A match score from 0 to 100
Lines under 80 are marked, so the rep starts where judgement is needed. How the match score works.
Quote Agent
AI quote automation for distributors and wholesalers
Quote automation for distributors turns a customer’s request, whether an email, PDF, Excel or Word list, into a draft quote built from your own catalogue and pricing. ERP Agent’s Quote Agent identifies the right product for each line, brings in customer pricing and scores every match from 0 to 100. A sales rep approves the draft and it lands in your ERP, CRM or other system.
Why does quoting take so long in distribution?
A quote request rarely uses your product names. It arrives as an email, a PDF list, a spreadsheet or a forwarded chain, in the customer’s shorthand: “SS rect bar 20x20x2 L=6M”, “M10 nyloc A2”, their own article codes. A rep has to work out which of your products each line means, check sizes and grades, look up the customer’s terms and key every line into the ERP or CRM.
According to our case study, a sales rep spends on average 4–7 minutes per line when creating quotes and orders by hand. Take a 40-line enquiry as an example: at 4–7 minutes a line, that is 160 to 280 minutes before the quote goes out. The cost is slow replies, orders won by whoever answered first, and experienced reps keying lines instead of selling. Put your own volumes into the quote cost calculator.
How does an AI quote agent work?
The request comes in
Reps forward the customer’s email to your company’s own agent mailbox, or paste it into the web app as it is and choose quote or sales order. Your systems can also send requests through the REST API or the MCP server.
It identifies the right products
Abbreviations, dimensions, materials, part numbers and the customer’s own codes are mapped to products in your catalogue, even when the request and the catalogue are in different languages. Candidates that contradict a stated size, voltage or rating class are pushed down, and a second check you can switch on sends wrong matches back for another search. The agent never guesses: a line with no plausible match goes on your placeholder code with the customer’s wording kept.
Customer pricing comes in
The agent identifies the customer from the request, finds them in your ERP’s customer register and flags it straight away if no customer matches. Prices come from the pricing configured for your company; once your ERP is connected, from its own price logic, customer discounts included.
A rep reviews the draft
Lines that score under 80 are marked, so the rep settles those and approves the rest.
It lands in your ERP, CRM or other system
The approved draft is written to the connected system or delivered as a file. Product codes are checked against the ERP first, so only codes that exist there are ever saved or sent.
Which request formats can it read?
Your customers keep sending requests the way they do today. The agent reads:
- Email bodies and forwarded emails, including .eml and .msg files
- PDF, including scanned PDFs read with OCR
- Excel (xlsx, xls) and CSV lists
- Word documents
- Images and photos sent with the request
- Requests in a different language from your catalogue: a Swedish or Finnish line still finds the right product in an English catalogue
Example: a mixed enquiry, line by line
A mechanical contractor writes to a wholesaler of fasteners and pipe fittings. Prices are left out; in a real draft they come from the pricing configured for your company.
“Please quote the below for delivery to site next week. Usual prices.”
- 200 x hex bolt M10 x 40 A2 DIN 933
- 200 x M10 nyloc nuts A2
- 6 x ball valve DN50 PN16 full bore
- 10 x our code KX-1182
- 20 x threaded rod M10 SS 1m
| Request line | Proposed product | Qty | Match | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| hex bolt M10 x 40 A2 DIN 933 | Hex set screw DIN 933 M10 × 40, A2 | 200 | 96 | DIN 933 is fully threaded, so the set screw is proposed. |
| M10 nyloc nuts A2 | Nylon insert lock nut DIN 985 M10, A2 | 200 | 91 | “Nyloc” read as nylon insert lock nut. |
| ball valve DN50 PN16 full bore | Ball valve DN50 PN16, full bore, BSP threaded | 6 | 78 | Size and pressure class match; threaded or flanged not stated. Flanged version kept as an alternative. Marked for review. |
| our code KX-1182 | Pipe clamp 54 mm, rubber lined | 10 | 98 | The customer’s own code, learned from an earlier quote. |
| threaded rod M10 SS 1m | Threaded rod DIN 976 M10 × 1000 mm, A2 | 20 | 72 | “SS” could be A2 or A4. Marked for review. |
Illustrative example: the products, codes and scores show how the review screen explains each line.
What does the rep check before a quote goes out?
The review screen points the rep to the lines that need a decision and explains the rest.
The reasoning on each line
Why the agent chose that product, and which detail the customer left open, such as a grade they did not name.
Alternatives
Runner-up products are kept for every line; ask for more and take one.
Quote chat
Add or remove rows and change quantities or prices in chat; each proposed edit is approved or rejected line by line.
A person approves
By default, nothing is written to your ERP, CRM or other system until a person has reviewed it, and the agent never sends anything to a customer on its own.
Why not CPQ, OCR or EDI?
If you are comparing distributor quoting software, you will meet three other approaches. Each handles one step of the job. None of them decides which of your products the customer means, and that is the step a distributor quote depends on.
| Approach | Built for | What it leaves your team to do |
|---|---|---|
| CPQ (configure, price, quote) | Configuring products from option rules | Read the customer’s list and find each catalogue product first |
| OCR and document parsing | Turning a PDF or scan into text and fields | Work out which of your products the words mean, then price them |
| EDI | Structured orders from trading partners using agreed codes | Handle every customer who sends emails, PDFs and spreadsheets |
| ERP Agent | Identifying the right product and price from the request as written | Check the marked lines and approve |
If your largest accounts already order over EDI, ERP Agent handles everyone else: the emails, PDFs and spreadsheets. More in CPQ vs AI quote automation.
