A building materials distributor forwards a request: flat roof renovation, 1,850 m², build-up "like the existing one, but with slope", plus a roof plan as a PDF and a request for a quote by Thursday. For quote creation at building materials manufacturers, this is everyday business, and the effort is not in the price but in the system: which layers, which quantities, which packaging units, which freight? AI can prepare this translation from a request or BoQ into a complete system quote. Review and approval stay with inside sales.

Key takeaways

• Roofing and facade manufacturers sell systems: vapor barrier, insulation, waterproofing, fastening, connections. A request rarely names all the layers.

• Quantities come in m² or linear meters, but delivery is in rolls, boards, pallets and containers. Converting them, including overlap and waste, takes time.

• Freight, job site delivery, crane unloading and small-quantity surcharges belong in the quote and are often forgotten.

• AI like Mercura reads requests and BoQs, matches each layer to your own catalog, checks requirements such as fire behavior and flags open details.

• Mercura works with several roofing, facade and building materials manufacturers; every quote is reviewed before it goes out.

Where do requests at roofing and facade manufacturers come from?

Requests at roofing, facade and building materials manufacturers mostly come from three directions: from building materials distributors asking for an installer, directly from roofers, facade builders or plasterers, and from tenders via planners and architects. Often it is the same job site through two or three channels.

Via building materials distributors. The distributor sends a quantity list or forwards the installer's email. Often with the note "project price wanted" and a tight deadline.

Directly from the installer. The roofer describes the project in keywords, sends photos of the existing structure or a takeoff. Technically precise, formally inconsistent.

From tenders. Planners and architects tender roofing or facade work with a BoQ, often as GAEB or PDF, with long texts for every layer. The manufacturer is approached to support the bidder with material and prices.

On top of that come planning services that many manufacturers offer, such as layout plans for tapered insulation based on a roof plan with drains and parapet heights. The request for this contains drawings, not article numbers.

What makes quote creation at building materials manufacturers so special?

Quote creation at building materials manufacturers is special because a few lines of request turn into a multi-layer system with many articles, and every quantity has to be converted into packaging units. A "flat roof 1,850 m²" is only usable for a quote once the build-up, layer thicknesses, rolls, boards and accessories are settled.

The four typical effort drivers:

1. Completing the system build-up. The request asks for "waterproofing", but the quote has to include primer, vapor barrier, insulation, separation layer, two-layer waterproofing, edge terminations, connections to skylights and drains.

2. Converting quantities. m² into rolls, boards or pallets, linear meters into pieces or bundles, including overlaps and the usual waste.

3. Checking requirements. Insulation thickness, thermal conductivity, compressive strength, fire behavior under DIN EN 13501-1, wind uplift protection, suitability for green roofs or photovoltaics.

4. Pricing in logistics. Freight, job site delivery, crane unloading, pallet deposit, small-quantity surcharges.

With facades, the system question is even stronger: an external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS, WDVS) is approved by the building authorities as a complete system. Adhesive, insulation board, anchors, reinforcement and plaster are therefore matched to each other and cannot be swapped at will. With ventilated rainscreen facades (VHF), the substructure, fasteners and cladding together determine the structural design.

Example: A distributor request becomes a system quote

The following example shows an anonymized request of the kind roofing membrane manufacturers might receive via building materials distribution.

"Hello all, project commercial warehouse, flat roof renovation approx. 1,850 m², trapezoidal sheet, old build-up will be removed. New: vapor barrier, tapered insulation 2%, average approx. 200 mm, bitumen waterproofing 2-layer, parapet approx. 210 linear m, 12 drains, 4 skylights. Please quote project price delivered to the job site with crane. Plan attached. Regards, [building materials distributor]"

This is what the prepared draft quote could look like:

Three line items have open details (parapet height, drain nominal size, skylight size). A good quote asks about these specifically instead of estimating them. The tapered insulation remains a case for application engineering's layout plan.

How does AI support quote creation at building materials manufacturers?

AI supports quote creation at building materials manufacturers by reading the request or BoQ in any format, matching each named layer and accessory to your own catalog, checking requirements and flagging open details. Inside sales gets a system suggestion that they review, complete and approve.

Mercura, an AI software for quote and order automation in technical sales, handles the following:

• Reading in: Email, PDF, scan, photo of the takeoff, Excel quantity list or GAEB BoQ.

