Creating quotes automatically from price requests: how it works with AI

A price request arrives as an email with a PDF attachment. The customer uses their own product descriptions, orders in cartons and asks for a delivery date. To prepare a reliable quote, sales needs the right items, valid prices and answers to the open questions. AI can support this preparation.

The goal is a reviewable quote draft using your own prices and terms. Depending on the agreed scope, the process also prepares a reply email that can be sent after human approval. The mailbox, ERP, templates and approvals are configured as one connected process.

Which Software Creates Quotes Automatically From Price Requests?

feld.ai can read documents, match structured line items against stored reference data and create new documents. We use these capabilities to configure automated quote generation for each business. Setup covers which prices apply, how a quote reaches the ERP and who approves sending it.

This is particularly useful when inside sales regularly switches between the request, product catalog, price source and quote template. AI handles parts of reading and matching. Sales evaluates the draft and remains responsible for the quote sent to the customer.

How Does Quote Generation Work?

1. Import the request. PDFs, Excel files, Word documents and emails with attachments are uploaded or imported through a configured integration. An AI-powered mailroom can help route them to the appropriate process. The relevant mailboxes and messages are agreed during setup.

2. Prepare line items. Product descriptions, quantities, units, specifications and requested delivery dates are captured as a structured list. Source references can make it easier to check the original. Illegible details and missing specifications require clarification.

3. Match items and terms. Customer and product master data help identify the right records. Prices come from the agreed sources. Rules for customer-specific prices, volume tiers, discounts, pack sizes and validity are defined with sales.

4. Review the draft. The team can inspect the prepared items, price sources and open points and correct the draft. Flags help orient the reviewer; an unflagged item can still contain an error. Professional review covers the quote as a whole.

5. Hand over or send the quote. Depending on the configured process, a PDF is provided or a quote draft is transferred to the ERP. An integrated sending function can then send the approved reply email with the approved attachment. A process that only produces drafts is equally possible.

How Is the ERP Connected?

The ERP remains the agreed source for the data maintained there. A quotation process usually needs two directions: customer records, products, prices and terms are made available; the reviewed draft is returned as a quote where required.

Approved data exports may be sufficient for an initial setup. Continuous integration is configured around the available interfaces. We establish which data must be current, when it is updated, and whether the destination should receive a document or an editable quote with its own quote number. The connection and its scope are agreed as an integration project for your ERP.

Stock and delivery availability need particular attention. A requested date is not a delivery commitment. Availability, delivery dates and possible split deliveries can only inform the process reliably when the relevant data and rules are available. Otherwise, sales needs to confirm the commitment.

Which Prices Apply?

The price source alone does not settle every question. A product can have a list price, a customer contract price and a volume tier. Currency, validity periods, surcharges, shipping costs and discount limits also matter. Their precedence must be defined before quotes are produced from them.

An earlier quote can help interpret “same as last time.” It does not establish that its price or delivery date remains valid today. Historical quotes therefore provide context; current terms must come from a valid source or be explicitly confirmed.

Missing prices, conflicting terms or an unclear unit of measure require clarification. The configured process must resolve these cases before approval. Review should therefore also establish whether the required data is present at all.

Email Integration: From Mailbox to Approval

Reading an email file and continuously connecting a sales or shared mailbox are separate tasks. For mailbox integration, we agree on the email system, relevant folders, access rights and how messages and attachments are linked to the case.

There are two useful outbound options. Draft only: the team receives the quote and a prepared reply and sends them through its existing email or ERP system. Send after approval: we configure a process in which an authorized person approves the exact outgoing message.

Approval covers the sender, recipients including copies, subject, message text and the exact version of the quote attachment. A subsequent change to a price, recipient, text or attachment requires fresh approval. A clarification request to the customer can be prepared and approved in the same way.

The agreed sending process includes filing the message with the case, recording its send status and handling failures. If a connection interruption leaves it unclear whether a message was already handed over, that must be resolved before sending again. The original request, approved reply and quote remain traceable together.

An Example From Specialist Wholesale

A customer asks for “two cartons like last time, this time in 6 mm.” The configured process first identifies which previous product they might mean. If several variants fit, sales needs to select one or ask the customer.

The product master provides the pack size. Only after establishing how many units a carton of this item contains can the requested quantity be calculated against a per-unit price. The customer may have a contract price; its validity and relationship to the volume tier must be defined.

If the requested variant is unavailable, the team decides on an alternative or split delivery. “Similar” does not establish equivalence. The draft then contains the confirmed items and terms. With sending configured, the team also reviews the reply email and approves that exact version.

This example describes the intended process of a configured project. Its time savings can only be assessed using actual requests and the review effort that remains.

What Should a Pilot Establish?

A useful pilot includes frequent standard requests and difficult cases: unfamiliar product descriptions, pack sizes, incomplete specifications, special discounts, requests in other languages and changes within an ongoing email conversation.

Measure the completeness of captured line items, the quality of product matching, the correct application of agreed pricing rules and the time to an approved draft. Include corrections and clarification requests. Our article Automation Rate Is Not Savings explains why the automation rate alone does not establish savings.

The results inform adjustments to data, mappings and rules. An employee’s correction does not automatically train the model. Improvements are configured deliberately and evaluated again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which software creates quotes automatically from price requests?

feld.ai provides the foundation for reading requests, matching line items against your own product and customer data, and creating documents. We use this to configure a quotation process with your price sources, templates and approval rules. ERP integration, mailbox integration and optional sending are agreed as part of the project.

Which request formats can be processed?

PDF, Excel and Word, plus emails as EML or MSG files with supported attachments. Free text, scans and incomplete details may need additional review. Continuous ingestion from a mailbox is configured separately.

Where do the prices in a quote draft come from?

From the agreed, valid price sources: for example ERP prices, approved price lists and customer agreements. The precedence of different terms is defined during setup. Earlier quotes provide context; their prices are not carried over without review. Missing or conflicting prices must be resolved.

Can feld.ai also send the quote by email?

Yes, as a configured part of the project: your team reviews and approves the exact reply, including recipients, text and the quote attachment. Changes require fresh approval. Alternatively, the process stops at a draft that you send through your existing email or ERP system.

How accurate is the recognition of requested line items?

This depends on your documents, product descriptions and master data and is evaluated using representative requests. Flags help with review but do not necessarily identify every error. Corrections do not automatically train the model.

Explore the automated quote generation process or discuss your requests and data sources in an intro call.