Distributor quote automation
We get quote requests by email. Can AI match the SKUs, apply customer pricing and create the quote in our ERP?
Last updated
Yes. An AI agent can read emailed RFQs and attachments, match descriptions and customer part numbers to your SKUs, apply contract pricing and margin floors from the ERP, check stock, and create a draft quote in Business Central, NetSuite or your ERP for a person to approve. Accuracy depends mostly on product master quality and customer part number cross-references.
Who this is for
This page is for wholesale distributors and building products suppliers whose sales and customer service teams turn emailed quote requests into priced quotes by hand: item lists in the email body, spreadsheets, customer RFQ forms and PDF schedules, quoted in Business Central, NetSuite, SAP Business One, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Pronto Xi or SAP.
Solve8 builds this for multi-site distributors in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and across Australia and New Zealand, in fixed-fee phases: discovery on one quote queue at one branch, a shadow pilot on live requests, then a build connected to your ERP on your infrastructure in Australia. Running on Pronto Xi? The Pronto Xi answer covers the integration routes and pricing questions specific to Pronto.
How an emailed RFQ becomes a draft quote in the ERP
Read the request and attachments
The agent watches a shared quotes inbox, reads the email and every attachment, and identifies the customer from the ERP contact records.
Match items to SKUs
Each line is matched to your item master using customer part numbers, supplier part numbers, barcodes, descriptions and attributes. Each match carries a confidence level and the evidence behind it.
Pull customer pricing from the ERP
Prices come from the customer's price list, contract pricing, quantity breaks and promotions in the ERP, read at the time of quoting. The agent keeps no price file and never makes up a price.
Apply margin floors and discount rules
Minimum margin by product group, maximum discount by customer tier and approval limits by role are applied line by line.
Check stock and lead times
Availability is checked by branch or warehouse, with supplier lead times for items that need to be ordered in.
Create the draft quote in the ERP
The quote is written as a normal sales quote or estimate record with the RFQ reference and a link to the original email, so conversion, credit checks and reporting work as today.
Route exceptions for approval
Out-of-policy discounts, margins under the floor, low-confidence matches, new customers and out-of-stock items go to the right person with the reason. Every step is logged.
What decides matching accuracy
| Factor | Why it matters | What to fix first |
|---|---|---|
| Product master descriptions | Vague or inconsistent descriptions give little to match on | Standardise descriptions for top selling groups |
| Customer part number cross-references | An exact cross-reference is the most reliable match | Load them for your largest customers and save every confirmed match |
| Superseded and alternative items | Requests often name discontinued or competitor codes | Record supersessions and approved alternatives |
| Units of measure and pack sizes | Each, box and pallet mix-ups change price and quantity | Check conversions on high volume items |
| Contract pricing kept current | Expired contract prices produce wrong quotes | Review end dates and owners |
Drawings and take-offs for building products suppliers
Where AI helps
AI can read schedules, door and window schedules, fixture lists and notes from PDF drawings, list the products and quantities stated, and flag missing information.
Where the estimator stays essential
Measured take-offs, substitutions, specification compliance and waste allowances need an experienced estimator. Treat AI output on drawings as a starting list to check.
How the two combine
Once the estimator confirms the take-off, the agent does the SKU matching, pricing, margin checks and quote creation, which is usually where the rekeying time goes.
A phased approach
Discover
One quote queue at one branch: turnaround, lines per quote, rework, and item master and cross-reference quality.
Prove
The agent drafts quotes in shadow mode on live requests. Your team compares them line by line with what was quoted, and you set the accuracy bar.
Build
Connected to the ERP with approvals, exception queues and logs, on your infrastructure in Australia.
Run
Solve8 supports it, or hands over code, documentation and training. Each phase is a fixed fee, and you can stop after any phase and keep the work.
ERP options for creating the quote
Business Central
Microsoft's Sales Order Agent reads emailed requests and PDF, PNG and JPG attachments, matches items by item number, vendor item number, GTIN and cross-references, checks availability and always creates a sales quote first. Designated users review outgoing messages, and it uses Copilot Credits. Contract pricing and margin rules beyond standard setup may need a custom layer.
NetSuite
Quotes are Estimate records, which are non-posting and carry an expiry date. SuiteTalk REST web services can create records, so a custom agent can write draft estimates.
