- Features > Headless CPQ Platform
Headless CPQ Platform
Access Mercura's complete CPQ engine through API without the standard UI. Build custom configuration experiences, integrate with existing portals, and deploy CPQ logic anywhere you need it.
100%
CPQ capabilities available via API
Any UI
Framework or platform supported
Single source
Rules and pricing — one engine, any surface
The Challenge
Off-the-Shelf CPQ UIs Cannot Fit Every Customer-Facing Context
Manufacturers operating complex digital environments — custom e-commerce platforms, proprietary dealer portals, legacy customer interfaces — cannot always replace their existing UIs with a standard CPQ interface. They need CPQ logic without CPQ UI constraints.
Traditional CPQ platforms are tightly coupled — the rules engine is inseparable from the interface. Customising the UI beyond surface-level theming is either impossible or requires extensive professional services investment with no guarantee of success.
When the UI cannot be customised to fit the context, the entire CPQ deployment becomes a compromise. Either the existing customer experience is disrupted, or the CPQ implementation is limited to internal use — leaving external channels without live configuration and pricing capability.
Development teams building on tightly coupled CPQ platforms are also constrained in their technology choices — locked into whatever front-end framework the vendor has prescribed, regardless of whether it fits their existing stack.
How It Works
How Headless CPQ Works in Mercura
Mercura's headless CPQ mode exposes the complete configuration and pricing engine through a REST API. Every operation available in the standard Mercura UI — product selection, option filtering, constraint validation, pricing calculation, quote generation, and order submission — is also available as an API endpoint. Development teams build their own front-end experience in any framework, calling Mercura's API for all CPQ logic. The rules engine ensures that only valid configurations are returned, and pricing calculations reflect all configured rules, discount structures, and customer-specific rates. The API is stateful — it maintains configuration sessions and supports partial saves, enabling multi-step configuration flows in custom interfaces.
What's Included
Key Capabilities
- REST API exposing 100% of CPQ configuration and pricing capabilities
- Stateful configuration sessions with partial save and resume support
- Real-time constraint validation via API — returns valid options at each step
- Live pricing calculation API reflecting all pricing rules and customer rates
- Quote document generation via API — PDF output for any custom interface
- Order submission API with validation and ERP routing
- Webhook support for event-driven integrations
- OpenAPI specification with full documentation for development teams
The Difference
Before and After Headless CPQ
- CPQ deployment forces UI replacement — existing customer experience disrupted
- Custom UI requirements blocked by tightly coupled vendor platform
- External channels excluded from CPQ capability — internal use only
- Development team locked into vendor-prescribed front-end framework
- Each new context requires a new CPQ deployment and integration effort
- CPQ logic deployed behind any UI — existing experiences preserved and enhanced
- Custom UI built in any framework — Mercura handles all CPQ logic via API
- All channels — portal, website, marketplace, mobile — get live CPQ capability
- Development team works in their chosen stack — no framework constraints
- Single API deployment serves all channels from one rules and pricing source
Real-World Application
Example Use Case: Industrial Component Manufacturer
An industrial component manufacturer had invested heavily in a custom dealer portal built on their proprietary technology stack. The portal handled dealer authentication, order history, inventory queries, and support — and dealers used it daily. The manufacturer needed to add CPQ capability to the portal but could not replace the portal UI with a vendor CPQ interface without disrupting the entire dealer workflow. Using Mercura's headless API, their development team integrated Mercura's configuration and pricing engine directly into the existing portal in six weeks. Dealers gained full CPQ capability within the familiar portal interface. The manufacturer's rules engine and pricing structure were maintained centrally in Mercura — updated by the product team without developer involvement.
Quote turnaround dropped from 3 days to under 4 hours.
Business Impact
Why Headless CPQ Matters
Headless CPQ decouples the intelligence of product configuration and pricing from the constraint of a single interface. It enables manufacturers to deploy accurate, rules-driven CPQ capability wherever their customers and partners already are — without forcing a change in how they interact. For organisations with significant existing digital infrastructure, headless CPQ is the only viable path to CPQ adoption that does not require rebuilding what already works.
Deploy CPQ Logic Behind Any Interface
Book a demo to see how Mercura's headless API lets you embed accurate product configuration and pricing into any digital environment.
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