For machine shops, fabricators and assemblers

About two minutes.

Practical AI for manufacturers, from RFQ to order

See which part of your quoting and order work AI could take on first, and what it costs you now.

Start the free check
Your plan

For a machine shop handling 200 RFQs a month, with time costed at £19.67 an hour

  • Reading and logging RFQsStart here33.3 h, £655
  • Chasing missing information30.0 h, £590
  • Entering accepted orders17.5 h, £344
  • Estimating stays with your estimators120.0 h

Settle first

One inbox for enquiries, and a named person who approves every quote.

PilotFour weeks on RFQ logging, timed before and after
First three jobs
80.8 hours a month
What those hours cost
£1,589 a month

You know AI could help. The hard part is where to start.

Your estimators are good at pricing. The hours go on everything around it.

What the check gives you
Before the price
Reading the enquiry, finding the right drawing revision and chasing the quantity or date nobody sent.
Around the price
Typing up the quote, attaching your terms and checking a revised drawing against the last one.
Once the order comes in
Keying the purchase order in and checking it matches the quote.

Six steps between an RFQ and an order

The check times each step: how many a month and how long each takes. For a machine shop handling 200 RFQs a month, that's 242.5 hours.

Pick up to three steps
EstimatingStays with your estimator, 120.0 h a month
Approving the quoteStays with your approver, 26.7 h a month

AI can still find past quotes for the estimator and put a summary in front of whoever approves.

What the free check gives you

A one-page plan to print or save.

The job to hand over first
Ranked by the hours it takes each month.
What it costs you now
Your hours times your hourly cost, without guessing at savings.
Who approves, and where drawings go
The two or three things to put in place before any AI.
Four weeks on one job
Time it before and after, and carry on only if it's quicker.
Start the free check

Templates for the quoting office

Free in Word, Excel and PDF, for made-to-order work.

All templates

Plain guides

For the people who quote and take orders.

All guides

Start small and keep control

A pilot on one job, using your own enquiries.

Stays with your people

  • The price
  • Approving the quote
  • Contract terms
  • What goes to the customer
  • Drawings stay where you choose

    The plan says which jobs can run inside the systems you already use.

  • A person signs off every output

    Nothing goes to a customer until someone you name has checked it.

  • Your answers stay with you

  • Nothing bought until it saves time

    The pilot runs on what you have. Software comes later, if at all.

What directors ask before they start

Other questions can go in a review request after the check.

Start the free check
Will AI set our prices?

No. Pricing stays with your estimators and whoever approves the quote. AI can find similar past quotes and draft the quotation, and a person checks it before it goes.

Do we need new software?

Not to start with. The pilot runs on your email, quoting spreadsheet and ERP or MRP system. Anything new comes after it shows the job gets quicker.

Can customer drawings go into AI?

Only where you decide. Some drawings and prices are confidential under customer agreements, so the check asks what can leave your systems. If nothing can, the plan picks jobs that run inside tools you control, or from the enquiry text alone.

What does the check cost?

Nothing. You get a one-page plan, and you can ask for a review of it if you'd like a second opinion.

Does this replace our ERP or quoting system?

No. Your ERP, MRP or quoting spreadsheet stays as the record. AI works on the jobs around it, such as reading the enquiry, drafting the quote letter or checking a purchase order against the quote.