Field notes on quoting.
Buying
Quoting software for manufacturers, an honest buyer's guide
The spreadsheet, the platform, the in-house build and the configured system, compared on cost, time to live and fit, with the vendors named.
JUL 24, 2026 · 9 MIN READ
Process
How to cut RFQ response time from 10 days to 1
Where the 10 days on a quote actually go, why hand-offs cause most of them, and what changes commercially once the answer comes back the same day.
JUL 21, 2026 · 8 MIN READ
Point of view
CAD to cost, or pricing from job history
Geometry-first tools estimate what a part should cost in theory. History-first pricing starts from what it did cost on your machines, and compounds.
JUL 17, 2026 · 8 MIN READ
Estimating
How to quote a machined part, line by line
A complete build-up on one turned part, bar stock to sell price. Material, routing, cycle and setup, tooling, outside processing and margin, line by line.
JUL 14, 2026 · 9 MIN READ
Estimating
How to price outside processing without guessing
Provisional plating and heat treat numbers quietly eat margin. Minimum lots, source approval and getting supplier quotes in before the price is set.
JUL 10, 2026 · 8 MIN READ
Estimating
What a burdened rate actually includes
What belongs inside a burdened rate, what quietly gets left out, and how an understated rate loses money invisibly across a multi-year program.
JUL 07, 2026 · 7 MIN READ
Point of view
The real cost of a quote your team never sent
No report carries a line for the contract that was never close enough to lose. The throughput arithmetic of the 80 requests that quietly expire.
JUL 03, 2026 · 8 MIN READ
Point of view
Why your quote win rate has little to do with your price
Buyers assemble the shortlist with the answers in hand, so arrival order shapes the decision before price is compared. Speed moves win rate first.
JUN 26, 2026 · 8 MIN READ
Process
How to read an RFQ package before you price it
What to pull from the prints, the specs and the commercial terms in the first 20 minutes, and the 3 items that most often become unpriced risk.
JUN 19, 2026 · 8 MIN READ
Process
A 90 day plan to halve your quoting time
Weeks 1 to 4 measure the current process honestly, weeks 5 to 8 remove the hand-offs, weeks 9 to 12 price from history. A plan a GM can actually run.
JUN 12, 2026 · 9 MIN READ