From RFQ to Quote: Automating Sales with Graip AI Agents

RFQs should be an opportunity, not a bottleneck. But for most B2B sales teams, responding to a Request for Quotation still feels like detective work. You receive a multi-page PDF full of specs, often in inconsistent formats or multiple languages. Then someone has to manually extract the data, check what’s valid, find the right configuration in SAP CPQ, and hope they didn’t miss a margin flag or compliance rule.

That’s hours of work before a quote even exists, let alone goes out.

Graip AI changes that by introducing intelligent agents that take RFQs from document to quote, automatically, inside SAP CPQ.

No templates. No manual parsing. Just upload, extract, configure, and quote.

In this article, I’ll walk you through what the typical RFQ-to-quote process looks like, how Graip AI transforms it, and why this kind of automation isn’t just helpful, it’s increasingly essential in today’s sales cycle.

Manual RFQ Processing: Where Sales Teams Lose Time

Even in mature quoting environments, RFQs are where the wheels often come off. Sales teams are under pressure to respond fast, but the data they need is buried in documents that weren’t built for speed.

Email Chaos, Spec Confusion, Quoting Delays

RFQs usually arrive by email as PDFs, Word documents, or spreadsheets. Some include CAD drawings or embedded tables. Others are just long, unstructured descriptions of needs.

That means:

• Sales engineers spend time reading and re-reading specs
• Product managers are pulled in to clarify fit or compatibility
• Pricing teams wait for inputs that aren’t standardized

Instead of building quotes, teams are busy translating documents into something SAP CPQ can understand.

Meanwhile, your competitors might already be quoting.

Manual work can cause a lot of errors

Repetition, Rekeying, and the Risk of Inconsistency

When quote data comes from a document, someone has to manually rekey it into SAP CPQ. That means:

• More chances for errors (wrong specs, wrong prices, outdated data)
• Different reps may interpret the same RFQ differently
• No easy way to track or audit how the quote was built

Over time, this creates misalignment. Two reps may quote the same product differently. Margins erode. Response times creep up.

And in fast-moving industries, slow quoting = lost deals.

How Graip AI Agents Handle RFQs Automatically

Graip AI flips the RFQ process from manual grind to intelligent flow. Instead of depending on human effort to interpret, extract, and configure, it uses AI agents to process documents like a trained analyst, only faster, and at scale.

It’s not a bolt-on tool, it’s built to plug directly into SAP CPQ.

Here’s how the automation actually works.

Upload or Capture of RFQ Documents

The journey begins when a new RFQ arrives, via email, upload, or API. Sales reps can drag-and-drop the file, or it can be routed automatically from a shared inbox.

Graip supports:

• PDF, DOCX, XLSX, images (even scans or photos)
• Structured and unstructured content
• Multi-language input (German, French, Spanish, etc.)

No templates required. No formatting rules. Just send the document and go.

Document Reading, Spec Extraction, and Mapping

Once the RFQ is captured, Graip’s intelligent agent gets to work:

• Reads the entire document using optical character recognition (OCR), natural language processing (NLP), and AI model predictions
• Extracts product specs, part numbers, quantities, materials, dimensions, technical requirements
• Maps the data to your internal product catalog in SAP CPQ, using historical data and predefined business rules

For example: if the RFQ mentions a “3-phase 400V motor,” Graip can match it to the correct configuration in your catalog, even if the wording differs from your standard product name.

You don’t need to manually teach it synonyms, it learns and adapts.

Quote Suggestion Generation Inside SAP CPQ

After mapping, Graip pushes the structured data directly into SAP CPQ. Depending on your setup, it can:

• Pre-fill the quote configurator
• Apply pricing and discount logic
• Trigger margin checks and approval workflows

The result? A draft quote appears for the sales rep to review, already aligned with your rules, pricing, and product logic.

Instead of starting from zero, reps start from a fully built quote.

And because it all lives inside your existing SAP stack, nothing breaks or needs “yet another login.”

Precision + Speed: What Improves With AI Agents

AI isn’t just about saving time, it’s about delivering better quotes, faster. With Graip AI agents handling the heavy lifting, sales teams not only move quicker, but with far more consistency and accuracy.

This is where real ROI starts to show.

Faster Time to Quote = Higher Win Rate

The first vendor to respond often has a strategic edge. In fact, research shows that 35–50% of deals go to the vendor who responds first.

By automating RFQ intake and quote creation:

• Quote turnaround time drops from days to hours, or even minutes
• Sales teams respond faster, with less friction
• Approval cycles start earlier, leading to faster decisions

Speed doesn’t just win attention, it wins revenue.

Reduction in Manual Errors and Margin Leakage

Manual quoting leaves room for mistakes, especially under deadline pressure. Misread specs, mismatched part numbers, or incorrect pricing can cause delays, rework, or margin loss.

Graip AI minimizes these risks by:

• Pulling accurate data from internal systems
• Applying your margin rules automatically
• Flagging any out-of-bounds inputs or quote exceptions

You get cleaner quotes, fewer escalations, and less back-and-forth with finance or product teams.

