The core issue is SKU proliferation, where a new product record is created for every minor variation of a service. Salesforce CPQ's Product Attributes feature is designed specifically to solve this. It allows the GSI to define a single base product, such as "Consulting Services," and then configure its variable characteristics (e.g., Skill, Role, Experience Level) as attributes during the quoting process. This approach consolidates a potentially massive catalog into a few manageable base products, with variations handled dynamically on the quote line, directly resolving the SKU proliferation problem.

A. Use Product Category to rationalize the product catalog.

Product Category is a standard field used for grouping and reporting. It does not reduce the number of underlying product records (SKUs) required.

C. Use Product Classification to rationalize the product catalog.

This is not a standard Salesforce CPQ feature for this purpose. It would function like a custom category field, which is useful for organization but does not solve the root problem of SKU proliferation.

1. Salesforce CPQ Developer Guide, "Product Attributes" Section: "Product attributes are a set of fields that can be used to describe a product. They are useful when you have a product that has a lot of variations... Instead of creating a new product for each variation, you can create one product and use attributes to describe the variations." (This conceptual explanation is found throughout the guide's sections on advanced product configuration).

2. Salesforce Help, "Set Up Product Attributes": "Let sales reps define custom field values for products on a quote line. This feature is useful when your sales reps sell products that have a wide range of customizable features... For example, if you sell laptops, you can set up attributes for memory, hard drive size, and processor." This documentation directly illustrates how attributes handle product variations without creating new SKUs.

3. Salesforce Help, "Attribute-Based Quoting": "Instead of creating hundreds of complex products and product rules, you can create one product with a few attributes. Your sales reps can then choose the attributes they want when they add the product to a quote." This page explicitly contrasts the attribute-based approach with the SKU proliferation problem.