Quoting SOP

This procedure defines how Blitzpanel prepares, reviews, and issues quotations for custom UL508A industrial control panels and related enclosure work.

It exists to ensure every quote is complete, technically buildable, priced consistently, and traceable from customer inquiry through order handoff.

A disciplined quote reduces margin erosion from missed scope, prevents unbuildable commitments, and gives production an accurate basis for the build.

Applies to all new customer inquiries, re-quotes, and change-driven re-pricing for control panels, subpanels, and enclosure modification work.

Covers the request-for-quote (RFQ) intake, technical scoping, cost estimation, pricing, internal review, and issuing the quote to the customer.

Does not cover purchase-order acceptance and job release (see Ordering SOP) or component buyout (see Procurement SOP).

RFQ — Request for Quote: the customer inquiry package (drawings, BOM, specs, quantities, delivery needs).

BOM — Bill of Materials: the itemized list of components required to build the panel.

Buyout — components purchased specifically for a job rather than pulled from stock.

NRE — Non-Recurring Engineering: one-time design/engineering effort charged separately from per-unit cost.

Landed cost — component cost including freight, duty, and handling.

Role	Responsibility
Sales / Account Manager	Owns customer relationship, logs the RFQ, confirms commercial terms, issues the final quote.
Estimator / Engineering	Scopes the build technically, produces the BOM and labor estimate, flags feasibility risks.
Procurement	Provides current component pricing, lead times, and buyout freight for the estimate.
Operations / Production Lead	Validates build hours and shop capacity for the requested delivery.
Quote Approver	Reviews and approves quotes above the defined threshold before release. TODO: define approval thresholds ($ and margin %).

Quote template / estimating workbook. TODO: link the current Blitzpanel quote template.

Component pricing source(s) — distributor portals and the approved vendor list (see Approved Vendor List SOP).

Standard labor rates and burden. TODO: confirm shop labor rate ($/hr) and overhead burden.

CRM / quote log for tracking quote number, status, and revision. TODO: name the system of record.

6.1 Intake & logging

Receive the RFQ and confirm the package is complete: drawings/schematics, BOM or component list, quantities, enclosure type/rating, and required delivery date.

Create a quote record and assign a unique quote number; log customer, date received, and target response date.

If the package is incomplete or ambiguous, send a single consolidated clarification request to the customer before estimating.

6.2 Technical scoping

Review the schematic and layout for buildability, enclosure environment rating (e.g., NEMA/Type rating), and available panel real estate.

Confirm the UL508A short-circuit current rating (SCCR) requirement and any listing/labeling obligations. TODO: verify required SCCR and applicable listing marks per customer spec.

Identify long-lead or sole-source components early and flag them to Procurement.

Note any customer-supplied (free-issue) material so it is excluded from buyout (see Free-Issue Material Handling SOP).

6.3 Cost estimate

Build the BOM and obtain current landed component pricing and lead times from Procurement.

Estimate build labor by operation (wiring, assembly, wire-duct/layout, test) using standard hours. TODO: attach standard-hours reference for common panel types.

Add NRE for design/engineering, any UL documentation effort, and testing per the applicable test SOP.

Include consumables, labels, freight-in, and outbound packaging/shipping allowances.

6.4 Pricing

Apply target margin to total cost to reach sell price. TODO: define target margin bands by product type / order size.

Set quantity breaks and state validity period for component pricing (protect against distributor price moves).

State assumptions and exclusions explicitly (e.g., customer-supplied drawings, free-issue material, revision limits).

6.5 Internal review & approval

Verify BOM completeness, labor reasonableness, lead-time feasibility against requested delivery, and margin.

Route quotes above threshold to the Quote Approver for sign-off before release.

6.6 Issue & track

Issue the quote to the customer with quote number, validity period, lead time, terms, and assumptions/exclusions.

Update the quote log status (Sent) and set a follow-up date.

On award, hand off the quote package to Ordering for PO acceptance and job release (see Ordering SOP).

On any scope change during negotiation, re-quote with an incremented revision rather than editing the sent quote in place.

Quote record: quote number, revision history, customer, dates, and status.

Estimate backup: BOM, pricing snapshots, labor basis, and stated assumptions/exclusions.

Approval record for quotes above threshold.

Retention period for quote records. TODO: set retention policy.

Procurement SOP, Ordering SOP, Sales Motion SOP, Free-Issue Material Handling SOP.

UL508A — Standard for Industrial Control Panels (SCCR and listing basis). TODO: verify exact clause references before citing.

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