A building materials distributor in the Algarve prepared around 120 quotes per month — each one manually, in Word, with price look-ups in spreadsheets and stock verification by phone to the warehouse. The average time to deliver a quote was 2.3 days. In a sector where the first to respond wins the project, this delay cost dozens of deals per year. After implementing an automated per-project quoting system, delivery tracking and integrated credit management, the response time dropped to 45 minutes and the quote conversion rate rose by 34%.
The Scenario Before: Slow Quotes in a Fast Market
EdiMateriais (real case — data altered under NDA) is a building materials distributor with three warehouses in the Algarve — Faro, Portimão and Tavira — and a team of 42 employees. It supplies cement, steel, insulation, piping, ceramic materials and tools to builders, contractors and private individuals on projects across the region. Annual revenue was around €7.8 million.
The quoting process was the most obvious bottleneck in the operation. When a contractor requested a quote for a project — sometimes with 80 to 150 lines of different materials — the circuit was as follows:
Step 1: The sales representative received the request by email (a list of materials, often in a poorly formatted Excel file or a hand-scanned PDF).
Step 2: They interpreted each line, identifying the references in the internal catalogue. Products with ambiguous descriptions (such as "PVC pipe 110" — but which type? Which pressure?) required clarification phone calls.
Step 3: They consulted the price list (updated monthly) and checked availability of each reference across the three warehouses, often calling the Portimão and Tavira warehouses.
Step 4: They calculated discounts (by volume, by client, by campaign) manually, applying rules that varied by product category.
Step 5: They assembled the quote in Word, with the company header, commercial terms, estimated delivery time and payment conditions.
Step 6: They sent it to the client by email and waited for a response.
A simple quote (20–30 lines) took approximately 1.5 hours. A complex quote (100+ lines) could take an entire day. And in peak season (spring and summer in the Algarve, with the construction peak), the team of 4 sales representatives could not respond to all requests. Quotes delivered more than 3 days late had a conversion rate below 8% — because the client had already purchased from another supplier.
The Numbers Behind the Problem
• Quotes prepared per month: 120 on average.
• Average preparation time: 2.3 days.
• Overall conversion rate: 23%.
• Conversion rate when delivered in <4 hours: 52%.
• Conversion rate when delivered in >3 days: 8%.
• Weekly hours spent on quoting: 84 hours (4 sales representatives).
• Errors in quotes: 11% (wrong price, non-existent reference, unavailable stock).
• Bad debt: €186,000 in uncontrolled client debts.
The Solution: Automation on Three Axes
Axis 1: Automated Per-Project Quoting
We developed a quoting system that allows the sales representative to create a complete quote in minutes, not hours. The process is radically different from the previous one:
The sales representative creates a "project" in the system, associating it with a client and a delivery location. They can then add products in three ways: search by reference or description (with intelligent suggestions and ambiguity identification), automatic Excel file import (the system automatically maps the columns and identifies the corresponding references), or selection from project templates (for example, "3-bedroom house project" pre-loads a base list of typical materials that can be adjusted).
For each product, the system automatically shows the list price, the price with applicable discount (calculated by the configured rules), availability in each warehouse and estimated delivery time. The sales representative can adjust quantities, substitute products and add notes — but all calculations are automatic.
The quote is automatically generated as a professional PDF, with company branding, commercial terms, validity period and digital signature. It can be sent by email directly from the system, with open tracking (the sales representative knows when the client opened the email).
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See Automated Quoting →Axis 2: Real-Time Delivery Tracking
Construction projects have very specific delivery requirements: materials that need to arrive in a determined sequence (cladding cannot be delivered before cement), delivery windows constrained by truck access to the site, and the need to coordinate with cranes or unloading equipment.
We implemented a tracking system that allows the contractor to follow the status of each delivery in real time. When the load leaves the warehouse, the client receives a notification with an estimated arrival time. They can track the vehicle on the map and receive alerts when the delivery is 15 minutes away — enough time to prepare the site for reception.
On EdiMateriais's side, the system optimises loads per vehicle (considering weight, volume and material fragility), sequences deliveries by geographical proximity and automatically generates transport and dispatch notes. The driver confirms each delivery on the app, with a photograph of the unloaded material and the site manager's digital signature.
Axis 3: Integrated Credit Management
Bad debt was a serious problem. Many contractors purchased on credit (30, 60 or 90 days) without any system cross-checking the approved credit limit against pending orders and overdue invoices. Sales representatives under pressure to sell approved orders for clients who had already exceeded their credit limit.
The implemented system manages credit automatically. Each client has a defined credit ceiling. When the sales representative prepares a quote, the system automatically checks: outstanding invoice balance, open orders, payment history and available credit. If the quote value exceeds available credit, the system blocks the order and escalates it to the finance director, who can approve or reject with a single click.
The automated collections module sends escalated reminders by email and SMS: a friendly notice 3 days before the due date, first reminder on the due date, second reminder at 7 days, and escalation to phone contact at 15 days. This automation drastically reduced payment delays.
Results After 9 Months: The Transformation
• Average quote preparation time: from 2.3 days to 45 minutes (87% reduction).
• Overall conversion rate: from 23% to 31% (+34%).
• Quotes prepared per month: from 120 to 195 (with the same team).
• Errors in quotes: from 11% to 1.4%.
• Bad debt: from €186,000 to €52,000 (72% reduction).
• Average payment collection period: from 67 days to 38 days.
• Delivery complaints: 61% reduction.
• Monthly revenue: 18% increase (more quotes, faster, better conversion).
Financial Impact
The total investment — quoting system, delivery tracking, credit module, ERP integration, driver tablets and training — was €38,000. Direct savings (sales representative time, bad debt reduction, error elimination) total €94,000 in the first year. Incremental revenue generated by the increased quoting capacity and conversion rate is estimated at €1.4 million annually. The return was achieved in 5 months.
Conclusion
In building materials distribution, response speed is everything. The contractor who needs materials for the following week will not wait three days for a quote — they will go to the competitor who responds in hours. EdiMateriais transformed quoting from an operational bottleneck into a competitive advantage, and simultaneously resolved the chronic bad debt problem that was eroding the company's cash flow.
If your building materials company still prepares quotes in Word and manages credit in spreadsheets, the solution exists and pays for itself in a few months.
