Manufacturing SME: quotes in a day instead of a week

Typical scenario: results are estimates based on similar projects, not data from a real client.

The challenge

A 40-person metal fabrication shop working to order. Requests arrive by email with drawings and specs; quotes are prepared by the technical manager on a spreadsheet only he understands. Answering takes 5–7 days, some customers go to a competitor in the meantime, and when the technical manager is on vacation, sales grinds to a halt.

The approach

Three sessions with the technical manager to make his rules explicit: materials, machining, machine time, margins, exceptions. It was the most valuable part of the project, because that know-how finally becomes a company asset. Then we analyzed two years of quotes to see which jobs are standard and which always need custom reasoning.

The solution

A web-based quote configurator applying the agreed pricing rules. AI reads the emailed request, extracts quantities, materials and deadlines and prepares a draft in the configurator; it also suggests similar past jobs and their prices. The technical manager checks and adjusts instead of starting from scratch. Every quote is tracked through to its outcome: won, lost or pending.