Gamut
Bid & Proposal DrafterManufacturing

Manufacturing Bid / Proposal Drafter Agent

Turn inbound RFQs into competitive first-pass proposals without rebuilding every quote from scratch.

Updated

Connects with

EpicorEpicorSlackSlackGmailGmailOutlookOutlook
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The problem it solves

Estimating teams burn hours rebuilding quotes from scratch on every RFQ, hunting through Epicor or SAP B1 for job history, standard costs, and certificate expiry dates while a deadline ticks. This agent assembles a structured first-pass proposal package in a fraction of the time, so your team finalizes a competitive bid instead of starting from a blank page. Every data gap is flagged up front rather than discovered after submission.

Who it's for

  • Job shops and contract manufacturers in machining, stamping, casting, injection molding, fabrication, or assembly
  • Tier 1 and Tier 2 automotive and aerospace suppliers responding to OEM RFQs
  • Defense and government contractors handling ITAR and CMMC solicitations
  • Estimating teams managing high RFQ volume with limited administrative support
  • Sales engineers who quote against tight submission deadlines

What it does

  1. 1

    Parse the inbound opportunity

    It extracts part numbers, material specs, required processes, quantities, quality requirements, certifications, and the submission deadline from the RFQ or solicitation, flagging gaps immediately.

  2. 2

    Confirm production capability

    It checks Epicor or SAP Business One for matching processes, work center capacity during the delivery window, and tooling status, flagging operations that need outside processing.

  3. 3

    Pull historical cost data

    It searches job history by part number, material grade, and operation to set a cost floor and quoted price range, including scrap rate history and tooling amortization.

  4. 4

    Assemble the quality package

    It compiles active ISO, IATF, AS9100, NADCAP, and ITAR certificates with numbers and expiry dates plus PPAP capability and quality KPIs.

  5. 5

    Flag certification gaps

    It compares required certifications against what the company holds and surfaces anything missing before the bid goes out.

  6. 6

    Draft the proposal package

    It produces a cover letter, capabilities overview, certifications, part-by-part prices and lead times, cost breakdown if requested, delivery terms, and references.

  7. 7

    Deliver a missing-information checklist

    It returns every gap categorized as submission-blocking, proposal-critical, or quality-improving so the team knows exactly what to chase.

  8. 8

    Route the draft for review

    It sends the proposal and alerts to your Slack or email channel for engineering and sales sign-off before submission.

Key benefits

  • Finalize competitive bids in a fraction of the usual quoting time
  • Consistent proposal structure across every RFQ and solicitation
  • Cost floors grounded in real job history, not guesswork
  • Certificate expiry dates and certification gaps caught before submission
  • Prioritized checklist of missing data so nothing blocks the bid late
  • Estimators freed from rebuilding boilerplate on every quote

Sample use cases

A Tier 1 automotive supplier receives an OEM RFQ for a machined component with IATF 16949 and PPAP Level 3 requirements.

The agent confirms the required processes against Epicor, pulls historical cost on the same part family, verifies the active IATF certificate and PPAP capability, and drafts a part-by-part quote ready for review.

An estimating team faces five inbound RFQs in one week with no admin support.

Each request is parsed into a structured first-pass proposal with a missing-information checklist, so the team triages and finalizes bids instead of building each quote by hand.

A defense contractor responds to a government solicitation with ITAR and CMMC requirements.

The agent extracts the certification and DFARS material requirements, flags any mandatory certification the company does not hold as submission-blocking, and assembles the compliant capabilities package.

A job shop quotes a part that needs heat treat the plant does not perform in-house.

The agent flags the outsourced operation, identifies a qualified outside processor with typical lead time and cost, and folds the outside process rate into the cost model.

Key integrations

  • Epicor

    Manufacturing ERP for job history, standard costs, work center capacity, and tooling data

  • SAP Business One

    ERP alternative for production capability, costing, and historical job lookups

  • Slack

    Channel where proposal drafts and missing-information alerts are delivered

  • Email

    Alternative delivery channel for proposal drafts and gap alerts to the estimating or sales team

  • CSV export

    Fallback for importing job history, standard costs, and work center data when direct ERP access is not available

Built for manufacturers that quote against high RFQ volume, the agent treats your ERP as the source of truth for what you can actually make, at what cost, and to which quality standard. It does not invent capabilities or prices; it surfaces what already lives in Epicor or SAP B1 and organizes it into a bid the team can stand behind.

Because it categorizes every gap as submission-blocking, proposal-critical, or quality-improving, estimators know exactly what to chase first and which lean manufacturing consulting proposal components or certification details still need an answer before the deadline.

Getting started

  1. Import the workspace — Add the Manufacturing Bid / Proposal Drafter template to your Gamut workspace to get the agent and its skills.
  2. Run the onboarding skill — The agent interviews you to connect Epicor or SAP Business One, load your certificates and standard cost model, and set your delivery channel.
  3. Give it a first RFQ — Forward an inbound RFQ or solicitation and review the first-pass proposal and missing-information checklist it returns.

Frequently asked questions

Does the agent submit bids on my behalf?

No. It drafts, organizes, and flags gaps, but every proposal requires engineering and sales review before submission. The agent never submits a proposal or bid for you.

Which systems does this contract manufacturing proposal software work with?

It connects to Epicor or SAP Business One for job history, standard costs, and work center data, and delivers drafts to Slack or email. If direct ERP access is not available, it can work from CSV exports.

How is this different from writing a manufacturing proposal manually or with a generic template?

Generic tools give you a blank format. This agent pulls your real production capabilities, certificate expiry dates, and historical costs from your ERP, then assembles a structured proposal with a prioritized gap checklist, so the bid is grounded in your actual data.

Can it handle government and defense solicitations?

Yes. It extracts ITAR, CMMC, and DFARS material requirements, verifies the certifications you hold, and flags any mandatory certification you are missing as submission-blocking before the deadline.

Does it set the final price?

It establishes a cost floor from historical job data and proposes a quoted price range, flagging when a disclosed target price falls below cost. Final pricing and margin decisions stay with your estimating team.

How much does it cost to use?

The template is free to import into your Gamut workspace. You can connect your ERP and run your first RFQ through it without any per-proposal fee.