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HVAC and ventilation wholesale

HVAC wholesale quote automation: from schedule to reviewed quote

HVAC wholesale quote automation turns a contractor’s enquiry, often a ventilation or duct schedule in Excel or PDF, into a draft quote from your catalogue and customer pricing. ERP Agent identifies the right product for each line, checks stated sizes and ratings such as Ø250, 600x300 or EI60, and scores every match from 0 to 100. A rep approves, and the quote lands in your ERP, CRM or other system.

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What does an HVAC quote request look like?

Enquiries reach an HVAC wholesaler from mechanical and M&E contractors and installers. Many are project schedules: a building’s ventilation package, copied from the consultant’s specification into Excel by the contractor, or a PDF bill of materials running to hundreds of lines. Others are short emails such as “6 FD 600x300 EI60 and 10 VCD Ø200, please”, a photo of a damper label or a forwarded chain with three revisions.

The shorthand is dense: Ø250 spiral, 90° pressed bend, VCD Ø200, FD 600x300 EI60 c/w 24V actuator, Type 22 600x1000 rad. Ductwork, dampers, grilles, insulation, heating and refrigeration items share one list, and the consultant may have specified another manufacturer’s range. Imported ranges described in another language are no obstacle either: ERP Agent matches a request in one language against a catalogue in another. Heating and pipework lists overlap with plumbers’ merchants and PVF distributors.

According to our case study, a sales rep spends on average 4–7 minutes per line when creating quotes and orders by hand. On a 120-line schedule, that is 8 to 14 hours while the contractor waits to price their tender. ERP Agent turns the same schedule into a draft your rep reviews: a typical request takes 3–8 minutes, and a schedule of several hundred lines about half an hour. Work out your own cost per quote.

How does HVAC distributor quote automation work?

It is the same agent behind AI quote automation for distributors, RFQ automation and order entry automation in other trades.

  1. The schedule comes in

    Reps forward the contractor’s email, attachments included, to your company’s own agent mailbox, or drop the files into the web app and choose quote or sales order. Contractors keep sending schedules exactly as they do today.

  2. Each line is matched to your catalogue

    Abbreviations, dimensions, ratings, part numbers and customer codes are mapped to your products, even when the schedule and the catalogue are in different languages. Candidates that contradict a stated size, voltage or fire rating are pushed down. The agent never guesses: a line with no plausible match goes on your placeholder code, with the contractor’s original line kept beside it.

  3. Customer pricing comes in

    The agent identifies the contractor from the request, finds them in your ERP’s customer register and flags it straight away if no customer matches. Prices come from the data and rules configured for your company; once your ERP is connected, from its own price logic, customer discounts included.

  4. A rep reviews and approves

    The rep starts with the marked lines and approves the rest. Product codes are checked against the ERP first, so only codes that exist there are written to your ERP, CRM or other system.

  5. The agent learns

    The lines your team sends teach the agent: the next time a contractor writes the same thing, it picks the same product. What experienced reps know stays in the company, and new reps are productive sooner.

Example: a ventilation schedule, line by line

A mechanical contractor sends one block’s ventilation package as an Excel schedule. Prices are left out here; in a real draft they come from your ERP’s pricing for this customer.

Customer requestIllustrative example
“Please price the attached schedule for Block B ventilation. Usual terms.”
  1. Spiral duct Ø250 galv 3m: 24
  2. Reducer 315-250: 4
  3. FD 600x300 EI60 c/w 24V actuator: 6
  4. VCD Ø200: 10
  5. Supply diffuser 600x600 4-way: 18
  6. Our code VK-4410: 30
  7. Access door 300x200: 6
Proposed lines · Illustrative example
Schedule lineProposed productQtyMatchNote
Spiral duct Ø250 galv 3mSpiral duct Ø250, galvanised, 3000 mm2497Diameter, finish and length all stated.
Reducer 315-250Concentric reducer Ø315/Ø250486Concentric proposed; eccentric kept as an alternative.
FD 600x300 EI60 c/w 24V actuatorFire damper 600×300, EI60, with 24 V actuator691“FD” read as fire damper; the 230 V version is pushed down.
VCD Ø200Volume control damper Ø200, manual1088“VCD” read as volume control damper; motorised version as an alternative.
Supply diffuser 600x600 4-wayCeiling supply diffuser 600×600, 4-way1878Colour not stated; other finishes kept as alternatives. Marked for review.
Our code VK-4410Flexible duct Ø160, insulated, 10 m3098The customer’s own code, learned from an earlier quote.
Access door 300x200Access door 300×200 for rectangular duct664Duct type not stated; circular version kept as an alternative. Marked for review.

