Quoting software for metals service centers
Grade, size, length, cut.
Then the price moves.
Metals quoting software reads an RFQ or cut list and drafts the quote for your rep to price and check. ChannelFlex reads grade, dimension, wall, length and piece count from every line, matches each one to your inventory, flags what you are short or do not carry, and hands your rep a draft to price against today's replacement cost.
Quoting today
The specs are dense. The price moved. The customer is waiting.
A metals quote is a careful read of grade and dimension, a cut list, a stock check that often comes back short, and a pricing call against a cost that moved this week. Every step is manual, and every step is a place to be slow.
Grade and dimension in every notation
"2 x 2 x 1/4 A36 angle" or "L2x2x1/4, A36, 20 ft." Same item, two ways to write it, and a dozen more in the next email. Your rep normalizes each line before they can check stock.
Twenty lengths wanted, ten on the rack
The customer wants 20 lengths. You have 10. The quote now waits on a sister branch, a vendor or the mill to answer. If the line is cut-to-length, the yield, the cut charge and the remnant still have to be worked out before anyone prices it.
Replacement cost moved since the RFQ came in
Mill price, surcharge and tariff all moved this week. The cost in your ERP is last month's. Quote off it and you win the job underwater, or pad it and lose to whoever read the market this morning.
How ChannelFlex handles it
How ChannelFlex handles a metals RFQ
Read the specs, match the inventory, and put the cut and pricing decisions in front of your rep fast. A person approves every quote.
Capture the request
Forward the RFQ, cut list, spreadsheet, or text from the shop floor. ChannelFlex reads grade, dimension, length, quantity and piece count from every line.
“L2x2x1/4 A36 20 ft x40; 2" SCH 40 A53 ERW, 30 pcs @ 47-1/2"; 4140 HR rd 3-1/2 x 12 ft, 2 pcs, certs required”
Triage stock vs non-stock
Each line is matched to your inventory with a confidence score. Odd grades, short stock and cut lines are flagged for the rep.
Source the non-stock
Non-stock grades and short lengths are routed to your vendor options and kept together, so the rep starts from a short list.
Rep checkpoint
Your rep confirms the match, sets yield, cut charge and certs, and prices against today's replacement cost. A person approves every quote.
Quote goes out
A clean quote with every line tied to an inventory item, out while the price you quoted is still the price.
Hand off to the ERP
On acceptance the quote becomes a sales order in your ERP, cut instructions and cert requirements carried as line notes, with no retyping.
Representative example. Companies, people, part numbers, and prices shown are fictional.
Works alongside the ERP you already run
Prophet 21
Business CentralRunning Jonas, Invera or Pentagon? Mention it on the demo call.
Results
What Metals, Pipe & Tube distributors see once ChannelFlex is on the desk.
References available on the demo call.
What it takes to start
Live in weeks, not months
Real requests flowing within two to four weeks of starting. Reps forward requests the way they do today and approve the draft in ChannelFlex; the one new screen is the review checkpoint.
A pilot first, with fair and transparent pricing
Start with a pilot on your own requests and prove it on your desk before you commit. Straightforward terms, explained before you start.
Questions
What Metals teams ask before they book.
It reads the piece count and cut length off the line, matches the stock size and grade, and flags the line for your rep. The rep sets the yield, the cut charge and any cert requirement before pricing. ChannelFlex does not set cut charges on its own today.
Neither on its own. ChannelFlex matches the lines and hands the draft to your rep, who prices it. The rep applies today's replacement cost, surcharge and tariff the way they do now, and the quote goes out with the numbers they set.
It is flagged for the rep with the possible matches. A 3-1/2 inch round in 4140 could be hot rolled or cold finished, annealed or heat treated. The rep picks, and that pick is what goes on the quote. No match is better than a wrong match.
A person, every time. Your rep reviews every line, fixes anything the match got wrong, sets the cut and cert details, and prices the quote before it goes out. Nothing is sent without that sign-off.
Real requests within two to four weeks of starting. You forward a few of your own RFQs and cut lists, we set up the match against your inventory, and your reps start reviewing live quotes. ChannelFlex connects alongside your ERP, and the demo call walks through exactly what IT provides for yours.
From our founderKey-Person Risk in Distribution Quoting: What Happens When Your Best Rep LeavesWhat happens when pricing lives in one person's head.See ChannelFlex turn an RFQ into a quote, live.
A 30-minute demo built around representative Metals, Pipe & Tube requests. Have a real one? Send it before the call and we will run it live instead.