For CPQ implementations, the go-live is a very telling moment. It’s likely that months of resource planning, user adoption preparation, and overall anticipation have all preceded it—you’re anxious to see some big results. So how can you make sure your CPQ go-live avoids being an unnoticeable flop and is instead a champion of business transformation for your organization?

When Mitsubishi Electric partnered with Simplus to implement their Salesforce CPQ, they found just that: crazy good transformation for its business. Mitsubishi Electric went from quote generation that takes a week to quote generation that takes a few hours. By taking a look at the incredible success of Mitsubishi Electric’s CPQ platform, we can pinpoint three essentials to making sure your go-live is just as transformative: a strong partner relationship, an understanding of business solution, and a partner who does pre-emptive work.

Understand the business solution

Vital to Mitsubishi Electric’s successful go-live was the company’s understanding of their desired business solution—not just the technical solution. Many companies approach an implementation project from a purely technical perspective—”we need three VisualForce pages done.” However, when a company digs deeper and truly understands the business solution they’re driving at with implementation like Mitsubishi Electric did, it makes the likelihood of a rewarding go-live much higher. Mitsubishi had clearly assessed its sales process and defined what “done” would like for the business solution. They knew their success criteria from the start.

Find a partner who does preemptive work

Another essential to set your team up for success with Salesforce CPQ is aligning with a solid partner. One differentiator that signals a good partner is finding out how they approach project challenges—potential or realized. For example, Simplus was able to steer the course of Mitsubishi’s CPQ project and avoid possible challenges. The experience of the Simplus team meant we had seen similar circumstances before and knew just how to address them with a little preemptive work. If you pick a partner who is actively watching out for and guiding you away from potential roadblocks, you’re in good shape.

Foster a strong working relationship

Finally, even if you’ve done all you can do to prepare for CPQ and your partner is the best in the business, you can still have problems. The partnership between consultant and client has to have a strong foundation of trust. A consultant should be your trusted advisor, not just some extra bodies you hand orders to. Simplus’ partnership with Mitsubishi Electric found this strong sense of trust. We were able to collaborate freely and progress together, making the process more enjoyable for everyone and, more importantly, the final go-live a seamless success.

Happy endings require happy preparations, and Mitsubishi Electric did just that with its Salesforce CPQ. By understanding the business solution, finding a partner in Simplus to do preemptive work, and fostering a strong working relationship with the partner, Mitsubishi was set for incredible success. They in a disorganized inventory, slow quoting, and manual approvals that would take at least two days for increased documentation of 200%, monthly results within 3% of forecasts, and a quote, pricing, proposal time down to only 2 hours (instead of 2 days). In other words, Mitsubishi Electric completely transformed. With CPQ, a good partner, and clear goals, you can too.