From Request to Quote

From Request to Quote is a reference workflow or solution demo that turns a request from email or a form into a reviewable draft quote. AI structures what the customer needs, while fixed software logic applies current prices, discounts, VAT and terms.

An authorized salesperson reviews the content and financial data before the quote is sent and registered in the CRM. This page does not describe a completed client engagement.

• Context: commercial intake and quote preparation
• Project: reference workflow / solution demo
• Status: completed solution concept
• Role of 5A Technologies: AI intake, business rules, document generation, approval and integrations
• Core principles: reliable source data, deterministic calculations and a human sending decision

Human decision boundary

AI may interpret a request and prepare text. Prices, VAT, discounts and totals are calculated using fixed rules, and a salesperson approves the quote before it is sent.

Preparing a quote often requires information from several sources:

• emails, forms and attachments;
• customer details and previous agreements;
• product or service lists;
• prices and discount rules;
• delivery terms;
• planning and availability.

Employees collect this information manually and copy it into a document. That makes it harder to identify missing data, outdated prices or exceptional terms consistently.

Bounded intake and managed source data

A bounded model in Microsoft Foundry structures the free-form customer request and marks missing information. The workflow then retrieves reliable customer, product, pricing and terms data from Dataverse, CRM or ERP.

Deterministic calculation and orchestration

Azure Functions applies the configured business rules for prices, VAT, discounts and totals. Microsoft Power Automate coordinates data retrieval, document generation, approval and follow-up.

Human approval before sending

The AI does not write prices itself and cannot send the quote without human approval.

1. A request arrives by email or through a web form.
2. The customer need and available context are structured.
3. Missing or unclear information is marked.
4. Customer, product, pricing and terms data is retrieved from managed sources.
5. Price, VAT, discounts and totals are calculated deterministically.
6. A reviewable draft quote is built from a Word or SharePoint template.
7. An authorized salesperson reviews the content, terms and amounts.
8. After approval, the quote can be sent, registered in the CRM and scheduled for follow-up.

The reference workflow can:

• check customer data;
• suggest suitable products or services from managed information;
• make missing data visible;
• prepare accompanying text;
• generate a Word or PDF draft;
• request approval through Microsoft Teams;
• update the CRM after approval;
• schedule a follow-up task.

Suggestions remain reviewable and are not treated as final commercial decisions.

• Intake: Microsoft Graph or a web form for the request and attachments.
• AI interpretation: Microsoft Foundry for needs and missing information.
• Business rules: Azure Functions for prices, VAT, discounts and totals.
• Data sources: Dataverse and controlled CRM or ERP APIs.
• Orchestration: Microsoft Power Automate for document flow and follow-up.
• Document generation: a SharePoint or Word template.
• Approval: Microsoft Teams or an existing sales interface.
• Monitoring: technical logging and tracking of failed steps.

A salesperson remains responsible for the commercial content, the applied terms and the decision to send the quote.

The workflow:

• does not invent prices or discounts;
• does not bypass approval rules;
• does not send a quote without the intended human confirmation;
• flags missing or conflicting source information;
• keeps AI-generated text separate from deterministic calculations.

This solution demo shows how an organization can structure the path from customer request to draft quote more consistently. The workflow reduces repetitive copying and brings the request, source data, calculation, document and follow-up together in one reviewable process.

No increase in revenue, conversion improvement, time saving or other quantitative result is claimed as a proven outcome.

This project is a reference workflow, not a specific client implementation.

Before use, organizations must configure and validate their own:

• product catalogs;
• price lists;
• discount permissions;
• tax rules;
• templates;
• sending channels;
• CRM contracts.

This project shows how 5A Technologies:

• converts a free-form customer request into structured intake data;
• retrieves current customer, product and pricing data from managed sources;
• separates AI-generated text from deterministic price and VAT calculations;
• connects document generation, approval and follow-up in one reviewable flow;
• keeps the sending decision with an authorized salesperson.