Manufacturing · free · about 4 minutes
Get the Quote Out in 48 Hours: The 8-Check Quoting Scorecard for Job Shops Nationwide
The RFQ landed Monday. Your quote went out the following Tuesday. The buyer awarded the run on Friday, to the shop that quoted Wednesday. That is a job and its reorders gone in a week. It happens to shops where quoting waits on one estimator.
The Manufacturing RFQ Quoting Turnaround Scorecard is a free, self-scoring checklist of eight checks for manufacturers and machine shops nationwide, run remotely across the United States by Rodgers Intelligence Group, based in Denver, Colorado. Mike Rodgers wrote the checks and answers every question himself. Each check is a written rule: it says what in place looks like and gives a stated fix when the check fails.
Your answers never leave this page. The scorecard runs in your browser. Nothing is stored, nothing is sent, and there is no email field. Demonstration, not a client result.
The 8-check scorecard
Answer each check. Your result updates as you go. If a check is missing or partial, its fix appears underneath. The result is a finished document you keep: a score, a verdict and a fix list, and the eight checks on this page are the written rulebook behind it.
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Check 1
Every RFQ lands in one quoting queue
In place Email, portal and rep-forwarded RFQs arrive in one inbox that someone owns each morning.
If it fails Point every RFQ route at one shared quoting inbox today. Orphaned RFQs are the most common silent loss in a job shop. (about 10 minutes)
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Check 2
Every RFQ is acknowledged within four business hours
In place The buyer hears 'received, quoting by Thursday' fast, even when the quote takes days.
If it fails Send a two-line acknowledgement template from the queue. Buyers remember the shop that answered. (about 5 minutes)
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Check 3
Print revision level is captured and checked
In place The quote is built on the revision the buyer actually sent, and the rev is written on the quote.
If it fails Add a revision line to the quote template and check it against the print header every time. Quoting the wrong rev is an expensive free lesson. (about 15 minutes)
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Check 4
Capability and DFM screening happens before estimating
In place Jobs you cannot run profitably get declined early, with a referral, instead of quoted into a loss.
If it fails Write a three-question screen (size, tolerance, quantity) and run it before the estimate starts. (about 25 minutes)
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Check 5
Material and outside-process pricing is current
In place Cost basis is date-stamped and refreshed on a schedule, so quotes are not built on last quarter's steel.
If it fails Date-stamp your cost sheet and refresh it monthly. A quote is a promise based on a number. (about 30 minutes)
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Check 6
Margin and lead-time risk get reviewed before send
In place Someone checks margin, capacity and lead-time risk before the quote leaves, not after the PO arrives.
If it fails Add a five-minute pre-send review to the quoting checklist. It is the highest-return five minutes in the shop. (about 5 minutes)
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Check 7
Quotes go out inside a stated turnaround
In place You publish your turnaround and meet it, or you tell the buyer early and hold the relationship.
If it fails Choose your real turnaround (48 hours is credible for most job shops), write it on the acknowledgement, and send only what fits. (about 10 minutes)
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Check 8
Follow-up runs on a fixed cadence and the quote log is updated
In place Day-3 and day-7 touches happen, and win/loss is recorded per quote.
If it fails Two calendar holds at send plus one line in the quote log at award. Patterns show up in a month and they set your next price list. (about 2 minutes)
Fix these, in this order:
What your score means
- 8 of 8: Your quoting is an advantage. The next gain is pricing discipline: review margin by job family before chasing more RFQs.
- 6-7 of 8: You are losing awards to timing and risk. Fix the two failing checks; most are queue and checklist edits.
- 5 or fewer: RFQs are dying in transit. Fix checks 1, 2 and 7 first: one queue, fast acknowledgement, a stated turnaround you keep.
What the current process costs
Nobody sends a bill for the current process, which is why it survives. The work lands on the estimator wearing three hats, and the eight fixes above carry their own minutes. Add the minutes for the checks that failed on your scorecard and multiply by what an hour of that time costs you. The answer is your own number for one RFQ cycle, and you are the only person who can compute it.
Hold that number against the routes on this page. Fixing the checks yourself costs the minutes printed on each fix. The RIG One-Workflow Review is a $3,500 fixed fee, with a written readout within ten business days after required access, and the readout is yours to use with any vendor or internally. Fewer than three failing checks says the fix list is the right route; three or more says the workflow is worth a written look.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Manufacturing RFQ Quoting Turnaround Scorecard?
It is a free, self-scoring checklist of eight checks for manufacturers and machine shops nationwide. Each check states what in place looks like and gives a plain-language fix with a minutes estimate when it fails. You finish with a score, a verdict and a fix list.
How long does it take?
About four minutes. You answer each check as in place, partial or missing, and the score and verdict update as you go.
Where do my answers go?
Nowhere. The scorecard runs in your browser: nothing is stored or sent and there is no email field. Your result appears on the page and stays with you.
What happens after the score, and what does the next step cost?
Fixing the checks yourself costs nothing beyond the minutes each fix carries, and the free 12-check Client Intake Test Kit needs no email. If three or more checks fail, the RIG One-Workflow Review is a $3,500 fixed fee with a written readout within ten business days after required access; it is not a retainer, and details are at rodgersintelligence.com/workflow-review.
More questions, answered directly
What does my score mean?
The score counts the checks that are in place. The verdict under it says whether the workflow or the effort is the problem, and the fix list names the failing checks in the order to take them.
Do I have to buy anything to use this scorecard?
No. The scorecard is free and the answers stay in your browser, and the free 12-check Client Intake Test Kit needs no email. The One-Workflow Review is a $3,500 fixed fee, with a written readout within ten business days after required access, for the case where the workflow is the problem rather than the effort.
We have an ERP. Does quoting still need a scorecard?
The checks cover the days around the quote, from how the RFQ lands to when go or no-go is decided. The ERP records the quote; the scorecard checks the turnaround your buyer feels.
Who is behind this scorecard?
Rodgers Intelligence Group, based in Denver, Colorado. Mike Rodgers wrote the eight checks and answers every copied summary sent through rodgersintelligence.com/contact himself. The checks are written rules; nothing on this page is a client outcome.
The next step
1. Fix it yourself (right for most readers)
Every failing check above carries its own fix and a minutes estimate. Three of the eight checks are calendar or template edits you can make this week.
2. Free, ungated kit
The 12-check Client Intake Test Kit covers the whole intake surface, not just this one workflow: rodgersintelligence.com/client-intake-test-kit. No email required.
3. Priced next step, with its cost
If three or more checks fail, the honest read is that the workflow, not your effort, is the problem. The RIG One-Workflow Review is a $3,500 fixed fee, with a written readout within ten business days after required access. It is not a retainer, and you do not need an automation build for the review to be worth the fee. The readout is yours to use with any vendor or internally, and it is not credited against the build price. Details: rodgersintelligence.com/workflow-review.
When not to book it: fewer than three failing checks, no authority to change the workflow, or a project already covering this process. In those cases, fix the checks yourself and re-run this scorecard afterwards.
4. Talk to a human
Send your copied summary through rodgersintelligence.com/contact and you will get a reply from Mike Rodgers, not an autoresponder.