SMC — RFQ Proof of Concept

How SMC can turn inbound RFQs into a quote-ready first draft.

The approach keeps the current RFQ intake process intact, uses AI to read the incoming documents, structures the requested items, suggests likely product matches, and routes only the uncertain lines to sales for review before pricing and response.

Same RFQ inputs Faster quote preparation Human review on exceptions

High-level approach from RFQ intake to quote-ready draft

A simple five-step proof of concept showing how an inbound RFQ becomes a sales-ready quote draft.

  1. 1
    Receive

    Accept the same RFQ PDFs and attachments customers already send today.

    Technical: Email/API intake and attachment capture.
  2. 2
    Extract

    Read the document and pull out customer, project, and requested line-item details.

    Technical: PDF rendering and AI-based field extraction.
  3. 3
    Structure

    Separate true quote lines from notes, headers, alternates, and special instructions.

    Technical: Row classification and data normalization.
  4. 4
    Match

    Suggest likely products, substitutions, or missing information that needs clarification.

    Technical: Catalog/alias matching with confidence scoring.
  5. 5
    Review

    Present a quote-ready draft for sales approval and follow-up before response.

    Technical: Exception queue, approval step, and structured export.

Follow one RFQ line through the proof of concept

Click a step to see how one requested item becomes easier for sales to review and quote.

Example RFQ line
10 × END CAPS, 26ga

The RFQ arrives in the same PDF format the customer already uses. Nothing has been interpreted or priced yet.

What the system is doing

Receive the RFQ

The document is accepted as-is so the proof of concept starts from the current sales intake process.

Why it matters to the Sales Manager

The team can evaluate automation without asking customers to change how they submit requests.

RFQ received

What changes for the sales team

The proof of concept reduces first-pass admin work so sales can focus on pricing, exceptions, and response speed.

Before

Manual RFQ triage

The team reads every page, interprets each line, and searches for products before quoting can begin.

  • Review the full RFQ packet manually from scratch.
  • Separate quoteable items from notes, alternates, and context.
  • Build the first draft quote structure by hand.
With the PoC

Quote-ready first draft

Sales starts from organized RFQ data, suggested matches, and clearly flagged exceptions.

  • See extracted request lines in a structured draft.
  • Focus on substitutions, exceptions, and missing information.
  • Respond faster with a cleaner handoff into pricing.