CPQ Podcast

Frank Sohn
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The CPQ Podcast is your go-to source for all things Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ). Each episode features in-depth interviews with industry leaders, innovators, and practitioners who share real-world insights, strategies, and success stories. Whether you're in Sales Ops, RevOps, IT, or Product Management, this podcast helps you stay ahead in the evolving CPQ landscape — from CPQ tools and processes to digital selling, product configuration, pricing strategy, and Quote-to-Cash trends. Tune in to expand your CPQ knowledge, explore new solutions, and hear from the voices shaping the future of B2B sales automation.

  1. 2 DAYS AGO

    Rourke McCarron on AI-Native CPQ for Precision Manufacturing

    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/

    30 min

  2. 12 APR

    Tyler Moini on AI, Governed Execution, and Modern Revenue Management

    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/

    31 min

  3. 5 APR

    AI Pricing, Fair Market Value, and Used IT Asset CPQ with Garima and Pulin

    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/

    32 min

  4. 15 MAR

    What Conga Connect 2026 Revealed About Conga's CPQ Direction

    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

    11 min

  5. 8 MAR

    The 6 Questions That Fix Most CPQ Shortlists (Before You Watch Another Demo)

    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.

    14 min

  6. 1 MAR

    Why CPQ is Vital for Intelligent Revenue ft. Sergey Jermakov

    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/

    33 min

  7. 22 FEB

    PandaDoc CPQ for SMB: No-Code Quotes, CRM Integrations + AI

    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/

    31 min

  8. 15 FEB

    From CPQ to a Configurable Product Platform: Tacton's Nils Olsson

    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/

    35 min
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About

The CPQ Podcast is your go-to source for all things Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ). Each episode features in-depth interviews with industry leaders, innovators, and practitioners who share real-world insights, strategies, and success stories. Whether you're in Sales Ops, RevOps, IT, or Product Management, this podcast helps you stay ahead in the evolving CPQ landscape — from CPQ tools and processes to digital selling, product configuration, pricing strategy, and Quote-to-Cash trends. Tune in to expand your CPQ knowledge, explore new solutions, and hear from the voices shaping the future of B2B sales automation.

Information

  • Creator
    Frank Sohn
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Novus CPQ Consulting, Inc.
  • Show Website
    CPQ Podcast

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