SAP Business One, Pronto Xi and others
Most distributor ERPs expose an API for sales quotes. Confirm with your partner which endpoints your version has enabled.
Proof from Solve8's quoting work
Solve8 built AI that categorises defect records and suggests quote lines for a national fire protection provider, running in the client's own cloud in Sydney and entering shadow mode beside the quoting team. Distributor quotes use the same pattern: match to a controlled list, apply pricing rules and keep a person approving.
Who should own it
Sales or customer service manager
Owns the quote queue, turnaround and follow-up.
Pricing or commercial manager
Owns margin floors, discount limits and approval rules.
ERP or application manager
Owns the integration, the agent's permissions and item master quality.
Estimating lead
Owns take-offs and drawing-based quotes for building products.
Related work
- Wholesale and distributionQuotes, orders and pricing in your ERP.
- AI in the quoting processThe general guide to AI quoting across industries.
- Purchase orders into the ERPEmailed PDF orders checked and queued for approval.
- AI quoting and orders in Pronto XiIntegration routes and customer pricing on Pronto.
- National fire protection providerAI defect quoting, built and entering shadow mode.
Sources
Microsoft Learn, Sales Order Agent overview for Business Central (reads emailed requests and attachments, matches items by identifiers and cross-references, checks availability, always creates a sales quote first, users review outgoing messages, uses Copilot Credits): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-au/Dynamics365/business-central/sales-order-agent
Oracle NetSuite, Preparing an Estimate (estimates are non-posting and have an expiry date): https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/saas/netsuite/ns-online-help/section_N1069843.html
Oracle NetSuite, Overview of SuiteTalk REST Web Services (create, read, update and delete records): https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/saas/netsuite/ns-online-help/chapter_1540391670.html
Questions
Can AI match our customers' own part numbers to our SKUs?
Yes, and customer part number cross-references give the most reliable matches. Where a cross-reference exists in the ERP, the match is exact. Where it does not, the agent suggests the closest SKUs from descriptions and attributes, a person confirms, and the confirmed match is saved so the same code is matched automatically next time.
What happens when a quote needs a discount below our margin floor?
The agent applies your margin floors and discount limits to every line. A line that falls below the floor, or a discount beyond the salesperson's limit, is held and sent to the person who can approve it, with the cost, margin and customer history shown. Nothing out of policy goes to the customer without that approval.
Does the AI send quotes to customers by itself?
Not while it is being proven. A person reviews and approves every quote and outgoing email during the shadow pilot and early rollout. Once measured agreement supports it, you can decide to let specific customers or simple in-policy quotes go out with lighter review, and exceptions always stay with a person.
Can the agent quote superseded or competitor part numbers?
Yes, when the ERP records them. Supersessions and approved alternatives held against the item let the agent propose the current SKU and show the customer's original code beside it. Where no link exists, the line is flagged with suggested items for a person to confirm, and the confirmed link is saved for next time.
Can it quote items we do not have in stock?
Yes. The agent checks stock by branch or warehouse and, for items that need to be ordered in, uses supplier lead times from the ERP to state a realistic delivery date. Items with no lead time recorded or no active supplier are flagged for a person to confirm before the quote goes out.
Related
- Wholesale and distributionQuotes, orders and pricing in your ERP.
- We want to use AI in our quoting process. What can it do, and who can help in Sydney and across Australia?How AI reads quote requests from email, PDFs and drawings, prices them from your price book and drafts the quote in your system for an estimator to approve.
- We run Pronto Xi and get quote requests and purchase orders by email. How do we automate quoting and order entry with AI?How distributors on Pronto Xi use AI to read emailed quote requests and purchase orders, get customer pricing and stock, and create draft quotes and orders.
- Customers email us PDF purchase orders and staff retype them into the ERP. Can AI do this reliably?How AI reads emailed PDF purchase orders, checks them against customer, item and price data, routes exceptions to a person, and writes orders to your ERP.
- AI agents for Australian organisations, built inside your systemsAn AI agent is software that reads incoming work, decides within your rules and acts across your systems. A person approves the result.
Quote requests piling up in the inbox?
A 30-minute review with a senior consultant. You leave with a written one-page summary you can share internally.
Fixed-fee phases, agreed before we start. Stop after any phase.