• Matching: Each line item is matched to your own catalog, also based on long texts and technical data sheets. Incomplete product data is not an obstacle.

• Specification check: Required values, such as fire behavior or compressive strength, are compared per line item. Uncertain line items are flagged, never guessed.

• Options by margin: If several products meet the requirement, the compliant options are sorted by margin.

• Surcharges: Surcharge lines such as freight and packaging are added; the pricing logic stays in the ERP.

• Output and follow-up: The approved draft goes to the ERP or to the customer as GAEB/PDF, open quotes land in follow-up.

The average match hit rate is 92%, depending on customer and catalog. Mercura works with several roofing, facade and building materials manufacturers and is used overall by more than 80 distributors and manufacturers in Europe and the US.

What about BoQs from tenders?

BoQs from tenders work on the same principle: Mercura reads the GAEB file or the PDF, matches each line item including its long text and outputs the priced BoQ again as GAEB or PDF. Line items with a competitor's specified brand are covered with equivalent products of your own, provided the values match.

For roofing and facade, BoQs are often long and detailed: base line items for areas, many supplements and individual line items for connections, penetrations and fittings. Contingent and as-needed items come on top. The structure of a BoQ is described in the article Bill of quantities.

Where are the limits, and when does this not fit?

The limits lie with structural calculations, layout plans and project-specific constructions: AI matches products and checks requirements from the text, but it does not produce a wind uplift calculation, a slope plan or facade structural design. These services stay with your application engineering or the planner.

An AI solution fits less well if:

• Your quote almost always requires a planning service, such as custom facade elements with shop drawings.

• Your range is very narrow and requests mostly have only one or two line items. Then a well-maintained price list process in the ERP is often enough.

• You sell almost exclusively through framework agreements with fixed articles. Then the lever lies more in order entry than in quoting. See Automate order entry.

AI is strong where many inconsistent requests come in via distribution and installers and each needs a system quote with quantity conversion.

How much effort is the rollout?

The rollout is manageable: a technical test on your own data is usually possible within two working days, and the first workflows usually run in less than four weeks. A training project beforehand is not needed.

Mercura connects to your ERP, for example SAP S/4HANA, SAP Business One, Microsoft Dynamics 365 or proALPHA; other systems via an API or SFTP. The ERP remains the leading system, and prices and calculation stay there. Mercura is ISO/IEC 27001 certified, GDPR compliant and hosted in Europe. More on the Integrations page.

Bring a real project request or a real roofing BoQ: in 30 minutes we show you how Mercura handles it in your process. Book a meeting

Conclusion

At roofing, facade and building materials manufacturers, quote creation is system work: completing layers, converting quantities into packaging units, checking requirements and pricing in logistics. AI prepares this system suggestion from any request and openly shows where details are missing. Layout plans and calculations stay with your application engineering, approval with inside sales. That way distributors and installers get a complete quote faster. More at Quotes and tenders.

Further reading

• Quotes and tenders: turn every request into a quote

• Software for Building Materials Distributors: Where AI Really Helps

• Bill of Quantities (BoQ): Structure, Item Types and Processing

• Customer story: REHAU (building technology manufacturer)

Frequently asked questions

What belongs in a quote for a flat roof system? A complete flat roof quote includes all layers of the build-up, connections, drains and accessories as well as freight and unloading. If details such as parapet height or drain nominal size are missing, they should be asked about instead of estimated.

Can AI convert quantities into rolls, boards or pallets? Mercura matches each line item to the right catalog article; it converts quantities into packaging units based on the conversion rules in your master data. Pricing and rounding logic stay in the ERP, and uncertain quantities are flagged.

Does this also work for facade systems like ETICS (WDVS) or VHF? Yes, as long as the request names the requirements, Mercura matches the system components from your catalog. System approval and structural design are still checked by your application engineering.

What happens with requests that name another building materials manufacturer's brand? Mercura suggests your own products that meet the required values and flags deviations. Your team decides whether an equivalent is offered.

How do requests via building materials distribution get into the system? Mercura reads requests from the shared inbox, whether forwarded email, PDF or photo. How distributors themselves work with AI is described in the article Software for building materials distributors.

Is our data used to train external AI models? No, customer data does not train external AI models. Every customer has a separate tenant, hosted in Europe.