Field guide / Manufacturing operations
RFQ intake automation prepares request details for estimating: it collects stated fields, checks completeness, and routes unclear items for review before data reaches quoting tools.
It supports the preparation around a quote. It does not decide price, manufacturability, capacity, or whether an ambiguous specification is acceptable.
01 / REQUEST DATA
| Input group | Examples to capture |
|---|---|
| Customer request | Email message, portal export, or forwarded quote request |
| Part definition | Part number, revision, description, and referenced drawing or part list |
| Commercial quantities | Requested quantity, lot sizes, annual usage, or break quantities when stated |
| Material and finish | Only values explicitly present in the request or its supplied documents |
| Schedule | Requested delivery date or lead-time requirement |
| Technical requirements | Tolerance, standards, inspection, packaging, and other stated notes |
The workflow should preserve each value's source. Missing data stays missing; automation should not infer a material, tolerance, or delivery promise from context.
02 / EXTRACT
A configured intake can read agreed sources, associate attachments with the RFQ, and assemble fields such as part number, quantity, material, finish, revision, and requested date. Supported file types and document layouts must be confirmed against representative samples before implementation.
03 / VALIDATE
Compare extracted fields with agreed required fields. Check format and presence, keep the original value, and identify which source supplied it. A completeness check can tell an estimator that a field is absent; it cannot decide what the customer intended.
04 / EXCEPTIONS
Flag absent quantity, revision, material, tolerance, or requested date when required by the agreed intake rules.
Show that the email and attachment disagree. Keep both values and point to their source.
Estimators or engineers review unusual tolerances, manufacturability, standards, and unclear specifications.
People set price, margin, delivery commitments, and approval terms.
Duplicate, revised, unreadable, or out-of-scope RFQs enter an explicit review queue.
Reviewed requests move to existing quoting or ERP software through an agreed handoff.
05 / BEFORE CONFIGURATION
A free audit maps the current intake, preparation work, human review points, and a practical next step. No call required.