Picture this: A promising potential customer requests a quote, and your team scrambles to prepare it before they go with your competitor. Someone's hunting through old spreadsheets, another person is waiting for procurement to answer their emails, and meanwhile, you're cobbling together numbers from a quote you did six months ago. Sound familiar?

If you're nodding, you're not alone. But here's the hard truth: this chaotic approach isn't just frustrating. It's costing you real money. Inaccurate quotes lock you into contracts where you'll lose your shirt trying to fulfill them. And lengthy quotation processes are frustrating for customers, especially if your competitors can whip up quotes in half the time it takes your team to prepare one.

The good news? There's a better way. Let's talk about how to build a quotation process that actually works for you instead of against you. And with the addition of manufacturing management software, your Request for Quote (RFQ) process can become so efficient that you’ll be able to generate quotes in no time at all.

Best Practices: Your Path to Profitable Quotes

Capture and Record Your Team’s Knowledge

You know that employee who can estimate labor costs in their sleep? The one everyone turns to when they need to know the "real" timeline for a complex job? That invaluable knowledge shouldn't live in just one person's head.

When key information exists nowhere but someone's memory, you're one vacation day away from disaster. Imagine winning a contract based on guessed labor costs because your expert was unreachable. Once that contract is signed, you're stuck with those numbers.

Start capturing this knowledge now. As each job moves through production, track how long tasks actually take and note any complications. Build a living database that grows smarter with every project. Think of it as creating an institutional memory that doesn't call in sick or eventually retire.

Get Real About Your Actual Costs

You have to be accurate with costs. Make it a rule to verify current pricing for raw materials and shipping every single time. Challenge yourself to ask clarifying questions on ambiguous specs; a five-minute conversation now can save you from thousands in losses later. Factor in realistic waste percentages, especially for tricky materials or operations. Don't forget the hidden costs such as travel, site visits, testing, documentation, currency fluctuations, taxes, and duties. Yes, it takes more time upfront, but it's time that directly protects your bottom line.

Let Software Do the Heavy Lifting

Ever had a warehouse full of expensive parts that you can't use because someone configured the wrong combination during quoting? It's a nightmare scenario that happens more often than anyone wants to admit.

Humans are brilliant, but we're also prone to mistakes, especially when juggling complex product configurations with dozens of interdependent options. One small error during quoting can snowball into thousands of dollars of dead inventory.

Invest in automated configuration tools that enforce the rules for you. Modern Product Configurators don't just speed up the process; they make it impossible to select incompatible options. Choose pump type X, and option Y automatically becomes unavailable. It's like having guardrails that prevent you from driving off the cliff of expensive mistakes.

Get Everyone Speaking the Same Language

When your teams operate in silos, critical information falls through the cracks. The result? Lost sales, wasted time, unnecessary material costs, and labor expenses that could have been avoided.

Bring everyone onto a single, integrated ERP system. When sales, estimating, engineering, purchasing, and production all work from the same real-time data, magic happens. Quotes become accurate. Communication flows smoothly. Everyone downstream has what they need when they need it. It's not just about better quotes, it's about making everyone's job easier.

Manufacturing Management Software

Manufacturing management software helps companies streamline operations by coordinating production planning, inventory control, shop floor monitoring, and quality assurance. It integrates with ERP systems to unify data across departments, enabling smarter decisions, faster quotations, and improved efficiency. Automating key processes and providing real-time insights, software can reduce errors, boost productivity, and enhance profitability.

When you combine manufacturing management software with great processes, the results are faster, better, and more accurate quotes. Separately, each is useful; together, they’re a powerful combination that leads to faster quotes and higher potential profits.

Transforms the RFQ Process

Transforming your quotation process isn't just about implementing new software or creating better documentation. It's about taking control of one of the most critical functions in your business.

An efficient, accurate quotation process protects your margins, wins you more business, and eliminates the daily frustrations that come from working with disconnected systems and incomplete information.

Ready to Make the Change?

At PositiveVision, we've spent decades helping manufacturers like you fix these exact problems. We've worked with countless small and mid-sized manufacturing and distribution companies, and we understand the unique challenges you face.

We help businesses streamline their quoting processes using powerful, proven solutions like SYSPRO ERP. With specialized tools for industrial machinery and metal fabrication—including Product Configurator and CAD Integration—you get technology that's purpose-built for manufacturers who are serious about accuracy and efficiency.

Your quotation process can be a competitive advantage instead of a constant headache. Let's talk about making that happen. Contact us today.

Robert Baran

Robert Baran is the founder and President of PositiveVision. He has worked in a variety of positions including system analyst, computer consultant and programmer, project manager, and division manager.