01
Situation
- Quotes wait in a queue behind one or two estimators.
- Two estimators price the same part differently.
- Nobody knows which quotes lost money until the job is done.
Industry case studies
Fabricators
Example industry study
Same-day quotes without a bigger estimating team
Buyers send the same RFQ to several shops, and the first credible quote back often wins. Cut length, pierces, bends, material and machine time can all be worked out from the flat pattern at your own rates. The estimator checks the result and makes the judgment calls.
02
Approach
- Time a week of quotes and find where the hours go.
- Price parts from the flat pattern using your machine rates, setups and material costs.
- Compare the automatic prices with your past quotes and real job costs before trusting them.
03
What to check
- How long does a typical quote sit before it goes out?
- How often do you win when you quote the same day?
- Do your quoted costs match what jobs actually cost?
What the numbers say
Every figure says where it comes from. Vendor claims are marked as vendor claims.
51% vs 41%
Win rate on new work for shops that quote within a day, against slower shops.
67%
Share of part buyers who expect a quote back in under 24 hours.
Vendor claimPaperless Parts buyer survey, 2020
$37.86/h
US median wage for a cost estimator, before benefits.
Government dataBureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
Try it on sample data
Quote a sheet-metal part from its flat pattern
Cut length, holes and bends come straight from the part. Change the material, quantity or your rates and the price updates.
Try the demoGood to know
An example, not a client story.
An example built from what we see in manufacturing and from published figures. It is not a client story.
How we would do it
The steps behind this work.
Every study follows the same steps: find the bottleneck, redesign the work, test the fix, and keep the math where you can check it.