What Is Infor CPQ? A Guide for Manufacturers

Infor CPQ (Configure Price Quote) is Infor's software for selling configurable products. It guides a sales rep, dealer, or customer to a product that can actually be built, prices it, produces the quote documents and drawings, and hands a complete order to the ERP. Manufacturers and distributors of configure-to-order and engineer-to-order products use it to replace spreadsheets, legacy configurators, and manual hand-offs between sales and engineering.

This guide explains the main components of Infor CPQ, how configuration rules work, how the platform connects to ERP and CRM systems, and what an implementation involves. It is written by the Infor CPQ consultants at Fareley, who implement, support, and teach the platform.

The Main Components of Infor CPQ

Configurator

The configurator is a rules engine. Every selection a user makes is checked against the product's rules, so only products that can actually be built make it into a quote. The rules are written once and applied in every channel — direct sales, dealers, distributors, and online — and product images or 3D models can update as options change.

Infor's own materials use several names for it. Current Infor LN documentation calls it the CPQ Configurator, Infor's training courses use Enterprise Configurator and Infor Product Configurator, and older LN documentation and Infor's training portal use the name PCM. Infor LN users should not confuse it with LN's built-in Product Configurator (PCF), a separate module: LN's parameters decide whether the CPQ Configurator or PCF configures the item, its bill of materials, and its routing.

Enterprise Quoting

Enterprise Quoting is where the commercial work happens. Sellers are guided through the questions that matter, prices and discounts are calculated from the configuration, quotes that need sign-off are routed for approval, and an accepted quote becomes an order. Direct sales teams, dealers, and distributors can work on the same platform, each with their own prices, catalogues, and approval rules, while every channel quotes from the same product rules.

Document Automation

Document Automation builds the quote paperwork. The selected options, drawings, prices, and terms are pulled from the configuration into a branded document, so nobody assembles proposals by hand.

Design Automation

Design Automation generates CAD models and drawings from the configuration. Engineering output then always matches what was sold, and drafting time drops.

Back-Office Data

Once a quote is accepted, Infor CPQ can create the items, bills of materials (BOMs), routings, and order details that manufacturing needs, so the order reaches production without being re-keyed.

How Configuration Rules Work

A configurator is only as good as its rules. Rules developers model each product as a set of options, with logic that decides which combinations are valid, what each choice costs, and what gets built. The typical building blocks are:

• Option lists — the choices a user sees, which can change dynamically based on earlier answers.
• Matrices — tables of valid combinations, dimensions, or prices that rules look up instead of hard-coding values.
• Pricing logic — base prices, adders, and discounts calculated from the configuration.
• Manufacturing rules — the logic that turns a configuration into BOMs, routings, and jobs in the ERP.

Rules are tested before release and maintained as product lines change. Keeping large rule sets readable and fast is a big part of long-term success, which is why many manufacturers train their own rules developers.

ERP and CRM Integration

The payoff from Infor CPQ comes when a configuration flows into the ERP as a complete order instead of being typed in again. Infor CPQ is commonly connected to Infor's own ERPs:

• Infor LN — used for engineer-to-order and complex discrete manufacturing; the configuration drives the item, BOM, and routing in LN.
• Infor M3 — quote-to-order flows for equipment, distribution, and process manufacturers.
• Infor CloudSuite Industrial (SyteLine) — a native connection that creates items, BOMs, routings, and jobs from the configuration.
• Infor XA — connectivity for discrete manufacturers running on IBM i.

Sales teams can also start quotes from their CRM: configuration and quoting can be embedded in Salesforce or Infor CRM. Under the hood, integrations use standard connectors, Infor ION with Business Object Documents (BODs), the ION API Gateway, and REST APIs.

Cloud and On-Premises

Infor CPQ runs in Infor's multi-tenant cloud, and Infor ships release updates on its own schedule, so each release calls for impact analysis and regression testing of your rules and integrations. Moving from an on-premises or older CPQ version to the cloud means remediating deprecated features and customisations, re-pointing integrations, and validating everything end to end before cutover.

What an Infor CPQ Implementation Involves

Fareley runs Infor CPQ implementations in five phases:

1. Discover — workshops that capture how your products are configured, priced, and quoted today.
2. Design — an architecture and integration blueprint, signed off before anything is built.
3. Build and integrate — configurator models, quoting setup, documents, and integrations, built and tested together.
4. Go live — user-acceptance testing, cutover, and close support in the first weeks after launch.
5. Support and train — ongoing support and training until your own team can run the platform.

How Long Does It Take?

Timelines depend on scope. A single, focused product line can typically go live in a few months, while multi-plant or engineer-to-order rollouts take longer. Agreeing a phase-gate plan after discovery keeps scope, budget, and milestones clear.

What Drives the Cost?

Infor licenses the software. The implementation effort depends mostly on:

• the number of product lines and the complexity of their rules;
• how many ERP and CRM integrations are needed;
• whether quote documents and CAD drawings are automated;
• how many sales channels and price structures are in scope;
• how much legacy data — options, matrices, and price books — has to be migrated;
• how much training your team needs to run the system after go-live.

Who Needs Infor CPQ Skills

A live Infor CPQ environment needs people in four roles: rules developers who model and maintain products, administrators who run Enterprise Quoting, integration owners who look after ERP and CRM data flows, and the sales reps, dealers, and distributors who quote every day. Each group needs different training — see our Infor CPQ training courses.

Getting Help With Infor CPQ

Fareley is an independent consulting firm that specialises in Infor CPQ. Our Infor CPQ consultants implement and integrate the platform, support live environments, take over stalled projects, and train in-house teams. Explore our Infor CPQ services, read our case studies, or book a consultation.

Infor, Infor CPQ, Infor LN, Infor M3, Infor CloudSuite Industrial (SyteLine), Infor XA, and Infor ION are trademarks of Infor. Salesforce and other product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Fareley is an independent consulting firm; this guide describes the platforms we work with and does not imply endorsement by their owners.