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Two differences you can check before your ERP is connected
- Your own catalogue in the trial, not a sample one. Canals’ live evaluation page lists what you see in its 10-minute session, including “Customer requests matched to our sample product catalog”. A sample catalogue cannot show whether the agent picks your products, your article numbers and your variants. An ERP Agent pilot runs your real requests against your own catalogue file. When a customer writes “M12 nyloc A2”, the line comes back as your own DIN 985 lock nut in A2 stainless with a match score, and you count the lines that come back right.
- Reps work on real requests before the ERP is connected. Canals’ home page sets day 1 as “connect your ERP” and says “Once the integration is complete, your team can go live.” ERP Agent starts from a catalogue file. Your company gets its own agent mailbox, reps forward real requests in the first week, and we set up the connection to your ERP during onboarding. Your IT team does not have to open ERP access before your sales team sees what the agent proposes.
Canals vs ERP Agent, side by side
The Canals column uses Canals’ own home page and live evaluation page.
| Canals | ERP Agent | |
|---|---|---|
| You want to see the agent on your own requests before deciding | A 10-minute live evaluation in which customer requests are matched to Canals’ sample product catalog | A pilot on your own requests and your own catalogue file; you count the lines that come back right |
| Your team starts on real requests | After the ERP is connected: “Once the integration is complete, your team can go live” | In the first week, from a catalogue file, while the ERP connection is set up during onboarding |
What your rep does with a 40-line request in ERP Agent
All of this happens in one review screen, and every step works from the keyboard.
The draft fills in while you watch
Lines appear in the table as the agent matches them. Requests with several hundred lines are split into batches that run in parallel.
Go straight to the marked lines
Every line carries a match score and the agent’s reasoning. Press N to jump to the next line under 80. The customer’s original wording sits next to the proposed product.
Swap with one key
When more than one product could fit, the line already holds up to three runner-ups from your catalogue, each with its own match score, unit price and line total. Press 1, 2 or 3 to take one, 0 to go back to the agent’s pick, or A to search that line again.
Change the rest by typing
In quote chat, type “line 3 should be the 50 mm nipple, and add 200 M12 washers”. The agent searches your catalogue and shows each change as before and after, such as “#3 unit price 2.15 € → 2.40 €”. Keep or reject each one. The chat cannot send anything.
Send, and it learns
Send to your ERP with “Final — send and learn”. The next time a customer writes the same thing, the agent picks the same product. Nobody writes a rule.
Example: an enquiry in the customer’s own words
A maintenance buyer emails a fastener wholesaler. Prices are left out here; in a real draft they come from the customer’s terms in your ERP.
“Morning, can you price the below for Thursday delivery? Thanks”
- 200 x M12x40 hex set A2
- 200 x M12 nyloc A2
- 50 x 3/8 BSP hex nipple brass
- 20 x FX-1022 (as last time)
| Request line | Proposed product | Qty | Match | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M12x40 hex set A2 | Hexagon set screw DIN 933, M12 × 40, stainless A2 | 200 | 96 | “Hex set” read as a fully threaded set screw. |
| M12 nyloc A2 | Nylon insert lock nut DIN 985, M12, stainless A2 | 200 | 94 | Grade matches the screws above. |
| 3/8 BSP hex nipple brass | Hex nipple 3/8 in BSP, brass, 35 mm | 50 | 76 | Marked. Two lengths in the catalogue; the 50 mm nipple is alternative 1, one keypress away. |
| FX-1022 (as last time) | Threaded rod M10 × 1000 mm, zinc plated | 20 | 88 | The customer’s own code, matched from earlier quotes. |
Illustrative example with sample products, codes and scores, showing how a draft is presented for review.
Why the product decision is the part that matters
Reading the lines off an email or a spreadsheet is the easy half of a quote request. The slow half is deciding which of your products each line means when the customer writes shorthand, gives dimensions in their own format or uses their own article number. According to our case study, a sales rep spends on average 4–7 minutes per line when creating quotes and orders by hand (calculate your cost).
That decision depends on your catalogue: your ranges, your variants and your article numbers. That is why an ERP Agent pilot runs on your own catalogue file from the first request, and why the test that matters is how many lines come back as the product your rep would have chosen. See how ERP Agent automates quotes.
How to test it on your own requests
You can run ERP Agent on real requests before any integration work begins.
Send your catalogue
A product file is enough to start; past quotes help it learn faster. From the first request, the products proposed are your own.
Forward real requests
Your company gets its own agent mailbox. Reps forward customer requests there or paste them into the web app, and a typical request is ready for review in 3–8 minutes.
Count the lines that come back right
Include the difficult requests. Our pilot checklist shows how to set up a fair trial.
Connect your ERP
We set up the connection to your ERP or CRM during onboarding. Reviewed quotes and orders then land in the system your team already uses.
ERP Agent in numbers
- 4–7 min
- per line when quotes and orders are created by hand, according to our case study
- 95%
- average automation across our customers
- Over 95%
- accuracy in quote-line automation at LVI-WaBeK
- 3–8 min
- for the agent to prepare a typical request
ERP Agent is live with steel, HVAC and fastener distributors. Read how LVI-WaBeK turns customer requests into quote lines with the right products and prices.
