Building Materials Distribution

5 Reasons Why Quote Creation Is So Complex

and how the process can be automated with kinisto AI software

Building Materials Distribution Quote Creation

In the fast-paced world of building materials trade, efficient processing of quote requests can determine success or failure. Yet often quote creation is a lengthy process. Building materials manufacturers and distributors often spend more than 1,000 person-days per year processing quote requests, even in mid-sized companies.

Let’s examine the most common time wasters in quote creation. We’ll also show how the process can be automated using kinisto. The AI software was specifically developed for quote creation at building materials manufacturers and distributors.

Every item must be carefully reviewed, even though many are irrelevant

Specifications are often page-long PDF documents that must be worked through manually. Employees often spend hours scrolling through hundreds of pages, which is not only inefficient but also exhausting and demotivating.

This activity ties up valuable resources and prevents skilled workers from focusing on more productive tasks. For companies, this means significant hidden costs through lost productivity and potentially missed business opportunities.

kinisto can automatically read specifications and highlight relevant items. The AI-powered technology analyzes even extensive documents lightning-fast and marks the positions relevant to the company. This gives employees a quick overview and saves valuable time.

Data must be transferred into leading systems

The identified positions must be manually transferred into the ERP or CRM system - a time-consuming and error-prone process. This monotonous task is not only inefficient but also frustrating for qualified employees who cannot fully utilize their potential. Transfer errors are not uncommon, which can lead to costly follow-up errors in the quote process.

The time spent on this manual data entry adds up to significant personnel costs over the course of a year, which could be used for more value-adding activities.

kinisto enables automatic transfer of data from specifications (including PDFs) directly into the system. The information is not only extracted but also seamlessly transferred into your existing systems. This reduces the error rate, significantly accelerates the entire process, and frees your employees from time-consuming routine tasks.

Often deep product knowledge and extensive research is necessary

For each position in the specification, the matching product from your own portfolio must be found. With extensive catalogs, this can take considerable time. Employees often have to switch between different systems and databases, which is not only time-consuming but also leads to mental fatigue.

This inefficient research prevents quotes from being created quickly, which can lead to missed opportunities in a competitive market. Additionally, frustration over this time-consuming activity often leads to frustration and can contribute to increased employee turnover in the long term.

kinisto automatically suggests products matching the inquiries. The intelligent software analyzes the content of the requested positions and recommends products from your own product portfolio. With each completed quote, the software learns more. This means that over time, the suggestions become increasingly precise, which drastically shortens research time.

There's no good overview and ability to filter or prioritize

Without an efficient system for prioritizing inquiries, important deadlines can be overlooked. Additionally, there’s often no overview of the processing status. For companies, this means an increased risk of losing lucrative contracts because quotes are not submitted on time.

The lack of transparency also makes effective resource planning difficult and can lead to individual team members being overloaded while others may not be fully utilized.

kinisto functions as a central platform for inquiry management, helping to set priorities and maintain overview. Features like filter functions and collaboration capabilities facilitate prioritization and teamwork. Using the software makes it easy to monitor deadlines so that no important inquiry is overlooked or the quote submitted too late. Through central management, all team members always have access to the current status of every inquiry.

The volume of inquiries and deadlines put the team under pressure

Tight deadlines and the need for competitive quotes create enormous pressure on employees in building materials distribution. The necessity to work quickly and precisely can lead to stress and overload. At the same time, quotes must be attractively priced to survive in the highly competitive market.

This balancing act between speed and profitability can impair quote quality and lead to errors. Long-term, this constant pressure can lead to burnout and increased employee turnover, which in turn negatively affects efficiency and workplace climate.

kinisto helps reduce time and competitive pressure by accelerating and optimizing the entire quote process. Through automation of time-consuming tasks, employees can focus on strategic tasks and individual customer service. The software enables faster responses without neglecting quality. This leads to improved work processes for employees and increased competitiveness for the company.

Due to the extensive administrative effort in processing inquiries, there’s often too little time for individual customer service and active sales activities. This not only leads to frustration among employees but also to missed upselling and cross-selling opportunities. Long-term, this can impair customer loyalty and lead to declining customer satisfaction, which directly affects business success.

Building materials manufacturers and distributors who rely on modern technologies and optimized processes position themselves not only as innovative partners but also secure a sustainable competitive advantage.