Illustrative example: the schedule, products, codes and scores show how the review screen explains each line.

Ventilation wholesaler quotes: what does the AI check on each line?

HVAC ranges are full of near-identical variants. These are the details that separate the right product from the wrong one.

Sizes that separate variants

The numbers in a line, Ø200 against Ø250 or 600x300 against 600x400, tell size variants apart, so the agent picks the stated size, not just the nearest product family.

Ratings and voltages

Fire ratings (EI60), protection classes (IP54) and voltages (24 V against 230 V) are checked; a candidate that contradicts the line is pushed down.

Contractors’ own codes

A customer’s article code can expand into a fixed set of catalogue lines, such as a standard apartment ventilation kit, with their code shown on each line.

A second check and accessory reminders

Switch on the second check and every confirmed line is reviewed again, with wrong matches sent back for another search. With accessory rules set up for your company, the rep is reminded of the actuator or plenum box that goes with a line.

What the rep sees before the quote goes out

  • The contractor’s own line next to the proposed product, so the rep checks instead of searching.
  • A match score from 0 to 100 on every line; lines under 80 are marked. How the match score works.
  • The reasoning for each match, including the detail the schedule left open.
  • Alternatives kept for every line; take one instead with a click.
  • Quote chat to add rows, such as plenum boxes for the diffusers, or to change quantities and prices, for example to an agreed project price. Each edit is approved or rejected line by line.
  • A person approves. Nothing reaches your ERP, CRM or other system before review, and the agent never sends anything to a contractor on its own.
ERP Agent quote review interface with sample data
Sample data: each request line beside its proposed product and match score. Open full size

Specified brand “or equivalent”

When the schedule names another manufacturer’s damper or diffuser, the agent finds your equivalent from the description, sizes and ratings, so size and fire rating decide the product. With cross-reference data set up for your company, your matching product family goes straight to the top of the candidates. The rep sees the reasoning and makes the final call. More in part-number cross-reference.

ERP Agent in numbers

Over 95%
average automation across our customers
Over 95%
accuracy in quote-line automation at LVI-WaBeK
0–100
match score on every line; lines under 80 are marked for review
3–8 min
for a typical request to become a draft quote

Customer case: LVI-WaBeK

ERP Agent is live with steel, HVAC and fastener distributors.

LVI-WaBeK · Building services wholesale

At LVI-WaBeK, ERP Agent automates quote lines with over 95% accuracy. The agent matches the catalogue items, brings in pricing and prepares the offer; the salesperson checks the proposal and completes the quote. The result: more time for customer relationships. Read the LVI-WaBeK story.

Where HVAC quotes land: your ERP, CRM or other system

ERP Agent integrates with Business Central, SAP, NetSuite, Visma, IFS, Sage and any other ERP or CRM. We set up the connection for your company during onboarding, and you can start with a catalogue file the same week. Microsoft 365 / Outlook connects the agent mailbox. See all ERP and email integrations. ERP Agent is GDPR-compliant and models run with zero data retention; see security and data.

