Overview
A leading U.S.-based distributor serving the JanSan, and food service markets operates multiple distribution centers across the Mid-Atlantic region. With a deep catalog of supplies and a high volume of RFQs, the business depends on fast, accurate quoting to protect margins and maintain customer trust. As RFQ complexity increased, legacy quoting workflows struggled to scale, prompting the need for more advanced product intelligence and operational efficiency.
Challenge
As the distributor scaled across locations and customers, RFQ volume and complexity increased significantly:
- RFQs routinely included long, multi-category product lists with customer-specific pricing, brand preferences, private-label alternatives, and availability constraints
- Requests arrived through multiple channels and formats, requiring manual interpretation before quoting could begin
- Large, multi-line quotes increased the risk of errors, rework, and inconsistent turnaround times across teams and locations
- Sales and account teams spent disproportionate time preparing quotes, pulling focus away from higher-value, customer-facing work
Together, these challenges exposed a growing gap between RFQ intake demand and the organization’s ability to deliver fast, accurate, and consistent quotes at scale.
Solution
To support quoting at scale without changing how sales teams work, the distributor implemented Speed to Quote to bring RFQ intake and preparation into a single, repeatable workflow across locations and formats:
- Incoming RFQs were interpreted and structured early, creating consistent, quote-ready line items regardless of source or format
- Requested products were automatically matched against the existing catalog, with relevant alternatives surfaced when items were unavailable
- RFQs were prioritized earlier in the process, helping teams focus on the most time-sensitive and high-value requests
- Sales teams retained full control of the final quote, applying customer-specific pricing, judgment, and adjustments before delivery
This approach improved speed and consistency upstream while preserving the flexibility and expertise of the sales organization.
The Results
- 10X faster time to quote, reducing manual preparation across complex RFQs
- 60% increase in bid participation, converting missed opportunities into revenue
- 188% product match increase, with relevant alternatives surfaced automatically
- Increase in RFQs processed per rep, without adding to workload or headcount
Speed to Quote helped remove manual prep from the critical path, making the quoting process faster, more predictable, and easier to scale, without altering how sales teams interacted with customers.
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