Insights
Notes from the distributor inbox
What we have learned building Ettore against a real distributor’s catalog and mailboxes. Problems first, product second.
Orders outnumber quote requests nearly 4 to 1: six weeks inside a distributor’s inbox
Six weeks of a lighting distributor’s inbox: 614 purchase orders and 166 quote requests in 30 days, where each arrives, and what that means for automation.
How to evaluate AI quote automation: a buyer’s guide for distributors
What to test, what to ask about matching, pricing, ERP write-back and data, and the mistakes to avoid when you pilot an AI quoting tool.
How to match customer requests to ERP SKUs without guessing
Competitor codes, specs written five ways, near-identical products — and why a matcher should flag a line rather than guess.
RFQ or purchase order? Why the difference matters when you automate the inbox
A quote request asks for a price; a purchase order places one. Why automations that mix them up go wrong, and how to tell them apart.