1. Quickly decide if a request is worth quoting
Most shops spend as much time on requests they turn down as on the ones they win. Set a few simple criteria for what you actually want to quote: materials you're strong in, volumes that suit your machines, lead times you can hit.
A quick green/yellow/red call the moment a request lands puts the good ones first and stops the poor ones eating your time.
2. Read the drawing systematically, not ad hoc
It's easy to miss the tightest tolerance or a surface-finish spec when you skim a drawing. Keep a fixed checklist: material and temper, tightest tolerance, GD&T, surface finish, threads, quantity, delivery.
The same order every time means nothing falls through the cracks and whoever prices it gets everything in one place.
3. Catch missing information early
Nothing delays a quote like a question asked too late. Note what's missing the moment the request arrives and send the clarification the same day, rather than in the middle of pricing.
A ready-made email draft for the most common gaps saves time every time.
4. Reply fast — it often wins the job
On many requests the shop that replies first wins, not the cheapest. A short same-day note that you're looking at it, plus a realistic time for a full quote, keeps the customer warm.
5. Let a human price it, but skip the reading
The price should be set by someone who knows your machines and margins. But the reading of the email and drawing can be taken off your plate. A tool that reads the request and drawing and hands back a ready brief can cut the lead time sharply — without anyone losing control of the price.
See what such a brief looks like on our RFQ brief page.
6. Measure how long it actually takes
You can't improve what you don't measure. Track how many requests you get a week and how long a quote takes from request to reply. Just looking at the number usually reveals where the bottleneck is.