A plumbing bill of quantities (BoQ) for a school building: 420 line items, 300 of them pipes, fittings, fixings and insulation, each in five to eight dimensions, plus circulation pumps and shut-off valves. Anyone who has to price a BoQ for pipe systems struggles less with prices than with volume and accuracy: every dimension, every material, every pressure rating must fit your own system. AI can prepare this matching so that inside sales only has to review and decide. This applies to distributors as much as to pump manufacturers, valve manufacturers and pipe system suppliers: in the end, every bill of quantities goes back to the customer line by line, with quantity and price.

Key takeaways

• BoQs for pipe systems consist of many similar line items that differ only in dimension, material or fitting. Errors come from mix-ups, not from a lack of knowledge.

• For pumps, the operating point (flow rate and head) decides. For valves, it is nominal size, pressure rating, material and, where relevant, the Kvs value.

• It is often unclear whether fittings are included in the price per meter or tendered separately. This has to be clarified for each BoQ.

• AI like Mercura matches each line item to your own catalog, checks specifications against the long text and flags unclear line items.

• Public reference: REHAU receives product suggestions for up to 98% of BoQ line items and saves up to 60% of time on quotes.

Why is pricing a BoQ for pipe systems so time-consuming?

Pricing a BoQ for pipe systems is time-consuming because a single BoQ contains hundreds of line items that look almost identical: the same pipe type in many dimensions, plus elbows, tees, reducers, transitions, fixings and insulation. Each line item has to be matched individually to the right article, and a single dimension that slips makes the quote wrong.

On top of that come typical pitfalls of the industry:

• Different ways of stating dimensions. Planners write nominal size (DN 20) one time, outer diameter times wall thickness (20 × 2.0 mm) another time, or inches. Your own catalog usually follows only one of these logics.

• Fittings in the unit price or separate. Many long texts say that fittings must be included in the price per meter of pipe if they are not tendered separately. Other BoQs list every fitting individually. Anyone who overlooks this either counts twice or not at all.

• System lock-in. Press fittings, pipes and tool profiles belong to one system. Quoting a pipe from system A with fittings from system B is technically wrong.

• Approvals and test marks. In drinking water installations, long texts often require test marks such as DVGW. This requirement must be met for each line item.

Which characteristics matter for pipes, pumps and valves?

For pipes, dimension, material and system matter. For pumps, it is the operating point and efficiency. For valves, it is nominal size, pressure rating, material and connection type. These characteristics are usually in the long text and decide which article from your own catalog fulfills the line item.

For circulation pumps there are also legal efficiency requirements. Under EU Ecodesign Regulation 641/2009, affected wet-rotor circulation pumps have had to reach an energy efficiency index (EEI) of no more than 0.23 since August 1, 2015 (Umweltpakt Bayern on Regulation 641/2009). For the quote, that means a requested model must fit not only hydraulically but also formally.

How does AI help to price a BoQ for pipe systems automatically?

AI helps price a pipe system BoQ by reading each line item, recognizing dimension, material and system from the long text, matching it to the right article in your own catalog and flagging uncertain line items. Inside sales then reviews a prepared draft instead of hundreds of lines one by one and has time for special cases such as fittings tendered twice.

Mercura, an AI software for quote and order automation in technical sales, works like this:

1. Intake: GAEB BoQ, PDF, scan, Excel or email, whatever the form.

2. Matching: Each line item is matched to an article from your catalog, also based on long texts, data sheets and catalog texts. Data from BMEcat, DATANORM, ETIM or Open Masterdata is read as well.

3. Specification check: Required values such as dimension, material, pressure rating or test mark are checked for each line item. Uncertain line items are flagged, not guessed.

4. Ranking: If several articles meet the requirement, the compliant options are sorted by margin. Prices and calculation stay in the ERP.

5. Third-party items: For articles you do not carry, Mercura creates price requests to suppliers and reads the replies back.

6. Output: The approved quote goes into the ERP or back to the bidder as GAEB/PDF.

The average hit rate is 92%, depending on customer and catalog. Mercura works with several manufacturers from building services, from heating, ventilation and air conditioning to pipe systems.

What does practice show at REHAU?

At REHAU, a manufacturer in building services, Mercura delivers product suggestions for up to 98% of BoQ line items, with a hit rate of up to 90% and up to 60% time savings on quotes. Martin Prigge from inside sales says: "With Mercura's quoting AI, we save up to 60% of our time."

What matters about these numbers: a product suggestion is not an automatic approval. Inside sales remains the quality gate and checks every quote before it goes to the customer. Read the full story in the REHAU success story.

When is AI not enough for pricing a BoQ?

AI is not enough for pricing a BoQ when the line item needs a hydraulic calculation or an individual design, such as sizing a pipe network, selecting a pump without a complete operating point or special valves. In that case Mercura matches what is clear and flags the rest for application engineering.

To be clear about the limits:

• Selection programs from pump and valve manufacturers remain the right tool for exact selection by characteristic curve. The AI does not replace them.

• Pipe network calculation and pressure loss calculation are planning tasks.

• Small BoQs with few line items benefit less; the leverage comes with many and long BoQs.

• Very incomplete BoQs cannot be priced cleanly. AI only makes the gaps visible, faster than a manual review.

If you want a broader view of tenders, the Quotes and tenders page gives an overview of the whole process.

How quickly can you test with your own BoQs?

A technical test with your own BoQs and catalog data is usually possible within two working days, and first workflows typically run in less than four weeks. Incomplete product data is no obstacle, because Mercura also reads data sheets and technical documents.

Mercura connects to SAP S/4HANA, SAP ECC, SAP Business One, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Salesforce, proALPHA or UniTrade, and to other systems via an API or SFTP. Mercura is certified to ISO/IEC 27001, GDPR-compliant and hosted in Europe. Details under Integrations.

Bring a real bill of quantities: in 30 minutes we show you how Mercura handles it in your process. Book a meeting

Conclusion

For pipe systems, pumps and valves, pricing a BoQ is above all a question of volume and precision: many similar line items, different ways of stating dimensions, system lock-in and characteristic values. AI matches these line items to your own catalog, checks the requirements and flags uncertain line items. Design and approval stay with your specialists. The result is more BoQs processed in the same time. More under Quotes and tenders.

Further reading

• Quotes and tenders: turn every request into a quote

• AI for Heating Manufacturers: Answer Requests Faster

• GAEB File Explained: Format, Phases X81–X86 and How to Open It

• Customer story: REHAU (building technology manufacturer)

Frequently asked questions

What does "pricing a BoQ" mean? Pricing a BoQ means assigning a unit price and, where applicable, a brand to each line item of a bill of quantities. For manufacturers, this mainly means matching each line item to the right article of their own.

How does AI recognize dimensions like DN 20 or 20 × 2.0 mm? Mercura reads the specification from the long text and compares it with the characteristics in your catalog. If the match is not clear, the line item is flagged.

Are fittings included in the price per meter of pipe? That depends on the BoQ: many long texts include fittings in the price per meter unless they are tendered separately. If they are listed individually anyway, this should be clarified in the quote.

Can AI select a pump by operating point? Mercura can suggest pumps from your catalog if flow rate, head and other requirements are in the BoQ. Exact selection by characteristic curve belongs in the selection program and with application engineering.

What happens to line items that are not in your own range? Mercura creates price requests to suppliers for them and reads the replies back, or marks them as not quoted. Your team makes the decision.

Can the priced BoQ be output as a GAEB file again? Yes, Mercura exports the approved quote as GAEB or PDF. Read more about the file types in the article GAEB format.