RFQ automation · MRO distributors
RFQ Automation for MRO Distributors
MRO requests come from maintenance planners and purchasing teams at plants. They are broad, mixing safety supplies, filters, fasteners, lubricants and spare parts, and they often reference the plant’s own stock codes from its maintenance system rather than a manufacturer part number.
What these RFQs look like
Illustrative lines, not customer data.
| Customer line | Why it slows quoting |
|---|---|
| MAT-004512 Nitrile glove L box/100 x 20 | Plant stock code plus a description. |
| Filter element 10 micron for HP unit x 6 | Description only, no part number. |
| SHCS M8x30 12.9 black oxide x 200 | Abbreviations and specs in free text. |
| Grease cartridge EP2 14oz x 48 | Package size in the description, quantity at the end. |
Where manual processing breaks
Many lines, small value
A single RFQ can have dozens of inexpensive items. Retyping them costs more time than the margin justifies.
Plant stock codes
Customers reference their own item codes, which mean nothing in your catalog until someone maps them.
Repeat requests
The same plant asks for the same items again and again, and each time someone looks them up from scratch.
How RFQ Inbox handles it
- Map a plant code once
Save a customer’s stock code as an alias on your product and future RFQs match it automatically at a score of 90.
- Descriptions still match
Lines without part numbers are compared on normalized descriptions and technical attributes, with the evidence shown.
- Fast review of long lists
Confident matches are pre-selected so reps spend their time on the few lines that actually need a decision.
Every match shows its score and evidence, prices come only from your catalog, and reviewed lines export to CSV or XLSX for your ERP. Read the full guide to RFQ automation.
Other industries
Send a sample RFQ and your catalog. We’ll show you the review table on your data.