Your RFQ process. Fully automated.
Tidal reads incoming RFQs, matches every item to your catalogue, applies your margins, and returns a professional quote in under 30 minutes. No spreadsheets, no data entry, no missed margins.
The AI ship chandler software built for maritime distributors. Email to quote, automated end to end. item-code matching to your own catalogue. Zero missed margins.
No more digging through email attachments, PDFs and customer portals. Tidal turns messy inbound requests from email, ShipServ, ProcureShip and more into structured, margin-protected, quote-ready data in minutes.
The problem
It is rarely the pricing that is hard. It is everything before it. The RFQ lands as a scanned PDF, a buyer's spreadsheet or a ShipServ export. Descriptions are vague, codes are missing, units are guessed. Someone retypes it line by line, looks up every item, checks costs that may be weeks old, and only then starts on margin. Meanwhile the vessel keeps sailing and two other chandlers are quoting the same request.
How a quote actually happens
Not a contact form, not a marketplace and not a generic chatbot. Tidal works from your own catalogue, your own costs and your own margin floor, and hands your team only the lines that need a decision.
From Outlook, Gmail, ShipServ or ProcureShip, as Excel, PDF or a portal export. Nobody cleans it up first.
MV Maersk Bali · provisions & stores · RFQ.xlsxEach item, quantity and note is pulled out and matched to your own catalogue codes, including free-text descriptions and odd units.
"SAFETY GLOVES LEATHER SZ 10" → your SKUYour latest supplier costs and markup rules are applied line by line, and every line is checked against the margin you never want to go below.
Cost 34 days old Item not in catalogueYour team checks the flagged lines, adjusts anything they want, and approves. The quote goes back to the buyer in the format they expect.
Approve & send quoteIllustrative example based on the interactive demo. A full RFQ typically comes back ready to review in under 30 minutes; timing depends on size and how many lines need a decision.
You stay in control
Knowing that a customer accepts a substitute brand, or that a port call is tight enough for a rush premium, is chandler knowledge. Tidal does the reading, matching and costing, then puts the decisions in front of the people who should make them.
Stale costs, thin margins, price jumps against the last order and items outside your catalogue are flagged. Everything else is already done.
Quotes are built from your catalogue, your supplier costs and your markup and margin-floor rules, not a generic price book.
Your team reviews and approves the quote before it goes to the vessel or the buyer.
When someone corrects a match, Tidal learns it, so the same description is matched correctly next time.
Before you add headcount
When RFQ volume grows, the usual answer is another person to retype and price. That adds cost every month and still leaves your team doing the same manual work. Tidal takes the intake, matching and costing off their desks, so the people you already have spend their time on customers, suppliers and the lines that need judgement.
You do not need to model everything on day one. Most teams start with their highest-volume customers or categories, such as provisions or deck and engine stores, prove it on real RFQs, then add the rest. Typical go-live is about a week, with no IT team needed.
Plug in your own RFQ volume, lines per RFQ and hourly cost to see what manual quoting is costing you today. Open the RFQ savings calculator →
Who it is for
Company Overview
From the problem to the payback, the full picture behind AI-native ship chandler software. Page through it, present it fullscreen, or take it with you.
Tidal reads incoming RFQs, matches every item to your catalogue, applies your margins, and returns a professional quote in under 30 minutes. No spreadsheets, no data entry, no missed margins.
Why Tidal
The problem and why chandlers switch.
What makes it different
AI-native, live in one week.
Product tour
A real RFQ, end to end.
Platform features
Nine capabilities, integrated.
Pricing & ROI
Savings and a live model.
Implementation
Sign-up to first quote.
Coverage & connectivity
Every port, every network.
Fleet & finance
Stock and the last mile.
Your demo
Thirty minutes on your numbers.
Arrives
RFQ email
Email, Excel, PDF, CSV, any layout.
Parses
Every item
Quantities, specs, your own catalogue codes.
Matches
And prices
Your catalogue and margin rules.
Sends
The quote
Branded, under 30 minutes.
Tracks
The order
Quote to delivered on one board.
AI-native from day one
Every part of the quoting workflow was built to be automated, not a legacy tool with AI bolted on.
Live in one week, not six months
No setup project, no IT team. Configured in a 30-minute onboarding call and live within seven days.
AI email parsing
Reads every incoming RFQ automatically, any format.
Your own catalogue matching
Every line matched to your own catalogue by code or name.
Automated quotes
Branded quotations in minutes, your format every time.
Margin-safe pricing
Per-category markup on every quote. Multi-currency.
Order tracking
Every order from quote sent to delivered on one board.
Inventory management
Live stock, low-stock alerts, expiry tracking.
Vendor invoice accuracy
Every supplier invoice checked against your PO.
ShipNet & BASSnet
Native API integration, or fully standalone.
Multi-role access
Admin, Operations, Warehouse, Client views.
A chandler processing 100 RFQs a month recovers more in staff time alone than Tidal costs, before counting the bids they win.
The labour Tidal removes covers the subscription in month one. Everything after is margin you keep and bids you would have lost. We model it live on your numbers.
Setup call, 30 minutes
Connect your inbox, import your catalogue, set margins. First automated draft on the call.
First quote check-in
Did your first automated quote go out? Unmatched items mapped the same day.
Team training, 30 minutes
A live, recorded session for everyone who touches RFQs.
Active use and optimisation
Match rate climbs to 95%+ within 60 days.
5 min
Your operation
Three questions on volume, RFQ time, and your systems.
15 min
Live demo
A real RFQ through Tidal, parsing to quote, in real time.
8 min
Your ROI model
Built on screen from your numbers, no guesswork.
2 min
Next steps
Proceed and you are live within a week. No hard sell.
ShipServ (TradeNet)
Procurement network for RFQ and order exchange.
MESPAS
Maritime procurement and fleet connectivity.
BASSnet & ShipNet
Native API with the two most-used maritime ERPs.
ERPNext & NetSuite
Two-way sync with your finance back office.
Dynamics 365
Orders, invoices and records into Microsoft's ERP.
SAP Business One & Odoo
Plug into established ERPs without changing how you work.
Without a dedicated ledger
With the Tidal pantry ledger
Auto currency & UOM matching
Vendor cost converted to the billed unit, no manual conversion.
Partial-delivery reconciliation
Delivery slips checked against the invoice before you bill.
Full audit trail on overrides
Every price or quantity change logged with a reason.
Signed and totalled per page
Built to hold up to multi-page client review.
Banking & FX
Direct bank-feed connections. Live FX across every currency.
E-signature & EDI
Quotes, POs and invoices signed electronically.
Messaging & comms
Updates delivered where clients already are.
Mobile sign-off
On-vessel delivery confirmation from a phone.
A 30-minute demo on your real RFQ, with your ROI modelled live. If Tidal isn't right for you, we'll say so.
srushti@tidal.supply · tidal.supply · Built by Agility
Industry Insights
Research and analysis on maritime procurement software, maritime shipping software and maritime logistics software, plus practical guides to maritime due diligence software, fleet procurement visibility and running a maritime inventory management system at sea.
Industry · Chandling
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Read the articleGlobal Coverage
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FAQ
Straight answers to the questions maritime buyers ask most.