Fragmented Pricing and Quote Approvals Slow Deals for Many Companies

Disconnected pricing, quoting and contracting processes are slowing sales cycles and costing companies revenue, a challenge that is increasingly affecting wholesale distributors that rely on complex approval workflows to complete large orders, according to new research released by Conga.

The study, based on a survey of more than 1,200 commerce and contracting decision-makers, found that 93% of organizations say deals frequently stall as they move through internal departments such as sales, legal, finance, pricing and IT. Nearly 45% of respondents said they lost at least one deal in the past six months because quote approvals took too long.

For wholesale distributors, where many orders require negotiated pricing, contract terms or credit approvals, delays in the quoting process can directly affect order conversion and customer retention.

“Despite advances in AI and automation, commercial operations are often disconnected and difficult to scale,” said Celia Fleischaker, chief marketing officer at Conga. “There is a need throughout the industry to line up every part of the commerce chain, from pricing and quoting through revenue recognition and renewal, into a unified view so teams stay in sync and buyers keep moving forward.”

The report, titled The State of Commercial Operations: Fragmentation in the Age of AI, highlights how fragmented systems across departments are creating operational challenges that affect forecasting and revenue performance.

According to the survey:

• Nearly 80% of respondents said they struggle to meet CEO expectations around commercial operations and risk management.
• 41% said fragmented systems undermine revenue forecasting.
• 38% reported lost or delayed revenue tied to system handoffs between departments.

For distributors competing on speed, service and pricing accuracy, slow quote approvals and disconnected systems can lengthen sales cycles and reduce the likelihood of closing deals.

Many distributors manage pricing and quoting through a combination of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, configure-price-quote (CPQ) software and manual approval processes, which can create bottlenecks when deals require cross-department coordination.

The research coincides with a global rebrand by Conga that brings together its PROS B2B and Conga offerings under a single identity.

The company said the rebrand reflects its focus on helping organizations connect pricing, quoting, contracting and revenue management processes into a unified commercial operations platform.

Conga provides software that manages functions such as CPQ, contract lifecycle management, pricing and revenue operations, helping companies coordinate processes across sales, finance and legal teams.

“Businesses know what it feels like when everything is in sync,” Fleischaker said. “Our new brand represents our promise to help customers reach that state more often and build it into a sustainable advantage.”

Conga said more than 10,000 organizations worldwide, including over half of the Fortune 100, use its commercial operations platform to manage pricing, contracting and revenue workflows