Tidal module · for suppliers who run an ERP

Quote Desk: from RFQ to priced quote, then into your ERP

Tidal reads each RFQ in the buyer’s own layout, prices every line from your catalogue and supplier prices, and sends the approved quote to your ERP as a sales order. Your team checks and approves. It does not retype.

Try it on your documents See how it works

Sold on its own. Works with the ERP you already run.

Tidal RFQ inbox with emails sorted into RFQs, quotations and orders
The RFQ inbox in daily use at a Trinidad marine supplier. Customer names are blurred.

The short answer: Quote Desk takes over the work between an RFQ landing in your mailbox and a priced quote going back to the buyer. It reads the lines, matches each one to your catalogue, prices it, converts pack sizes and fills your own quote template. When the customer approves, the quote goes into your ERP as a sales order. Stock, purchasing and invoicing carry on in the ERP as they do today.

Today an RFQ arrives as an email with an Excel sheet or PDF in the buyer’s own layout. Someone retypes each line, looks up the product, checks which supplier has it and at what price, converts cases to pieces or kilos, and builds the quote. On the next RFQ the same products are looked up again. That is the job Quote Desk removes.

Measured

85% of lines priced with no person involved

We replayed three real RFQs from our live customer through Quote Desk: 212 lines across Excel, PDF and IFS files.

181 of 212lines priced correctly with nobody touching them
0lines given a wrong price. Every line it could not price was left open, with the reason shown
3 formatsExcel, PDF and IFS files, each in the buyer’s own layout

The remaining lines were flagged for your team, for example a blank quantity or a product not yet in the catalogue. Results on your documents depend on how complete your catalogue and price lists are, which is why we start with a trial on your own RFQs.

How it works

What Quote Desk does, step by step

Screenshots are from the live system at our Trinidad customer. Customer names and prices are blurred.

1

RFQ inbox

Tidal watches your RFQ mailbox. AI sorts each email into a new request, an order or other mail, and opens the request for you, with the port, buyer reference and attachment already pulled out.

2

Reads any layout

Lines are read straight out of the buyer’s Excel, PDF or IFS file: item, quantity, unit, vessel and the buyer’s remarks.

A blank or unclear quantity is flagged, never guessed.

RFQ lines read from a buyer spreadsheet with quantity, unit and pack conversion
An RFQ read from the buyer’s file, with kilos converted to pounds where your supplier sells by the pound.
3

One master catalogue

One list of every product you sell, with each supplier’s price, pack size and search keywords. It is loaded from your item list and supplier price lists.

With Invoice Capture, every confirmed supplier invoice keeps those costs current.

Tidal master catalogue with supplier, unit and case packaging per item
The master catalogue: one list with supplier, unit and case packaging.
4

Quote generator

Each line is matched to the catalogue and priced from your past quotes, supplier price lists and latest costs, with foreign currency converted at the day’s rate. It starts the moment the RFQ is read.

Pack sizes are handled: a buyer asking for kilos against a case of 25 × 1 KG gets the right quantity, and the quote line says so.

Generated quote with each RFQ line priced and linked to its catalogue item
Each line priced automatically and linked to its catalogue row. Your markup applies to every line or one at a time.
5

Every price shows its source

Each line shows the catalogue row that priced it and the other options, with the date of the invoice or price list behind each one. A line left unpriced says why.

Your team changes what it wants, then approves.

Price options for one item with supplier and invoice date as the source
Every option for a line, with the invoice or price list it came from.
6

Your quote format, then your ERP

The quote comes out in your Excel template and as a PDF, ready to send. When the customer approves, it goes to your ERP as a sales order, through its API or an import file in its own layout.

Finished quote ready to export or send
The finished quote, ready to export or send in your own format.
ERP fit

How Quote Desk fits your ERP

Your team keeps working in the ERP it knows. Tidal does the work that comes before it.

Quote Desk
Comes inRFQ emails with Excel, PDF or IFS files
Goes outThe approved quote, as a sales order
How it gets thereYour ERP’s API, or an import file in its layout
Stays in your ERPStock, purchasing, invoicing and accounts
We need from youYour item list, supplier price lists and quote template
Why Tidal

Built so nothing goes out wrong

How we start

From first call to live, on your own documents

  1. A 30 minute callYour ERP, how RFQs reach you today, and your monthly volume.
  2. A trial on your own RFQsSend us a few recent RFQs. We show you the quotes Tidal produced beside the ones your team sent.
  3. Set upWe load your catalogue and supplier price lists, set up your quote template and connect your ERP.
  4. Side by side, then switchRun Quote Desk next to your current process until you trust the results, then switch over.

Pairs well with Invoice Capture. Every supplier invoice you confirm updates the costs Quote Desk prices from, so quotes stay accurate without anyone maintaining price lists by hand.

See Invoice Capture →
FAQ

Quote Desk, answered

What is Tidal Quote Desk?
Quote Desk is a Tidal module for ship chandlers and marine suppliers. It reads incoming RFQs in any buyer layout, matches each line to your catalogue, prices it from your past quotes, supplier price lists and latest costs, and fills your own quote template. When the customer approves, the quote goes to your ERP as a sales order.
Do I need to replace my ERP?
No. Quote Desk does the work before anything reaches your ERP and hands over the approved quote as a sales order. Stock, purchasing, invoicing and accounts stay in the ERP you already run.
Which ERPs does it connect to?
Quote Desk connects through your ERP’s API where it has one, or produces an import file in the layout your ERP already accepts. We confirm the route for your system on the first call. See supported ERPs.
What RFQ formats can it read?
Emails with Excel, PDF or IFS files, each in the buyer’s own layout. It reads item, quantity, unit, vessel and the buyer’s remarks from each line.
How accurate is the pricing?
In a replay of three real RFQs from our live customer, 212 lines in total, Quote Desk priced 181 lines (85%) correctly with no person involved and put a wrong price on none. Lines it cannot price are left open with the reason shown, and a person approves every quote before it is sent.
What happens when a line cannot be matched or priced?
It stays open and says why, for example a blank quantity or a product that is not in the catalogue yet. Your team fills it in, and can add the product to the catalogue so the next RFQ prices it automatically.
Can I buy Quote Desk without Invoice Capture?
Yes. Each module is sold on its own. Together, confirmed supplier invoices from Invoice Capture keep the catalogue costs that Quote Desk prices from up to date.
How do we get started?
Book a 30 minute call. Then send us a few recent RFQs and we show you the result beside what your team produced, before you commit to anything.

See your own RFQs priced

Send us a few recent RFQs and we will show you what Quote Desk produces, line by line, beside the quotes your team sent.

Book a 30 minute call
Related

Keep researching

Invoice CaptureSupplier invoices from a photo to your ERP payables. Ship Chandler RFQ ProcessHow an RFQ becomes a quote, step by step. Ship Chandler ERPWhat an ERP covers for a chandler, and what it leaves out. Ship Supplier ERPSystems for marine suppliers, compared. All SolutionsThe full Tidal platform.

Free trial on your documents

Send us a few RFQs, see them priced

Leave your work email and company. We will reply within one business day to arrange a short call and a trial on your own RFQs.

  • ✓ A trial on your own RFQs before you commit
  • ✓ Works with the ERP you already run
  • ✓ No spam, a reply within one business day
Prefer the full form? Book a demo → Or book a 30 minute call →