What AI-Written RFQs Cost Your Estimators

Newsletter  ·  Issue 01  ·  October 2026

Signals for building revenue and reducing costs in manufacturing. Every two weeks.

A lot of shops are seeing more RFQs this year. Before you count that as demand, look at where they're coming from.

Buyers now use AI tools to build supplier shortlists, write technically plausible RFQs and send them to a dozen vendors in a few minutes. A small UK precision molder reported a record number of RFQs in 2026. Many were obviously mass-mailed, and some still had another supplier's name in the greeting (MarketScale).

Each of those requests lands on an estimator. Time spent quoting a fishing expedition comes out of a real opportunity, and in most mid-market shops estimating capacity is already tight.

Handle it in the sales process. Sort every RFQ into one of three groups before it reaches an estimator:

1. Ready to quote. Known account or clear fit, complete specs, a named decision-maker, a realistic date.
2. Needs a conversation. Good fit, missing information. A 10-minute qualifying call comes before any quote.
3. Quote-fishing. No relationship, generic specs, no answer to your questions. Send a budgetary range, or pass.

Then track win rate and quote turnaround for each group for 60 days. You'll see where your estimating hours should go, and whether good customers are waiting on quotes while the team works through the rest.

If RFQ volume is up and your win rate is flat, the extra volume is costing you money.

A 2025 manufacturing benchmark (Machine Marketing) found that fewer than half of manufacturers have their CRM and marketing automation connected. That matters more now than it did two years ago, because the AI features being added to CRMs and quoting tools work from the records underneath them.

Before you pay for an AI add-on, get the basics in place: field definitions everyone uses the same way, lead routing that works, and a named owner for each lifecycle stage.

Marsh surveyed more than 1,800 employers. They expect per-employee costs to rise 8.2% in 2027 after plan changes, and 11% without them, the largest increase since 2003 (Healthcare Finance News). Aon projects 9.5%, which puts the average above $19,000 per employee (InsuranceNewsNet). Insurers in the small-group market are asking for a median 14% premium increase.

Most renewals land in Q4. Before you sign, ask your broker for the claims experience behind the increase, a comparison of funding models and a review of pharmacy benefits. Renewal quotes are often negotiable.

After the Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs in February, CBP began issuing refunds in phases. The phase for finally liquidated entries opened on October 6, and refunds generally go to the importer of record. If you imported goods in 2025, check with your customs broker that your claim has been filed. (Wipfli, October refund guide)

Temper Signal is published every two weeks by Temper Advisory.

 * Cartoon: artist unknown, widely shared in Lean training