Sheet metal & metal
PDF, DXF and STEP stay with material, tolerances and clarification questions in the enquiry. Reviewed parts become costings, quotation lines and orders.
Explore the industry workflow →From incoming inquiry to a reviewable quote
Inquiry, documents & quote
Emails, uploads, PDFs, spreadsheets, photos and drawings are transferred into one structured case. The system recognizes line items, quantities, dimensions, source locations and open issues, and prepares clarification requests and costing – final approval remains with people.
Today
Today, every inquiry means manual typing.
Inquiries arrive as email, PDF, drawing, spreadsheet or photo. Before costing can start, information is read, typed in, clarified and gathered – all over again for every inquiry.
- Opening attachments and transferring details by hand
- Gathering line items, quantities, dimensions and materials
- Noticing missing or contradictory details only late
- Writing clarification requests one by one
- Rebuilding standard costings every time
Features
What the module covers.
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Multiple input channels
IMAP, mail files, uploads, inbound folders and other adapters can use the same processing chain.
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Document analysis & OCR
Classify documents, extract text, evaluate plans/bills of quantities and store recognized details with their source.
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Open issues & contradictions
Detect mandatory details and conflicts; make missing data visible as specific clarification requests.
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Costing & rules
Use pricing/calculation methods, variants, material, quantities and customer-specific rules as a traceable basis.
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Quote versions
Store PDF, snapshot, technical attachments and versions immutably.
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Preflight & approval
Check completeness before approval; deliberately keep draft and actual approval separate.
In the product
Inquiries are not just collected.
Documents, line items, open points and technical information are carried forward directly in the case.
- Email inbox and document review
- Clarification requests and costing in the same case
- Quote only after deliberate approval
Workflow
From intake to a controlled result.
01Secure incoming dataCapture originals and attachments.
02Extract dataOCR, line items, dimensions and sources.
03Check completenessFlag missing items and conflicts.
04Prepare costingApply rules and prices.
05Human reviewsCorrect and approve.
06Deliver the quoteVersion, PDF, communication.
Human in the loop
This is where your team reviews and decides.
secondFactory prepares. At these points, a person confirms, corrects or deliberately approves – nothing slips through unnoticed.
✓
Confirm recognized data
Line items, quantities, dimensions and materials are reviewed before costing and corrected if needed.
✓
Approve clarification request
The prepared clarification request draft is read, adjusted and deliberately sent.
✓
Approve quote
After preflight, the quote goes to the customer only after deliberate approval – draft and approval remain separate.
Your benefits
What improves day to day.
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Less typing
Capture information once and reuse it.
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Faster response
Provide clarification requests and quote drafts sooner.
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Traceable
Sources, versions and approvals remain visible.
50–80% as target rangeFor recurring inquiries that can be well standardized, secondFactory targets 50–80% less manual processing time. How much it is in your company is measured before and after during process mapping.
Input & result
What goes in. What comes out.
Input sources
- Emails and mailboxes (IMAP, mail files)
- Uploads and inbound folders
- PDFs and attachments
- Drawings, plans and bills of quantities
- Spreadsheets
- Images and photos
Results
- Case with line items, quantities, dimensions and source locations
- List of open issues and contradictions
- Clarification request draft for approval
- Traceable costing basis
- Quote versions as PDF with technical attachments
In the end-to-end process
Handovers without re-entry.
Before
Intake
Customer inquiries from mailboxes, uploads and inbound folders – with all attachments – as well as transferred tenders.
This module
Inquiry, documents & quote
The inquiry becomes a reviewed basis for the quote.
After
Order, planning and engineering
Once the order is placed, the captured data is reused – without re-entry.
Process analysis / demo
Test inquiry & quote with your real inquiries.
In a process analysis or demo, we walk through real inquiries from your day-to-day work: what secondFactory prepares, where your team reviews and where time can be saved.
Applied in your industry
One module. Your business’s engineering logic.
Wood & interiors
Survey dimensions, room context, material and hardware lead to the furniture design. Variants and customer decisions connect to the quotation and subsequent production.
Explore the industry workflow →Buildings & MEP
Building documents, scope and missing design information are collected in the project. Quantities and services from the design revision can enter the quotation after confirmation.
Explore the industry workflow →