Consistency Across Sales Reps, Markets, and Channels

Even with great training, sales reps interpret RFQs differently. One rep might choose a bundled config, another a custom build. This creates quoting inconsistencies that confuse buyers, and eat into margin.

Graip AI ensures:

• The same input leads to the same quote logic
• Configurations match business rules, every time
• Language and format are standardized for easier customer review

It’s like having your best presales engineer working 24/7, on every RFQ.

Real-World Scenario: Quote Prepared in Minutes

Let’s make this real with a fictional, but highly plausible, example. This is what RFQ to quote automation actually looks like with Graip AI inside SAP CPQ.

Sample RFQ Input: A Simple Tech Request

Imagine this: your team receives a 3-page RFQ from a European distributor. It’s a Word file with mixed formatting, tables, free text, and a product spec that reads:

“Requesting 25 units of 3-phase asynchronous motors, 400V, 50Hz, IP55, 2.2kW, IEC frame size 90L. Must include thermal protection.”

The document also includes a requested delivery date, some general compliance terms, and pricing expectations “within 48 hours.”

AI can do the job faster, better and with less errors

AI Reads, Extracts, and Maps to SAP CPQ

A sales assistant uploads the file into the SAP CPQ interface where Graip AI is embedded.

Here’s what happens in under 60 seconds:

• Graip identifies the key request parameters (power rating, voltage, protection class, etc.)
• It searches your SAP product catalog for the closest matching item
• Applies your business rules (e.g., margin targets, region-specific availability)
• Populates a draft configuration in SAP CPQ with recommended price and discount level

Because it uses historical data and product logic, it selects the standard motor variant already approved for that region.

Sales Rep Reviews and Sends the Quote

The quote appears in the sales rep’s CPQ dashboard as a pre-filled draft.

All they have to do is:

• Confirm delivery terms
• Adjust pricing (if needed) within allowed thresholds
• Click “generate” and send

What once took hours of searching, checking, and formatting now takes minutes.

And the response goes out within the 48-hour window, with technical accuracy, policy compliance, and pricing confidence.

Implementation Notes: What’s Needed to Get Started

Graip AI is fast once it’s live, but like any automation project, success comes from solid prep. The good news is, if you already run SAP CPQ, you’re closer than you think.

Most Graip AI RFQ-to-quote rollouts start with a focused use case and scale up as value becomes visible.

Here’s what to consider.

Product Master and Pricing Availability

To map RFQ specs accurately, Graip AI needs access to your:

• Product master data (SKUs, attributes, compatibility rules)
• Pricing models and discount logic
• Configuration constraints from SAP CPQ

If this data is well-structured and maintained, the AI can quickly begin mapping incoming requests to valid offers.

Think of it like teaching the AI your catalog’s DNA, it gets smarter with every RFQ.

Business Rules and Exception Handling Setup

Not all quotes are simple. Some RFQs contain vague specs, unrealistic combinations, or region-specific constraints. Graip AI handles this by applying business rules and flagging edge cases for review.

You’ll want to:

• Define quote approval thresholds (margins, discounts, etc.)
• Create fallback logic for incomplete specs
• Set workflows for human-in-the-loop validation

This ensures confidence in every quote, without over-automating.

Human-in-the-Loop Validation During Rollout

In early stages, many companies choose a semi-automated approach:

• AI prepares the quote
• Sales reviews and adjusts
• Feedback loops help train the system

This “co-pilot” mode builds trust, reduces errors, and ensures adoption across teams.

Once reps see how much time they save, they rarely want to go back.

The Business Case for Automating RFQ to Quote

When you automate RFQ handling, you’re not just making sales faster, you’re unlocking efficiency across sales, operations, and product teams. The benefits aren’t abstract. They show up in revenue, resource savings, and customer experience.

Benchmarks: 80% Faster Quoting, 3× Higher Throughput

Companies using Graip AI for RFQ processing report:

• Up to 80% reduction in time spent preparing quotes
• 3× increase in quote volume handled without expanding headcount
• 5–10% improvement in win rates from faster, more accurate responses

All of this with fewer errors, fewer escalations, and smoother internal alignment.

Speed, scale, and precision, delivered at once.

Scalability Without Headcount Growth

Sales capacity often scales linearly with team size. But with Graip AI:

• A single rep can handle more requests
• Presales engineers are freed from data grunt work
• Managers get clearer quote traceability and compliance

You grow quoting output without hiring a dozen new people.

And since the system learns and improves with every RFQ, performance only gets better over time.

Sales, Ops, and Customer Experience Alignment

Graip doesn’t just benefit sales. It streamlines how operations, finance, and product teams interact with quoting. No more chasing specs. No more margin surprises. No more missed compliance flags.

And for customers? They get fast, accurate, professional quotes, every time.

RFQs stop feeling like a chore, and start becoming a competitive advantage.