to earn trust from pricing teams, product managers, sales, and customers. Andreas also outlines what manufacturers can expect from an Ignize implementation. From 8–12 week quick-start value phases to broader enterprise rollouts, and how modern pricing platforms help companies navigate tariffs, commodity swings, currency shifts, and other forms of market disruption. Ignize also operates on an enterprise-grade security foundation, backed by ISO 27001:2013 certification and SOC 2 Type II compliance, ensuring that sensitive pricing and commercial data is handled with the highest standards of information security and compliance. If you're interested in CPQ, B2B pricing, or how AI can strengthen price quality, win rates, and overall financial performance, this episode is for you. 🔗 Learn more about Ignize at https://ignize.com/ 📬 Connect with Andreas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreas-westling/

In this episode of the CPQ Podcast, Frank Sohn sits down with Suren Reddy, founder of Cloudely, for a deep dive into where Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ) is heading—especially inside the Salesforce ecosystem. If you're evaluating Salesforce CPQ, or wondering what Revenue Cloud Advanced really changes, this conversation is for you. Suren breaks down Salesforce Revenue Cloud Advanced (RCA) and Revenue Cloud Billing (RCB) in practical terms: why Salesforce is positioning them as the next-gen replacement for traditional CPQ, what's new in product, pricing, and catalog architecture, and how quote-to-cash is becoming a single, unified revenue platform. He shares real implementation expectations too—why RCA projects are now trending closer to 4–8 months due to expanded analysis and design, and how that tradeoff can pay off in fewer downstream touchpoints and stronger ROI. The discussion also explores the fast-moving AI layer around CPQ. Suren explains Salesforce's move toward multi-agent workflows through Agentforce, the role of Model Context Protocol (MCP) as an open standard for secure tool/data interaction, and what "Agentforce Vibes" (agentic development) could mean for accelerating CPQ and revenue applications. You'll hear a concrete AI use case he's seeing today: the Margin Optimization Agent, designed to recommend profitable product bundles while improving customer outcomes. Finally, Suren shares what he's hearing from customers about the Conga/PROS acquisition, why many are re-evaluating their CPQ options, and what demand signals he expects to rebound in 2026. Plus, a look at Cloudely's growth in India and emerging verticals like dairy, cement, and textiles. Tune in for a grounded, forward-looking CPQ conversation packed with Salesforce Revenue Cloud insights, AI realism, and customer-driven market perspective. Subscribe to the CPQ Podcast for more interviews on CPQ software, quote-to-cash, pricing, and revenue transformation. 👉 Listen now to learn how SMBs are achieving enterprise-grade automation without enterprise-grade complexity. 🔗 Learn more about Cloudely at https://cloudely.com/  📬 Contact Suren on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/surenreddykatta/