Quoting Software for Contract Manufacturers
A contract manufacturer makes other companies' parts to other companies' drawings. Every request is different, the batches are small, and the buyer usually asked two or three shops at the same time. QuoteBuddy turns the customer's drawing into a priced quote built on your machines, your rates and your rules, so you can answer the same day and still know where every euro of the price comes from.
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Why quoting is harder for subcontract work
A shop with its own product quotes the same parts again and again. A subcontractor rarely does. Each RFQ brings a new geometry, a new material, a new tolerance and often a finish or a treatment the shop sends out. The quote has to be prepared from scratch, and the buyer compares it with competing offers within days.
That puts pressure on two things at once. Speed, because the first credible answer often wins the conversation. Consistency, because two people in the same shop should not give the same customer two different prices for similar parts. Spreadsheets kept by each estimator are good at neither: they are slow to fill in and they drift apart.
How QuoteBuddy handles a customer RFQ
The customer's drawing as the starting point
Upload the drawing as PDF, PNG or JPG. QuoteBuddy reads dimensions, material, holes, threads, tolerances and finish callouts, and shows you every value it extracted. You check and correct before anything is priced, so the quote rests on the drawing you received and not on a misreading.
One shop setup for every estimator
Machine capabilities, hourly rates, overhead factor, margin rules, material prices and stock sizes live in one shop setup. Whoever prepares the quote, the same part produces the same operations at the same rates. When a rate changes, you change it once.
Outside processes, priced and visible
Subcontract work often includes steps you do not perform in-house: heat treatment, coatings, plating. When the drawing calls for an operation your shop does not have, QuoteBuddy marks it as outsourced, applies the uplift factor you set for outside work, and keeps it flagged until you confirm it. An unconfirmed outside step keeps the quote from being sent to the customer, so a guessed supplier price cannot slip through.
Quantities the buyer asks for
Buyers often want prices for several quantities. One estimate can carry several quantity tiers, with setup spread over each batch and cycle time multiplied by the pieces, so the price break is calculated rather than estimated by feel. A minimum order value can be set for very small orders.
A quote the buyer can follow
The result is a PDF quote backed by a line-by-line estimate: stock, each machining operation, programming, setup, deburring, inspection, packaging and outside processes, each with its time and cost. When a buyer asks why the price is what it is, or asks for a cheaper option, you can see which line to discuss instead of reopening the whole calculation.
Operations you adjust by hand can be locked. If the drawing is read again, for example after a revision, your locked lines keep the values you set.
What it does not do
QuoteBuddy is a quoting tool, not an ERP. It does not run orders, production scheduling or invoicing. It covers the step before the order exists: from the customer's drawing to a quote you are willing to sign. It does not decide the price for you either; it shows the cost with your rules, and the commercial decision stays yours.
Try it on last month's RFQs
Pick five drawings you quoted recently, set your real rates, and compare the operations and totals QuoteBuddy produces with the quotes you sent. The comparison shows quickly where your current method is faster, where it is slower and where something was left out.
The trial lasts 30 days, with unlimited quotes and no credit card. Your customers' drawings are stored encrypted in European data centres and are not used to train third-party AI models.