RFQ first pass for job shops

Know which RFQs to no-quote before your estimator spends two hours on them.

Send one commercial RFQ packet. You get back one page: go, maybe or no-go, the missing callouts, the bottleneck and date risk, a buy list, and a reply you can paste to your buyer. A person checks every first pass before it's released. You keep the customer and the official quote.

Commercial packets only. Controlled, export-marked or government packets are refused unread.

First pass · sample packetnot a real customer

Pivot bracket · 6061-T6 · Qty 50

Need-by 3 weeks from PO

Call: Maybe

BottleneckNot machine time. The date dies on the hardware and the finish.
FinishAnodize not called out. Can't price or schedule it yet.
HardwareShoulder screws on an 8-week lead against a 3-week need-by.
ReplyTwo questions to the buyer, ready to paste.

How it works

You stay on the customer thread. We stay off it.

Upload the packet: PDF, drawing images, spreadsheet, or the buyer's email pasted in.

Our model reads it and drafts the first pass.

A person at South Bay Desk checks the call and the questions, usually within 4 business hours.

You get a private link to the one-page triage and a reply you can paste.

What you get

One page per packet, so your estimator only touches the maybes and the gos.

✓

Go, maybe or no-go

The call up front, with the reason in one sentence.

?

Missing callouts

Finish, material spec, revision, certs, quantity breaks: what the buyer still has to tell you.

!

Date risk and buys

What actually decides the need-by: outside processing, hardware, material.

↩

Reply to paste

The questions for your buyer, written as your shop, ready to send.

Who it's for

A good fit

  • 10–80 person machine shops, fab shops, sheet metal and job shops
  • The owner or one estimator quotes and also runs jobs
  • Commercial RFQs by email, with prints and specs attached

Not a fit

  • ITAR, export-controlled or CUI packages
  • Government and prime-contract solicitations
  • Shops that want us to talk to their buyer

Pricing

See the format on your own packet first. Month to month, no setup.

Start here
$0

Free. One real triage on your own packet.

Run a free triage
Shop
$99 /mo
  • 40 packets a month
  • One sender
  • Every first pass checked while we're getting started
Start Shop
Team
$249 /mo
  • 150 packets a month
  • Up to 5 senders
  • A monthly no-quote summary
Start Team
Desk
$750 /mo
  • 30 packets a month
  • A person always checks every pass, within 4 business hours
  • A monthly review of wins and no-quotes
Start the Desk

Not sure yet? The Desk pilot is $1,500 for 10 packets, credited toward your first Desk month. Plans start by invoice; email desk@southbaydesk.com.

What we refuse

ITAR, export-controlled, CUI, government or "not sure if it's restricted" packets. If a packet looks marked, it's refused unread and never stored. The full list

Send one packet. See the first pass.

Your first triage is free. A person checks it before you see it.

Run a free triage