How to find a software house for RFQ process automation? Choose Hycom

In the RFQ process, a customer or trade partner sends a request for quotation containing data about the required products or services, their quantities, technical parameters, delivery dates and individual commercial terms. The RFQ system should collect this information, check its completeness and correctness, and then support the preparation of the price offer. Because every offer should be comparable, suppliers present prices according to the agreed specification. A well-run RFQ process brings transparency and savings to the company: it eliminates situations in which the lowest price would be linked to worse delivery dates or payment terms.

The RFQ process therefore includes collecting data through forms or a portal, verifying terms, calculating the price, approving possible discounts or exceptions, and issuing the quotation document. It is important that the RFQ system integrates with other enterprise applications and does not duplicate a manually updated database. As a result, the offer is created based on current information about customers, products and availability.

Manual handling of requests for quotation works only with a very small number of simple cases. In practice, RFQ quickly becomes a complex process in manufacturing and distribution companies. Inquiries often arrive from many channels, such as email, phone and portal, in different formats, which makes it difficult to collect them in one place.

Salespeople manually check prices and availability in ERP, copy data between CRM, PIM and their own spreadsheets, which extends the process and generates errors. The lack of a defined workflow means that quotation preparation depends on the availability of a specific specialist, and the case status is unclear to everyone involved.

Typical problems of manual RFQ handling include:

• dispersed data and communication, with inquiries coming from many channels and scattered across emails and attachments;

• the need to manually check price lists, discounts and terms in ERP or spreadsheets;

• salespeople copying data between systems instead of tasks being assigned automatically;

• no visible case number, status or action history for the customer and employees;

• responses depending on the availability of a specific person rather than on an electronically defined process;

• difficulties with reporting, such as how many inquiries were handled, the average response time or how many offers required correction.

In such conditions, RFQ automation brings the greatest value: it reduces manual work, organizes information flow and shortens quotation preparation time without detaching the team from real work. The system suggests missing data, tracks every inquiry status and informs customers about progress. This reduces the number of overlooked inquiries and pricing mistakes, while making the entire process transparent.

An RFQ system can support practically all routine stages of quotation handling. The key activities that can be automated include:

• Receiving inquiries through a portal or form. The customer or distributor completes a standardized RFQ form adapted to the order type.

• Data verification. The system automatically checks the completeness and correctness of the entered information and suggests additions.

• Case classification and assignment. The inquiry is classified, for example by product type or priority, and routed to the right team or salesperson based on defined rules.

• Retrieving data from ERP, PIM and CRM. The system automatically retrieves contractor data, price lists, discounts, product availability and cooperation history from source systems.

• Price and discount calculation. Based on imported data and pricing rules, the RFQ system generates preliminary valuations. Catalogue prices, contractual commercial terms and individual discounts are taken into account.

• Availability checking. The system uses stock levels and production plans from ERP or WMS to determine possible fulfillment dates and support delivery-term negotiations.

• Exception and approval handling. If offers go beyond standard terms, for example an unusually high discount, the system marks the inquiry for manual approval and records the decisions of approving people.

• Offer generation. After all data is collected, the system creates a quotation document, such as a PDF or email, containing items, prices and terms, and sends it to the customer.

• Status tracking and reminders. Each inquiry has assigned statuses, such as “New”, “In progress” and “Closed”. The system sends notifications about status changes to salespeople and customers, as well as reminders about open tasks.

• Versioning and history. The system stores all offer versions, price and term changes, and the entire communication history with the customer.

• Reporting and transfer to ERP. The system collects process metrics, such as the number of inquiries and response times, and can transfer accepted offers as orders to ERP or CRM for further processing.

Well-implemented automation first requires organizing the process: defining forms and workflows, and only then integrating with ERP, CRM and PIM systems to reduce manual data checking. The RFQ system should support salespeople, not replace them. For example, it can automatically prepare a price calculation, while final approval of terms always remains with the decision-maker.

Hycom is a technology partner offering a comprehensive approach to RFQ automation. At the analysis stage, Hycom maps the current quotation process in detail: it identifies inquiry sources, typical product variants and repetitive activities, such as verification of prices or documents. On this basis, the data needed in the offer is defined, including contractor, assortment, quantities and dates, and the target workflow is designed: statuses, user roles and approval flows, for example which manager approves a non-standard discount.

Hycom specialists help define the MVP scope and build a solution prototype, integrating with ERP, CRM, PIM and other company systems. An important element is also designing a user-friendly customer interface, such as a form or portal, and an employee panel so that users can intuitively use the new tool. Hycom combines business, process, design and technology competencies. Thanks to this, the implementation includes both user experience design and system architecture, development, testing and integrations with ERP, CRM and PIM.

After system launch, Hycom offers support and further solution development. The team monitors RFQ system operation, analyzes user requests and expands functions in subsequent iterations. In this way, automation becomes flexible: the system evolves together with the company’s needs instead of being a static, isolated tool.

An RFQ system cannot function as an isolated application. Integration with other systems is critical in order to use current data and avoid making work more difficult. The most important integration is with ERP or SAP, which is the main source of operational data: it contains information about contractors, price lists, discounts, payment terms, stock levels, orders and production plans.

Without automatic retrieval of this data from ERP, the RFQ system would in practice still require salespeople to manually complete information.

Example benefits of integrating RFQ with ERP include:

• Customer recognition. The system automatically identifies the customer by tax number or code and loads their cooperation terms, such as price lists and credit limits.

• Price and availability retrieval. Offers are built based on current product data: catalogue prices, individual discounts and stock levels retrieved from ERP or PIM.

• Avoiding re-entry. Key information from the inquiry, such as quantities, configuration and comments, is transferred to ERP or CRM so that the salesperson does not have to manually move it to the sales system.

• Consistent history. Quotation documents, price changes and communication with the customer can be stored in one place and linked to the RFQ record instead of being scattered across separate files.

• Current source data. Thanks to integrations, the system always uses current data, such as new price lists or approved promotions.

Similarly, integration should also include other company systems. CRM organizes commercial relationships by providing insight into contact history, orders and account manager activities. PIM manages product data: parameters, descriptions, certificates and technical documentation. DMS or EDMS provides secure storage of offers and attachments with full versioning and access control. Only the combination of these IT layers creates an environment in which the offer is created quickly and based on current data.

Integration also means a B2B portal for partners. For example, a distributor logs in to the system, selects products or categories, and adds their attachments and requirements. The system automatically completes customer data and commercial terms, assigns a case number and routes the inquiry to the right team. Then the partner sees the status of their inquiry, the offer, the full communication history and documents in one place. This significantly simplifies cooperation and organizes service for the entire distribution network.