Quoting software for industrial, MRO and fastener distributors

Why industrial requests take so long to quote

MRO is the long tail: a few thousand items sold often, and tens of thousands sold once a year. The customer’s shorthand is precise, but it leaves out as much as it says.

• Fasteners: “1/2-13 x 2 GR5 HHCS” packs diameter, thread, length, grade and head style into one string, and leaves out the finish. 1/2-20 is not 1/2-13, and an M12 is not a 1/2.
• Bearings: “6205-2RS” is a bore, a width and a seal type. “6205” alone could be open, shielded (ZZ) or sealed (2RS), in normal or C3 clearance. SKF writes the sealed one 6205-2RSH and NSK writes 6205DDU.
• Power transmission and fluid power: “B68 belt”, “3/8 2-wire hydraulic hose”, “1/4 NPT x 3/8 barb”.
• Consumables: “4-1/2 x 1/4 T27 grinding wheels”, “nitrile gloves L, box of 100”.
• Pricing bases that differ from the order: fasteners per 100 or per 1,000, bearings and belts each, hose by the foot, abrasives by the box.
• Customer numbers: the plant’s own item numbers, or a competitor’s part number to find in your range.

Every line is a lookup, a stock check and a price, often with a quantity break. Qotora prepares that work; your inside sales team keeps the judgement.

From the planner’s spreadsheet to a quote you can check

1. Receive the request in the format it arrives: an Excel or CSV export, a PDF purchase order, an email, a photo of a list or a bin, pasted text or a voice note.
2. Find each line in your catalogue: Qotora reads “1/2-13 x 2 GR5 HHCS” or “6205-2RS” and searches your own products, with your part numbers.
3. Apply your price rules: the customer’s contract level, quantity breaks, discounts and margins. Prices come from your own catalogue data; Qotora never invents a price or a margin.
4. Flag what is unclear: when a line fits several products, Qotora asks a precise question instead of guessing.
5. Review and send: a person checks every line, then sends the quote. Nothing goes out automatically.

When “6205” is three different bearings

In MRO the dangerous line is the one that looks complete. A bearing with the wrong seal or the wrong clearance fits the housing and fails in the machine. So Qotora does not choose between products that differ only by something the customer left out.

If a product is out of stock, Qotora can propose an equivalent from your catalogue, but it stays a proposal, flagged until a person confirms it. Nothing is swapped on its own, and a line you cannot supply never blocks the rest of the quote.

Customer part numbers, quantity breaks and pack sizes

Plants and shops often send their own item numbers. If your catalogue holds the customer’s number or an interchange reference, Qotora can find your part from it. If it does not, Qotora flags the line, your inside sales person picks the part, and the choice is kept for the next request. A remembered match is an exact one, the same number written the same way, so a near miss is a new question rather than a silent wrong match.

Pricing follows the customer. The contract level you set applies to the whole quote, quantity breaks and discounts follow your rules, and when a new customer has no level on file, the person reviewing picks one and it is remembered. Pack sizes come from your packaging rules, loaded during setup: Qotora shows what the customer wrote next to the quantity it worked out, so “2 boxes of 100” and “200 pcs” can be read side by side.

For a part you do not stock, such as a special-order bearing from the manufacturer, the Team and Network plans can draft a price request to the right supplier, without naming your customer. It is ready to open in your email, you send it yourself, and when the supplier answers, their cost goes through your margin rule before it reaches the line.

Your catalogue, your prices, your control

• Your catalogue and stock: Qotora matches against your own products, not a generic list.
• Your price rules: contract levels, quantity breaks, discounts and margins are the ones you set.
• Read-only on your system: Qotora reads your data and never writes into your software.
• A human decides: every quote is reviewed before it is sent, and there is no automatic sending.
• Corrections are remembered: when your team fixes a line, the correction counts the next time the same words arrive.

Getting started

The Counter plan is US$49 for the first month, then US$149 a month, for up to 150 quotes sent per month and unlimited users. Setup is included: our team connects Qotora to your software or imports your catalogue, stock and prices. You have a 7-day money-back guarantee, counted from the first quote you send with Qotora.

Distributors that send more quotes can choose the Team plan (US$349 a month, up to 500 quotes sent) or the Network plan (US$799 a month, up to 2,000 quotes sent).