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
Where 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. See how each connection works.
| System | Type | Reads | Writes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamics 365 Business Central | ERP integration | Items, customers, customer prices | Sales quotes and sales orders |
| SAP S/4HANA | ERP integration | Products, business partners, customer prices | Sales quotations and sales orders |
| SAP Business One | ERP integration | Items, business partners, price lists | Sales quotations and sales orders |
| NetSuite | ERP integration | Items, customers, customer prices | Estimates (quotes) and sales orders |
| Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain | ERP integration | Released products, customers, trade agreement prices | Sales quotations and sales orders |
| Visma | ERP integration | Items, customers, customer prices | Quotes and sales orders |
| IFS | ERP integration | Sales parts, customers, customer prices | Sales quotations and customer orders |
| Monitor ERP | ERP integration | Parts, customers, customer prices | Quotes and customer orders |
| Infor M3 | ERP integration | Items, customers, customer prices | Quotations and customer orders |
| Exact | ERP integration | Items, customers, sales prices | Quotations and sales orders |
| AFAS Profit | ERP integration | Items, debtors, price agreements | Quotes and sales orders |
| Odoo | ERP integration | Products, customers, pricelists | Quotations and sales orders |
| Sage | ERP integration | Items, customers, customer prices | Sales quotes and sales orders |
| Jeeves | ERP integration | Items, customers, customer prices | Quotes and sales orders; confirmed values on purchase orders |
| Lemonsoft | ERP integration | Items, customers, customer prices | Quotes |
| Microsoft 365 / Outlook | Email integration | Customer requests in the agent mailbox; email history for training | Nothing is sent to customers without your team |
| Catalogue file / SFTP | File | Product catalogue from a file, from the first week | The reviewed quote or order as a file, ready to import into your system |
| Any other ERP or CRM | ERP or CRM integration | Products, customers and prices, through the connection we set up for your company during onboarding | Quotes and sales orders |
Quote automation for wholesale distributors, by trade
ERP Agent is live with steel, HVAC and fastener distributors. What the agent checks differs by trade:
- Steel stockholders and metal service centres: grades, lengths, weight conversions and a cutting line for non-standard lengths.
- HVAC and ventilation wholesalers: duct sizes such as Ø250 or 600x300 and fire ratings such as EI60.
- Plumbers’ and builders’ merchants: pipe, valve and fitting sizes such as DN50 or 15 mm, and pressure classes such as PN16.
- Fastener distributors: DIN codes, thread sizes and materials such as A2 or A4 stainless.
- Electrical wholesalers: voltage and IP ratings, so a 230 V product is pushed down for a 24 V line.
Case study: LVI-WaBeK
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 quote; the salesperson checks it and completes it. The result: more time for customer relationships. Read the LVI-WaBeK story.
Built to fit the way your team already works
ERP Agent is the first agentic AI layer for wholesale distribution ERP systems. That design is what makes it quick to adopt:
- No ERP replacement project. ERP Agent works on top of the ERP, CRM or other system you already run, and approved quotes land there.
- Your team stays in control. The agent prepares the draft and your team approves it before it reaches your ERP. The agent never sends anything to a customer on its own.
- Start with a catalogue file. Load your catalogue, forward real requests 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 customers’ shorthand, so the knowledge stays in the company and new reps are productive sooner.
Frequently asked questions
How do you automate quotes for distributors?
Start with real requests, including the difficult ones, and your product catalogue. Reps forward requests to the agent mailbox from the first week while the ERP connection is set up; until then, reviewed drafts are delivered as files. See what to prepare for a pilot.
Can ChatGPT make a quotation from a customer request?
It can write text that looks like a quote, and it will read a price list you paste in. Out of the box, though, it is not connected to your full catalogue, your customer agreements or your ERP, and nothing checks its choices against them. The hard part is knowing which of your products each line means and what this customer pays. That is the quote agent’s work.
Does the AI 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 review and edit every price before the quote goes out.
Which ERP systems does ERP Agent work with?
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.
What happens when the agent is not sure about a line?
Lines under 80 are marked for review, and the reasoning names the open detail, such as an unnamed grade. The rep takes an alternative or edits the line. A line with no plausible match goes on your placeholder code rather than a guess.
Does it learn our customers’ shorthand?
Yes. It learns from the lines your team sends and from past requests paired with the quotes you sent. The next time a customer writes the same thing, or uses one of their own codes, it picks the same product.
Can it create sales orders as well as quotes?
Yes. In the web app the rep picks quote or sales order, and the agent creates the quote or sales order in your ERP. For customer purchase orders, see order entry automation.
How long does the agent take to prepare a quote?
A typical request takes 3–8 minutes, and lines appear in the table as they are matched. Requests of several hundred lines take about half an hour. Fast mode handles text, spreadsheet and Word requests of up to about 50 lines in 1–3 minutes.
How is our business data handled?
ERP Agent is GDPR-compliant, and models run with zero data retention. Before setup, we agree which data the agent needs and which systems it can access. See security and data.
Related
- RFQ automation for distributors and industrial suppliers
- Order entry automation for distributors: customer POs to sales orders
- Email to ERP: customer requests to approved quotes and orders
- Customer part number cross-reference: match every code on an enquiry to the right product in your catalogue
- AI quote and order automation for Business Central
- The cost of manual quoting, calculated per quote line
Let’s look at your quote workflow
Bring a real request
Bring a few of your team’s requests, including the difficult ones, and we’ll walk through how the agent handles them with your catalogue and ERP.
- Your requests and product catalogue
- Your pricing and review process
- A clear scope for the next step
Lauri Pelkonen
Founder & CEO
Book a 30-minute call Request a demo by emailOr use the address directly