Use case
Quotations
The most expensive process in a mid-sized company is rarely production - it is the road from enquiry to quotation. It ties up experienced people, runs across several systems, and is still largely routine.
Typical scope: one process, from €6,900
The process
Where a person is needed - and where they no longer are.
- ClaudeLab from here
Step 01Person
Enquiry
Intake
Step 02ClaudeLab
Costing
Checking
Step 03ClaudeLab
Prices
Gathering
Step 04ClaudeLab
Quotation
Output
The difference
The same process, once as it is today and once with us.
Step 01 · today
Step 01 · with us
Step 02 · today
Step 02 · with us
Step 03 · today
Step 03 · with us
Step 04 · today
Step 04 · with us
What we build
- Component 01
- Attachments are read - PDF, drawing, spreadsheet, scanned bill of quantities.
- Component 02
- Comparable jobs are looked up in the ERP and proposed as the costing basis.
- Component 03
- The draft quotation is created in your existing template, not in some unfamiliar tool.
- Component 04
- Anything unclear is flagged rather than guessed - gaps stay visible instead of being filled in.
Degree of autonomy
The draft is produced independently; the release is always a person. A quotation is a binding document - it never leaves the building unseen.
Where it does not fit
If every enquiry is a one-off and there are no comparable jobs, there is little to gain here. The benefit comes from repetition, not from intelligence.
More specific
What this looks like in your sector
The process is sector-independent, the fit is not. These pages show the systems, the formats and the rules that actually apply there.
Mechanical engineering
Where parts are made to drawing, the basis of a quotation is a technical document, not a form. The system has to be able to read what was drawn, not what was typed in.
ViewTrades
Quote after a site visit and you lose orders by days, not by cents. The leverage is in the time between visit and quotation - not in costing accuracy.
ViewWholesale
In trade it is not arithmetic precision that decides but the hit rate on article matching and terms. That is also exactly where the margin sits.
ViewConstruction & building services
In construction a quotation is a formal document with a prescribed structure. Errors in it are not expensive, they are disqualifying.
ViewFrequently asked
What does it cost to automate quotations?
From €6,900 for the first process, from €4,900 for each further one in the same project. The firm price follows the audit (€2,500, credited against the project) - before that, any number would be a guess.
How long does implementation take?
4 to 6 weeks to the first productive run. Building it is usually the shorter half - the time goes into access, coordination and test cases.
What do we have to provide?
Read access to the quotations closed over the last twelve months - that is where the system learns your costing logic, not from a formula. Access to the ERP, or at least a regular export of jobs and prices. A contact in sales who has two to three hours a week for questions during the first weeks. Nothing more is needed to start.
How will we know it works?
From verifiable criteria agreed before the build: Across 30 real past enquiries the draft falls within your usual price tolerance in at least 80 % of cases. Every unclear item is flagged - nothing is quietly guessed. No quotation leaves the building without a person releasing it.
Does the AI decide on its own?
The draft is produced independently; the release is always a person. A quotation is a binding document - it never leaves the building unseen.
When is this not worth it?
If every enquiry is a one-off and there are no comparable jobs, there is little to gain here. The benefit comes from repetition, not from intelligence.
Which sectors does this suit?
In our experience particularly Mechanical engineering, Trades, Wholesale, Construction & building services. The process itself is sector-independent, though - what matters is whether it repeats.
Tell us where your time goes.
In the audit we record the process, work out what is worth automating, and you get a plan with fixed prices - credited against the build if you go ahead.