Integrations and what ERP Agent reads and writes in each
SystemTypeReadsWrites
Dynamics 365 Business CentralERP integrationItems, customers, customer pricesSales quotes and sales orders
SAP S/4HANAERP integrationProducts, business partners, customer pricesSales quotations and sales orders
SAP Business OneERP integrationItems, business partners, price listsSales quotations and sales orders
NetSuiteERP integrationItems, customers, customer pricesEstimates (quotes) and sales orders
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply ChainERP integrationReleased products, customers, trade agreement pricesSales quotations and sales orders
VismaERP integrationItems, customers, customer pricesQuotes and sales orders
IFSERP integrationSales parts, customers, customer pricesSales quotations and customer orders
Monitor ERPERP integrationParts, customers, customer pricesQuotes and customer orders
Infor M3ERP integrationItems, customers, customer pricesQuotations and customer orders
ExactERP integrationItems, customers, sales pricesQuotations and sales orders
AFAS ProfitERP integrationItems, debtors, price agreementsQuotes and sales orders
OdooERP integrationProducts, customers, pricelistsQuotations and sales orders
SageERP integrationItems, customers, customer pricesSales quotes and sales orders
JeevesERP integrationItems, customers, customer pricesQuotes and sales orders; confirmed values on purchase orders
LemonsoftERP integrationItems, customers, customer pricesQuotes
Microsoft 365 / OutlookEmail integrationCustomer requests in the agent mailbox; email history for trainingNothing is sent to customers without your team
Catalogue file / SFTPFileProduct catalogue from a file, from the first weekThe reviewed quote or order as a file, ready to import into your system
Any other ERP or CRMERP or CRM integrationProducts, customers and prices, through the connection we set up for your company during onboardingQuotes and sales orders

Built for HVAC wholesale, on top of the ERP you already run

ERP Agent is the first agentic AI layer for wholesale distribution ERP systems. That design is what makes it quick to adopt for an HVAC wholesaler:

  • Built for the wholesaler’s side of the quote. Contractor tools price labour and size systems; ERP Agent does the work that lands on your sales desk, turning the contractor’s schedule into your products at that contractor’s prices.
  • No ERP replacement project. It works on top of the ERP, CRM or other system you already run, and approved quotes and sales orders land there.
  • Your team stays in control. The agent prepares the draft and your rep approves it. Nothing reaches a contractor without your team.
  • Covers every channel EDI misses. If your largest accounts already order over EDI, ERP Agent handles everyone else: the emails, PDFs, spreadsheets and photos from site.
  • Start with a catalogue file. Load your catalogue, forward real schedules the same week and connect your ERP when you are ready.
  • It gets better with every quote. Each line your team sends teaches the agent your contractors’ shorthand, so the knowledge stays in the company.

Frequently asked questions

Which AI is best for HVAC distributors?

For a distributor, the best fit is AI built for the wholesaler’s side of the quote: it works from your own catalogue and customer pricing, reads trade shorthand such as FD, VCD and EI60, explains each line with a match score and lets a person approve. That is what ERP Agent does, and it is live with HVAC distributors today. The AI quote agent pilot checklist shows how to test it on your own enquiries.

Can AI read a ventilation schedule in Excel or PDF?

Yes: Excel and CSV, PDF including scanned files, Word, images, the email body and forwarded emails with attachments. Customers keep sending enquiries the way they already do.

How long does a large HVAC project schedule take?

A typical request takes 3–8 minutes, and lines appear in the review table as they are matched. Several hundred lines take about half an hour, split into batches processed in parallel once a rep approves the run. Fast mode handles text, spreadsheet and Word requests of up to about 50 lines in 1–3 minutes.

What if the schedule specifies another manufacturer’s products?

The agent matches the line against your own range on its description, sizes and ratings, and pushes down candidates that contradict the stated size or fire rating. With cross-reference data set up for your company, your equivalent product family goes straight to the top; see part-number cross-reference. The rep sees the reasoning on every line.

Does the HVAC quote agent use our customer pricing?

Yes. With your ERP connected, prices come from the ERP’s own price logic, customer discounts included. Your team can edit any price before sending, for example to an agreed project price.

Which ERP systems does the HVAC distributor quoting software work with?

Any ERP. ERP Agent integrates with Business Central, SAP, NetSuite, Visma, IFS, Sage and any other ERP or CRM. We set up the connection for your company during onboarding, and you can start with a catalogue file the same week. See all integrations.

How can we test it on our own HVAC enquiries?

Bring a few schedules you have already quoted, including a difficult one, and we’ll walk through them with your catalogue. Pricing is a setup fee and a monthly subscription, with an itemised quote before you start; see how pricing works.

Let’s look at your quote workflow

Bring a real schedule

Send a schedule or two your team quoted recently, including a difficult one, and we’ll show how the agent handles it with your catalogue.

  • Your requests and product catalogue
  • Your pricing and review process
  • A clear scope for the next step
Lauri Pelkonen

Lauri Pelkonen

Founder & CEO

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