Empresa fictícia · números inventados
Systems & AI Audit
Moldes Exemplo, Lda.
- People
- 42, of whom 4 handle quotes
- Makes
- Injection moulds up to 1,100 t, for automotive and appliance suppliers
- Sells to
- Germany 45 %, France 25 %, Spain 15 %, Portugal and others 15 %
- RFQs
- 14 a week on average (84 in the 6-week inbox export)
- Quotes won
- about 1 in 5
01Summary
Moldes Exemplo doesn't have an AI problem. It has an RFQ that waits four working days for its first reply, specs that are typed four times between the inbox and the ERP, and quotes that nobody follows up. Most of that time can come back without changing how the shop prices or decides.
- An RFQ waits a median of 4.2 working days for its first reply. Two of those days are spent waiting for the one person who writes German, who works Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- In the RFQ we traced, the drawing and the client's spec disagreed on the material. Both were in the inbox on day 1; the contradiction was found on day 7.
- Each quote's details are typed four times: into the quote log, into the questions email, into the quote template and, if it's won, into the ERP.
- Two of the four AI subscriptions on the invoice were not used in the six weeks we looked at.
CalculatedThe hours back in section 04 added up: 410 + 160 + 150 − 45. and Calculated675 hours at the €38 an hour finance confirmed, plus €1,920 of subscriptions cancelled. a year, from five changes, before any effect on quotes won.
02System and process map
Every system a quote request touches, in the order it touches them, and every place a person copies something from one to the next.
- Shared inboxvendas@ in OutlookAna, sales assistant
Typed by hand Customer, part and date typed into the log
- Quote logOrçamentos 2026.xlsx on the shared driveAna
Forwarded
- CADSolidWorks, STEP opened by handJorge, estimator
Typed by hand Questions retyped into an email, then translated
- Questions emaildrafted in Portuguese, rewritten in German or FrenchJorge, then Sabine or Luc
Typed by hand Specs typed again into the template
- Quote templateWord template, exported to PDFJorge
Typed by hand Accepted quote typed into the ERP
- ERPon-premise, order entry by handPaula, planning
Alongside
- WhatsApp: the sales director forwards RFQs from his phone to Ana about once a week. Six of the 84 RFQs arrived this way and two were logged twice.
- Shared drive: drawings saved by client name, then by part number after March, so older RFQs are hard to find.
- AI tools: four subscriptions: a chat plan with two seats, a translation tool, a transcription tool and an image generator. Luc uses the translation tool and Jorge the chat plan now and then; the other two showed no use in six weeks.
03One request, traced
One real request, followed from the inbox to the quote. Here it's the cover for a control unit from Beispiel Haustechnik GmbH: 120,000 parts a year, drawing, spec and STEP file attached, written in German.
TracedMeasuredThe traced request's timestamps, at 8 working hours a day.
Without the waitsEstimateA planning figure, with opportunities 1 and 2 in place. Only the waits between people shrink.
- Someone working (4.2 h in all)
- Waiting for someone
- The client's time
Planning figure for the same request with opportunities 1 and 2 in place. The work and the client's time don't change; only the waits between people do.
| When | What happened | Who | Waited | Worked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 · 09:12 | RFQ arrives in vendas@ with three attachments. | — | — | — |
| Day 1 · 16:40 | Logged in the quote log: customer, part number, date.Typed by hand | Ana | 7 h 28 min | 10 min |
| Day 3 · 10:05 | STEP opened and measured; material read from the drawing (PP-T20). The spec, which says PP, isn't opened.The spec was in the inbox from day 1. Nobody opened it. | Jorge | 1.7 days | 50 min |
| Day 3 · 11:00 | Questions on cavities and texture written in Portuguese and passed to Sabine.Typed by hand | Jorge | — | 15 min |
| Day 5 · 14:30 | Questions sent to the client in German. First reply the client receives. | Sabine | 2.1 days | 25 min |
| Day 7 · 09:50 | Client answers, and points out the spec says PP, not PP-T20.Found by the client, six working days after it arrived. | Client | 1.8 days | — |
| Day 8 | Mould priced in the quote template.Typed by hand | Jorge | — | 2 h |
| Day 9 · 17:10 | Quote sent with a German cover note. | Sabine | 1 day | 20 min |
| Day 9 onwards | No follow-up logged. Outcome not known when the audit closed. | — | — | — |
- Working days to the quote
- MeasuredFrom arrival (day 1, 09:12) to the quote leaving (day 9, 17:10), at 8 working hours a day.
- Working days to the first reply
- MeasuredFrom arrival to the questions going out in German, day 5 at 14:30.
- Time anyone spent on it
- MeasuredThe working steps of the trace added up: 4.2 hours.
- Times typed by hand
- MeasuredThe steps marked TYPED BY HAND above; a won quote is typed into the ERP once more.
