RFQ automation software that returns a validated quote and proposal in about 5 minutes

What is RFQ automation for a product supplier?

RFQ automation, on this page, means an inbound customer RFQ becomes a catalog-validated quote, BOM, and commercial proposal without parking every request on an engineer's desk. The customer describes the job in plain language or attaches the file they already have. The system asks for the gaps, builds against your live catalog and pricing, and returns a priced answer in about 5 minutes for a standard configuration.

For a supplier, that is the whole job: receive the request, clarify what is missing, send a buildable quote and proposal. Talkulate runs that path on your products and your company's rules. See the product on Talkulate AI CPQ.

Is an RFP the same as an RFQ when you need to quote?

Yes, when the document asks for a priced configuration. Customers label paperwork RFQ or RFP from their own templates. On your side the deliverable is the same: a quote and a proposal they can take to approval, with a BOM that fits the job and a price taken from your catalog.

Talkulate treats both the same way. The letters on the cover do not change the flow. A pure narrative questionnaire with no pricing ask is a different task (proposal writing); everything that needs a build and a price lands here.

How does Talkulate turn an RFQ or RFP into a quote?

Someone opens the path on your site, or your team opens it with the inbound request already in hand. They type what the job needs, or they attach a specification, a drawing, or the RFQ / RFP document itself. Example: a warehouse needs a forklift for a given load, aisle width, and power source. The request may arrive as a paragraph, a spreadsheet, or a PDF. The system works from that material.

It then asks for whatever is still missing: quantities, constraints, delivery window, the details that decide whether one catalog line fits another. Those questions are the sales-engineering interview, run in the session. Once the gaps close, the system assembles a valid build from your products, compatibility rules (power, slots, protocol, certifications, or your equivalent), and pricing, and returns a quote with a full BOM and a commercial proposal ready to send. About 5 minutes for a standard configuration; longer when the interview needs more depth.

Can a buyer run this, or does your team enter every RFQ?

Either. A buyer can open the path on your site, describe the job or drop in their file, and leave with a priced proposal. Your bid desk can open the same path with the email, spreadsheet, or PDF that landed in the inbox and get the same clarify, validate, and quote outcome.

Whoever typed, the same check runs: every line clears your rules before a price shows up. One path for self-serve inbound and for internal intake.

What do you get when the quote comes back?

Your team receives the quote packet with the original RFQ or RFP and the clarifying thread attached. They walk into the follow-up already knowing what was asked and what was priced. Upsell rules can add the service plan, the attachment, or the spare-parts kit that belongs with that build, as validated quote lines.

A request outside your rules ends the session cleanly and routes to a person by email, CRM, or phone, with full context still attached. Standard RFQs and RFPs stop waiting for someone free enough to rebuild the BOM by hand. Exceptions stay with people who have the transcript and the partial build in front of them.