Demonstrate the feasibility of CPQ with a Proof Of Concept

The Hive Proof of Concept: Seeing Is Believing or SIB

When we talk to our prospects about finalizing their CPQ decision, we often notice some reluctance. Since choosing the wrong software can be incredibly expensive, companies tend to question whether CPQ is the right solution for the issues and challenges they’re facing on a daily basis. This is why we have launched our Seeing Is Believing.

The Hive Seeing Is Believing is a minimum viable product (MVP) that will determine the project scope and mark the beginning of the preparation phase and the first design of the configurator. Contrary to a demo environment, a SIB uses your own data to build a first configurator based on a product of your choice. The goal of a SIB is to see if Hive offers the right answer to your business challenge.

The MVP methodology is a mindset: build-measure-learn. It is a safe and quick way to test the solution together with the target users and to improve the scope of your project if needed.

What are the advantages of a Seeing Is Believing or SIB?

The Hive SIB helps you understand your and your customers’ needs before committing to a full implementation. Oftentimes, we see that our customers change the scope of their project based on the outcome of and the experiences with the SIB.

The SIB also gives you the confidence that Hive can handle your complexity. You will get to know the team working on your project, the way the provider tends to cooperate, and the possibilities of their solution.

Once the SIB environment on Hive is ready, we provide enough time for testing internally and externally. This entails a more efficient use of resources, since instead of talking about an abstract solution, you are immediately able to let users test an MVP, so they get a feel of the software. It also helps to gather feedback from the users, which has multiple advantages:

• It eases the change management of the internal team. The success of a new tool directly correlates with the adoption of the tool by internal users. If they feel involved and are allowed to help optimize, the chances of success will increase.
• Your sales team can use it to show customers prototypes. These customers can give concrete feedback, increasing the adoption of the tool.
• The SIB can be used to show your vision to the management.

What do we need to build a SIB?

To set up the Seeing Is Believing, Hive will need some information from your side. You will need to provide a clear project scope for the SIB, and a set decision point for evaluation. The SIB is completely tailored to your business case and will therefore focus on the functionalities you would like to see. If, for example, your worry is about integration, then we will focus on the blueprint of the system architecture. That is why we need a distinct idea of your goal.

For building product configurators, we will need the following:

• Business rules, product lists, BOM lists, and price calculations (e.g., Excel sheets and documentation or a brief discussion with the person who knows this information)
• A short overview of your current processes and systems
• An explanation of the current order process (integrations included)
• A style guide for documents generated by Hive CPQ
• If possible, 3D models or other product visualizations.

What results can you expect from your SIB?

The results from the SIB will, of course, depend on the scope of your project, but generally you can expect the following:

• Delivery of a testing environment for internal and external use
• The first steps of building a configurator for a product of your choice
• The first steps of creating quotes in Hive CPQ
• The first steps of creating technical sheets
• Feedback of future users
• A blueprint for the integration architecture
• A comprehensive estimation and plan of the full CPQ project

With this wealth of information, you can easily make a decision on whether Hive CPQ will be the right solution for your business’s challenges. You will be able to analyze and optimize your initial scope in light of a full project implementation. If you decide to go for a full project, we will re-use as much work as possible from the SIB. This makes sure your project will take a flying start!