AI automation for custom manufacturers.
ClearGuide helps high-mix, make-to-order, build-to-print, and engineer-to-order manufacturers tighten the messy work between RFQ and ERP while keeping estimators, engineers, and production teams in control.
Work still gets stuck before the system of record.
The first mile of quote-to-order still runs through RFQ inboxes, PDFs, CAD files, drawings, revision notes, BOMs, spreadsheets, cert requirements, supplier replies, quote follow-up, and staff memory before ERP or estimating software can carry the work.
Messy intake
Requests arrive through email, forms, portals, PDFs, spreadsheets, and notes that need structure before review.
Exception drag
Missing details, stale files, inconsistent fields, and unclear owners slow the work before someone can make a decision.
Review still matters
The goal is not autonomous decisioning. It is cleaner information and better handoffs for the people responsible.
Start with one queue your team already feels.
The best first automation is narrow enough to trust, visible enough to measure, and useful enough that the team wants to keep using it.
Turn RFQ emails, PDFs, CAD files, BOMs, drawings, spreadsheets, tolerance notes, material specs, quantities, and due dates into a quote-ready summary and missing-info checklist.
Create a first-pass packet that points humans to drawing revisions, spec notes, cert requirements, material callouts, and obvious missing attachments without making engineering decisions.
Surface stale quotes, summarize thread history, and draft follow-up notes for approval.
Draft updates from order exports, WIP notes, production schedule details, shipment status, and customer email history.
Monitor supplier confirmations, shortages, date moves, substitute material notes, cert questions, and missing supplier details for human review.
An RFQ arrives with drawings, revisions, and unanswered questions. Here is what estimating receives.
Customer emails, prints, CAD exports, specifications, quantities, material requirements, due dates, and addenda need to be reconciled before an estimator can make a sound decision.
A mixed RFQ package arrives
Files arrive through inboxes and portals with revision ambiguity and requirements spread across attachments.
The quote package is organized
The system creates a consistent RFQ brief and surfaces the questions that block estimating.
An estimator reviews capability and risk
Manufacturability, process selection, capacity, pricing, margin, and customer commitments stay with the estimator and operations team.
A quote-ready package reaches estimating
Estimators start with the latest documents, visible exceptions, and a clear response path instead of rebuilding the RFQ.
Mixed revisions • scattered requirements • manual file comparison • repeated clarification chase
One RFQ packet • explicit open questions • estimator brief • clear quote handoff
We work around the systems you already use.
ClearGuide is not trying to replace the operational system of record. We map the workflow around it, reduce manual prep, and keep review points clear.
Examples of systems we design around. ClearGuide is vendor-agnostic and is not claiming a formal partnership with these providers.
AI supports the work. People keep the judgment.
ClearGuide keeps final decisions, approvals, professional judgment, and sensitive exceptions in the hands of the responsible team.
Kept as a human-owned review point, approval, or responsibility.
Kept as a human-owned review point, approval, or responsibility.
Kept as a human-owned review point, approval, or responsibility.
Kept as a human-owned review point, approval, or responsibility.
Kept as a human-owned review point, approval, or responsibility.
Questions to answer after you watch the workflow.
The demonstration shows how the work can move. These answers cover fit, implementation boundaries, and how a focused pilot would be evaluated.
Can this work with the ERP and quoting tools we already use?+
Usually. ClearGuide is designed around the current RFQ inbox, file shares, estimating tools, and ERP handoff. A pilot maps the existing process first, then adds only the connections needed for that workflow.
Which drawing and CAD formats can the workflow handle?+
Support depends on the format and the information the team needs. A pilot validates the actual mix—such as PDFs, spreadsheets, BOMs, and supported CAD exports—before promising coverage. Proprietary or ambiguous files stay in a human review path.
How are customer files and engineering data handled?+
Access should be limited to the systems and files required for the workflow, with approved data, clear retention expectations, and human review points defined before launch. Security requirements are part of pilot scoping.
How would we measure a pilot?+
Agree on a baseline for one queue—such as RFQ preparation time, missing-information follow-ups, manual touches, and time to estimator review—then compare results after implementation without changing who owns quote approval.
See where AI can reduce the manual work around your custom manufacturing workflow.
ClearGuide can help you map one practical workflow, define the review points, and decide whether a focused AI build is worth it.