04Ranked opportunities
Ranked by what they're worth against what they cost to build. Hours today come from the six-week inbox export and timed samples, at 46 working weeks. Hours back is a planning share, stated per line, not a promise; values use the €38 hourly cost Moldes Exemplo's finance team confirmed.
| # | Opportunity | Hours today | Hours back | Value a year | Build |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RFQ intake and summary sheetRead each RFQ and its attachments on arrival, measure the STEP file, write a summary sheet in Portuguese and list what blocks the quote. Planning share: 70 % of today's reading and logging time.Depends on: Read access to vendas@; a test set of 30 past RFQs | 590 | 410 | €15,580 | M3 to 4 weeks |
| 2 | Questions and replies drafted in the client's languageDraft the questions email and the quote cover note in German, French or Spanish for Sabine or Luc to check and send. Planning share: 60 %.Depends on: Opportunity 1 | 270 | 160 | €6,080 | S2 weeks |
| 3 | Accepted quote into the ERP without retypingCreate the ERP order from the quote template's data once a quote is won. Planning share: 85 % of order entry time.Depends on: The ERP supplier confirming an import route (open question 1) | 175 | 150 | €5,700 | M3 weeks, if the ERP accepts imports |
| 4 | Two unused AI subscriptions cancelledCancel the transcription tool and the image generator (about €80 a month each). Keep the chat plan and the translation tool until opportunity 2 is live, then review both.Depends on: Nothing | — | — | €1,920 | Sa day |
| 5 | Quote follow-up on a scheduleA reminder to the estimator 5 and 12 working days after a quote leaves, with a drafted follow-up. Nobody follows up today, so it adds about 45 hours a year rather than saving any. Any effect on the win rate isn't counted here.Depends on: Opportunity 1 (the quote log becomes reliable) | — | -45 | -€1,710 | S1 week |
| First-year value | 675 | €27,570 |
Hours at €38 an hour. The audit guarantee compares this total with the audit's fee: had it come to less, the fee would have been refunded. Como funciona a garantia
What we wouldn't build
- A chatbot on the website
- Two visitor questions a month reach vendas@ from the website. It would cost more to run than it saves.
- Replacing the ERP
- It works for planning and invoicing. The problem is getting quotes into it, which opportunity 3 addresses for a fraction of the cost.
- AI that proposes prices
- Pricing depends on Jorge's judgement of steel, cavities and press time. A system should give him better inputs, not a number.
0590-day plan
What happens in the 90 days after the audit, who owns each part, and the number that says whether it worked. Written so that Moldes Exemplo could run it with us, alone, or with someone else.
Weeks 1–2
Decisions and access
- Cancel the two unused subscriptions (opportunity 4).
- Ask the ERP supplier whether orders can be imported (open question 1).
- Sign data processing agreements with every provider named in section 6.
- Choose 30 past RFQs, including the hard ones, as the test set.
Owner: Rui, with Jorge · Done when: Test set agreed; ERP answer in writing
Weeks 3–6
Intake and summary sheet (opportunity 1)
- Build it and run it on the test set until Jorge would sign the sheets off.
- Then two weeks in shadow mode on live RFQs: sheets are written, Jorge checks every one.
Owner: Brighterloom builds; Jorge reviews · Done when: Fewer than 1 in 5 sheets need a correction
Weeks 7–8
Drafts in the client's language (opportunity 2)
- Questions and cover notes drafted in German, French and Spanish; Sabine and Luc check and send every one.
Owner: Brighterloom builds; Sabine and Luc review · Done when: Median time to first reply under 1 working day
Weeks 9–12
Into the ERP, and follow-up (opportunities 3 and 5)
- If the ERP accepts imports: accepted quotes create the order without retyping.
- Follow-up reminders with drafted emails, 5 and 12 days after a quote.
- Training for Ana, Jorge, Sabine, Luc and Paula; written documentation handed over.
Owner: Brighterloom builds; Paula owns the ERP step · Done when: Each won quote typed by hand once at most
The monthly scorecard
| Measure | Today | At 90 days |
|---|---|---|
| Working days to first reply | 4.2 | under 1 |
| Time spent per RFQ before the quote | about 2 h 30 min | about 1 h |
| Times details are typed by hand per order | 4 | 1 |
| Quotes followed up | none | all |
| Quotes won | about 1 in 5 | tracked, no target |
06Data and risk
What leaves the building, where it goes, and what stays out.
- Drawings and STEP files are processed by the providers named in the design document, in the EU where offered, under data processing agreements, with training on the data switched off.
- Two clients' NDAs forbid processing their drawings outside Moldes Exemplo. Their RFQs are recognised by sender and skip the assistant; they're handled as today.
- Nothing is sent to a client without a person reading it. Drafts stay in the drafts folder.
- Every account is created in Moldes Exemplo's name, so the company keeps the system whoever runs it.
07Open questions
- Does the ERP accept order imports, by file or by API? The answer decides whether opportunity 3 is a 3-week build or not worth doing.
- Is the material contradiction in the traced RFQ typical? We found two more in the 84 RFQs, but the sample is small.
- Would Sabine's hours be better spent on German calls with clients once she no longer writes the emails?
08Assumptions
- 46 working weeks a year.
- Hourly cost €38, confirmed in writing by Moldes Exemplo's finance team in week 2.
- RFQ volumes and timings from a six-week export of vendas@ and timed samples of 12 RFQs.
- Hours back are planning shares, stated per opportunity. The monthly scorecard measures the real figures once systems are live.