RFQ-to-Quote Workflow¶

Complete workflow from receiving an RFQ to delivering a quote-ready output.

High-Level Flow¶

graph TB
    A[RFQ Received] --> B[Initial Review]
    B --> C{Complete Info?}
    C -->|No| D[Request Clarification]
    D --> B
    C -->|Yes| E[Create Quote Project]
    E --> F[Part Setup]
    F --> G[Build Cost Model]
    G --> H[Review & Validate]
    H --> I{Acceptable?}
    I -->|No| J[Override & Adjust]
    J --> G
    I -->|Yes| K[Apply Margin Scenarios]
    K --> L[Generate Quote Pack]
    L --> M[Review & Approve]
    M --> N{Final Approval?}
    N -->|No| O[Revise]
    O --> K
    N -->|Yes| P[Send to Customer]
    P --> Q[Save Version]

    style A fill:#e3f2fd
    style E fill:#fff3e0
    style G fill:#fce4ec
    style K fill:#f3e5f5
    style L fill:#e8f5e9
    style P fill:#c8e6c9

Detailed Process Steps¶

Phase 1: RFQ Intake¶

sequenceDiagram
    participant C as Customer
    participant S as Sales/Estimator
    participant CE as CostEngine

    C->>S: Submit RFQ (Email/Portal)
    S->>S: Review completeness
    alt Missing Information
        S->>C: Request clarification
        C->>S: Provide details
    end
    S->>CE: Create new quote project
    CE->>CE: Generate quote ID
    CE-->>S: Quote project created

Inputs Required: - Customer name & contact - Part number(s) - Quantity requirements - Delivery timeline - Technical drawings (if available) - Material specifications

CostEngine Actions: - Create quote project - Assign quote ID - Set up customer profile (if new) - Initialize default margin rules

Phase 2: Part Setup & BOM¶

flowchart TD
    A[Start Part Setup] --> B{Import Excel?}
    B -->|Yes| C[Upload BOM Template]
    B -->|No| D[Manual Entry]
    C --> E[Validate Import]
    E --> F{Validation OK?}
    F -->|No| G[Show Errors]
    G --> C
    F -->|Yes| H[Part Data Loaded]
    D --> H
    H --> I[Define Material]
    I --> J[Set Gross/Net Weight]
    J --> K[Define Routing]
    K --> L[Part Setup Complete]

    style A fill:#e3f2fd
    style H fill:#fff3e0
    style L fill:#c8e6c9

Key Data Points: - Material grade & specification - Gross weight (raw material input) - Net weight (finished part) - Scrap percentage - Annual volume forecast - Batch size

Phase 3: Cost Building¶

graph LR
    A[Material Cost] --> D[Total Manufacturing Cost]
    B[Internal Operations] --> D
    C[Outside Processes] --> D
    D --> E[Add Scrap]
    E --> F[Apply Overheads]
    F --> G[Total Cost per Piece]

    B1[Setup Time] --> B
    B2[Cycle Time] --> B
    B3[MHR] --> B

    style D fill:#fff3e0
    style G fill:#c8e6c9

Material Cost Calculation:

flowchart TD
    A[Gross Weight] --> D[Material Cost]
    B[RM Rate] --> D
    C[Yield %] --> D
    D --> E{Overrides?}
    E -->|Yes| F[Apply Override]
    E -->|No| G[Use Calculated]
    F --> H[Log Reason]
    G --> I[Final Material Cost]
    H --> I

Operations Cost Calculation:

For each operation in the routing:

Phase 4: Review & Override¶

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> ViewCost
    ViewCost --> CheckAssumptions
    CheckAssumptions --> ValidateCost
    ValidateCost --> NeedsOverride: Issues Found
    ValidateCost --> Approved: Looks Good
    NeedsOverride --> ApplyOverride
    ApplyOverride --> LogReason
    LogReason --> RecalculateCost
    RecalculateCost --> ViewCost
    Approved --> [*]

Override Scenarios: - Material rate change (vendor negotiation) - Cycle time adjustment (process improvement) - Special tooling requirements - Customer-specific handling requirements - Expedited delivery surcharges

System Behavior: - All overrides require a reason - Original values preserved - Impact on total cost shown in real-time - Override history tracked per version

Phase 5: Margin & Pricing¶

graph TD
    A[Total Cost] --> B[Base Margin]
    A --> C[Aggressive Margin]
    A --> D[Safe Margin]

    B --> E[Add Freight]
    C --> F[Add Freight]
    D --> G[Add Freight]

    E --> H[Apply Payment Terms]
    F --> I[Apply Payment Terms]
    G --> J[Apply Payment Terms]

    H --> K[Base Price]
    I --> L[Aggressive Price]
    J --> M[Safe Price]

    K --> N[Quote Scenarios]
    L --> N
    M --> N

    style A fill:#fff3e0
    style N fill:#c8e6c9

Margin Scenarios:

Phase 6: Quote Generation¶

sequenceDiagram
    participant E as Estimator
    participant CE as CostEngine
    participant QG as Quote Generator
    participant O as Output

    E->>CE: Request quote output
    CE->>QG: Send cost data + scenarios
    QG->>QG: Generate PDF
    QG->>QG: Generate Excel breakdown
    QG->>O: Save quote documents
    O-->>E: Quote pack ready
    E->>E: Review final output
    E->>CE: Approve & save version
    CE->>CE: Create immutable version
    CE-->>E: Version saved (v1.0)

Quote Pack Contents: 1. Cover Page - Customer name, quote ID, validity 2. Part Summary - List of parts with prices 3. Cost Breakdown - Component-wise details 4. Assumptions - All key assumptions listed 5. Terms & Conditions - Payment, delivery, validity

Phase 7: Version Control¶

gitGraph
    commit id: "v1.0 - Initial Quote"
    commit id: "v1.1 - Material Rate Update"
    branch customer_revision
    commit id: "v2.0 - Qty Change to 5000"
    commit id: "v2.1 - Add Coating"
    checkout main
    commit id: "v1.2 - New Supplier Rate"
    checkout customer_revision
    merge main id: "v2.2 - Merged Updates"

Version Triggers: - Customer requests changes - Material price updates - Process improvements identified - Volume changes - Design revisions

System Guarantees: - No version deletion (immutable history) - Full audit trail - Easy comparison between versions - Reason tracking for all changes

Time Benchmarks¶

Success Metrics¶

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