The competitive advantage
3 tailor-made modules.
Not configured, developed.
What stays the same is the backbone of the Bid process. What changes are 3 custom modules, rebuilt from scratch around how you sell, quote and analyze.
01
Custom module
Configurator
Your product, modeled the way it really is
- Types, materials, composition rules, real technical constraints from your industry
- Blocks non-compliant configurations before they become a quote
- Built on your products, not picked from a standard library
In practice: it lives inside Excel, the sales rep works where they already work.
02
Custom module
Cost Calculator
Consistent pricing, every time, on every Bid.
- Full cost: materials, machining, NDE, assembly, overlays, labor
- Company CBS, multi-category, multi-currency, multi-business unit
- Margins and markups according to your commercial policy
In practice: one click in the BPM Ribbon in Excel and the final cost is there in seconds.
03
Custom module
Data Analysis
The Bid becomes a measurable growth lever.
- Key KPIs: hit rate, average margin, time-to-quote, share-of-pipeline
- Drill-down by customer, product, business unit, period
- Power BI or your existing BI: no new tool
In practice: the VP Sales opens the dashboard in the morning and immediately sees where to act.
The process doesn't adapt to the software. It's the software that shapes itself around your process.
The BPM workflow
BPM manages the standard bid process end to end. The Custom CPQ modules are optional: BPM integrates them into the same flow. The tools you use every day stay Outlook, Excel, Teams, Word.
01
RFQ
The entry point, never messy.
Emails arrive from Outlook, from the customer portal, by phone. BPM gathers them into a single structured record, qualifies them, assigns an owner. Even no-bids are tracked, always.
100%
3 step
from arrival to assignment
02
BID / CPQ
Where configurator and cost engine work together.
BPM manages the process steps, from opening the bid through to sending the quote. The Custom CPQ module adds configuration, costing, pricing and document. It's optional: you can also fill in by hand, BPM stays the director.
4 + 1
Excel
03
ORDER
Clear outcome, clean data.
Win or loss, the reason is always tracked. On a win, BPM breaks down the costs according to the customer's CBS and sends them to the ERP. On a loss, the data stays to improve the win rate.
Go deeper
Request a 30-minute demo · POC on your use case · No salesperson on the phone
Frequently asked questions
What is BPM (Bid Process Management)?
The CPQ for companies that quote valves, actuators and Oil & Gas equipment. It lives inside Excel, Outlook, Teams and Word — it doesn’t replace the tools your team already uses: it puts them under control. Built by ELFO around your bid process: a single RFQ, technical rules, cost calculation, DOA and bid documents, from request to order. → Learn more about how it works
Who is ELFO?
An Italian software house dedicated to engineering Full Custom software solutions for complex manufacturing organizations. “Where the market falls short, ELFO delivers”. Redrawing the boundaries of what software can do when an off-the-shelf product isn’t enough. 110 team members, because what counts is not how many we are, but who we are: memorable relationships built on empathy, collaboration, commitment, research. Areas: Custom Software · Application Integration · Business Intelligence · Artificial Intelligence · Cloud Computing.
How is it different from Tacton, Salesforce or SAP CPQ?
Office-native, not integrated via API. BPM lives inside Excel, Outlook, Teams and Word: immediate adoption, minimal training, no proprietary web app to learn. Truly custom, not configured: 1 standard module + 3 components (Configurator, Cost Calculator, Data Analysis) developed on your products, your CBS, your DOA. The process doesn’t adapt to the software. A vendor from the Italian valves cluster: 38 years of custom software for manufacturing, headquarters in Piacenza, support in Italian, no time zones, no resellers.
How long does the rollout take?
8-12 weeks for the SaaS version, 12-16 weeks On-Premises, with a dedicated project manager. A 30-minute demo, Discovery of your bid process and a POC on a real case from your pipeline all happen before the rollout. No payment required during evaluation.
How does it integrate with our ERP?
Standard connectors and APIs for all major enterprise and Italian ERPs, as well as custom management systems. Master data, price lists, orders, BOM and master data stay in sync thanks to the Master Data Management module (a change propagates to BPM, ERP, PDM). The integration scoping is included in the quote: no hidden costs.
Cloud or On-Premises?
Identical user experience. SaaS managed by ELFO (recommended: faster rollout, updates included, automatic backups and disaster recovery). On-Premises for organizations with the restrictive IT policies typical of Oil & Gas: NDA, EPC data, isolated environments. We adapt to you, not the other way around.
Is bid data secure?
European data centers, daily backups, per-client isolation, granular RBAC, authentication and SSO via Azure Active Directory, ISO 27001 compliance (Bureau Veritas certification, accredited by Accredia). Margins, costs and price lists are visible only to authorized roles. The complete audit trail tracks every revision of the bid, consistent with the NDA/EPC policies typical of the sector.
Can we really customize it?
Yes. The BPM model is 1 standard + 3 custom: Configurator, Cost Calculator and Data Analysis are developed, not configured, on your products, your CBS, your DOA. Custom software from a custom software house: the process doesn’t bend to the software, it’s the software that models itself on your process. → See the case studies ↗