A building materials catalog with quote requests
The catalog helps customers choose a material by application, account for coverage, reserve, and packaging, then send a useful request. Price and stock appear only from prepared data or a verified connection.
Describe your catalogDemonstration using test data
Facade material estimate
Facade render
Project parameters
- Facade area
- 48 m²
- Coverage rate
- 2.2 kg/m²
- Reserve
- 10%
- Pack weight
- 20 kg
From area to whole packs
- Base quantity48 m² × 2.2 kg/m² = 105.6 kg
- Reserve105.6 kg + 10% = 116.16 kg
- Whole packs116.16 kg ÷ 20 kg → 6 packs
120 kg after rounding to whole packs
The figures are shown only to demonstrate the interface. This estimate does not replace a review of the substrate, application method, and manufacturer guidance.
What sales receives
- Selected material and application
- Area, coverage, reserve, and estimate result
- Region, contact details, and customer questions
Where a specialist is needed
Layers, substrate, waste, complex geometry, and manufacturer-specific guidance can change the result. A responsible person confirms the specification before a commercial quote.
Stock is confirmed before the quote
Easier selection for the customer, a clearer brief for sales
What the customer sees
- Materials suited to the selected application
- Inputs that affect the required quantity
- A pack estimate and compatible products
- A clear price and stock status
What sales receives
- Selected products and project parameters
- The estimate and rules used to calculate it
- Contact, region, and preferred delivery terms
- Questions to confirm before preparing a quote
What the company prepares
A useful catalog starts with product data and estimate rules
A spreadsheet is enough for the first version. The important part is to describe both how customers choose a material and how sales reviews the estimate.
- 01
Product range
Name, purpose, unit of measure, packaging, specifications, and documents.
- 02
Application
Facade, roof, floor, or wall; substrate type and other selection constraints.
- 03
Formula
Coverage rate, permitted reserve, pack rounding, and cases that need a separate estimate.
- 04
Complete set
Primer, fixings, consumables, and compatibility rules between products.
- 05
Sale
The price and stock source, delivery regions, and details sales confirms manually.
Show the result and how it was calculated
Customers should understand the input values. Sales should see which rule was used and where a manual review is still required.
Update behavior depends on the source
You do not have to begin with an integration. Customers should always know how current the data is and what happens if the source is unavailable.
- Start with a file
- The company uploads a prepared catalog. The page states when the data was updated, while price or stock can be confirmed through the request when needed.
- Connect a system
- Connector availability, fields, update frequency, and failure behavior are checked before publishing. Instant updates are not assumed automatically.
What is not ready by default
- Estimates for every product
- Each product line needs its own rates, units, rounding, and application constraints.
- Current price and stock
- They appear only from a supported source with an agreed update frequency.
- An approved specification
- A demonstration result remains an estimate until a responsible person reviews the complete set.
Before work starts on the catalog
Can we start with a spreadsheet?
Yes. The first version needs products, units, packaging, coverage rates, and selection rules. Assess a system connection once the catalog structure is clear.
Can it calculate multiple layers and compatible products?
Such a flow can be designed, but its formulas, dependencies, and exceptions must first be documented and tested on examples. A complex estimate may need separate assessment.
Can it show regional stock?
Yes, if a verified source provides regional stock and its update frequency is known. Otherwise, let the customer ask sales to confirm availability.
What makes a useful request?
A request that already includes the material, application, project parameters, estimated quantity, region, and customer contact.
Describe your product line and one customer estimate
Add a spreadsheet or list the inputs, formula, and result sales should receive. That is enough to assemble the first version of the flow.