RFQ automation on WhatsApp for manufacturers and distributors
RFQ automation on WhatsApp asks a B2B buyer for product, quantity and delivery location, sends the catalogue as a PDF, and answers common MOQ questions from a knowledge base. Every completed RFQ is logged to a Sheet and emailed to sales automatically, with a follow-up drip sequence keeping the enquiry warm until someone responds.
- Three questions — product, quantity, location — are usually enough to route an RFQ to the right sales person.
- Sending the catalogue as a PDF (Send Media) works better than describing products in chat text.
- MOQ and lead-time questions are highly repeatable and suit an AI Reply grounded in your knowledge base well.
- A follow-up drip sequence after the RFQ is logged prevents enquiries from going cold while sales gets to them.
Where B2B enquiries get lost
A manufacturer or distributor in an industrial belt like Ludhiana or Rajkot often gets RFQ enquiries on WhatsApp at odd hours, after a buyer's own working day, or while sales is on the shop floor. Left unanswered overnight, some of these buyers have already messaged a competitor by morning.
B2B buyers typically request quotes from three to five suppliers in parallel for anything beyond a small order, so speed of first response genuinely affects which suppliers make the shortlist for pricing discussions. Even before your actual price is known, being the first to acknowledge the enquiry with specifics keeps you in the running. Convo360's Flow Builder can send that first acknowledgement within seconds of the message arriving, any time of day.
This is doubly true for enquiries that arrive through a WhatsApp click-to-chat link on your website or a shared business card. The buyer messaged specifically expecting a quick, specific reply, and a slow generic acknowledgement undoes the intent-signal they just gave you.
Trade show season adds another spike worth planning for: a burst of enquiries in the days right after an exhibition, from buyers who collected several suppliers' contact details at once and are now working through their shortlist. An automated first response keeps you competitive in that narrow window even if your sales team is still travelling back from the event.
Capturing product, quantity, location
Three Ask a Question blocks, which product or category, what quantity, and delivery location, are usually enough to route the RFQ meaningfully. A List Menu for product category keeps the first question fast for buyers who aren't sure of exact SKU names.
Add a fourth, optional question for expected delivery timeline: "need it urgently" versus "planning ahead for next quarter" changes how sales should prioritise the follow-up, and is easy to miss if the flow only captures what's being bought and not when it's needed.
Catalogue and MOQ answers
A Send Media block delivers your catalogue PDF the moment the buyer picks a category, and an AI Reply block grounded in your knowledge base answers minimum order quantity, lead time and packaging questions: the same handful of questions every new buyer asks.
Keeping MOQ, lead time and packaging details in a structured table inside the knowledge base document, rather than paragraphs of text, makes the AI Reply block's answers noticeably more precise. A buyer asking specifically about a 4-inch pipe should get the 4-inch MOQ, not a general range covering the whole product line.
Update the catalogue document in the knowledge base whenever pricing bands or specifications change. Since the AI Reply block always answers from whatever is currently uploaded, a stale catalogue PDF from six months ago will confidently quote outdated MOQ figures unless someone remembers to refresh it.
Getting the RFQ to sales fast
Once the flow captures product, quantity and location, a Google Sheets block logs the RFQ and a Send Email block notifies the relevant sales person immediately, so the enquiry doesn't sit unseen in a shared inbox.
If you have territory-based sales assignments, a Condition block on the delivery location can route the notification email to the right regional sales contact automatically, rather than every RFQ landing in one general inbox that then needs manual redistribution before anyone actually acts on it.
Building it on Convo360
- Upload your catalogue and MOQ/lead-time details as an AI agent knowledge base.
- In Flow Builder, use a List Menu for product category, then Ask a Question blocks for quantity and location.
- Add a Send Media block for the catalogue PDF and an AI Reply block for follow-up questions.
- Log the completed RFQ with Google Sheets and notify sales with Send Email.
- Add a Wait / Delay follow-up (2 days) if the buyer hasn't heard back, keeping the enquiry visible.
See integrations docs and Flow Builder docs.
For distributors handling several manufacturers' product lines, a first branch on "which brand or product line" before the category menu keeps the rest of the flow from becoming one long combined catalogue that's harder for buyers to navigate than a focused one.
Mistakes to avoid and what to measure
The most common mistake is letting the AI Reply block guess at a price when a buyer pushes for one. Even a rough estimate quoted by the bot can undercut or overcommit compared to what sales would actually offer. Keep pricing strictly a human decision and have the bot say so directly: "Pricing depends on quantity and current rates. I've sent this to our sales team for an accurate quote."
Track two numbers monthly: how many RFQs are logged versus how many the sales team actually follows up on within a business day, and the drop-off rate between catalogue-view and completed RFQ. A large drop-off after the catalogue is sent but before quantity/location are captured usually means the catalogue itself needs a clearer next step prompting the buyer to continue.
What it costs
This flow runs on the Starter plan (₹999/month, ex-GST) for RFQ capture, catalogue sharing and Sheets logging. Adding an AI agent for detailed MOQ/spec questions needs the Pro plan (₹2,999/month, ex-GST), and your own AI provider key billed at cost.
Example conversation
Industry guide: AI agents for Manufacturing & B2B — Distributor enquiries, quotes & order status.
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Frequently asked questions
Can the bot quote prices directly?
Typically no, pricing depends on quantity, region and current rates, so the flow captures the RFQ and routes it to sales for an accurate quote rather than guessing a price.
What if the buyer wants a custom specification not in the catalogue?
The AI Reply block can note this isn't a standard item and route the conversation to a human sales contact for a custom quote discussion.
Can this work for both retail dealers and end customers?
Yes, a Condition block early in the flow can branch based on buyer type, showing dealer pricing tiers or MOQ differently from a one-off end customer enquiry.
How fast does sales get notified of a new RFQ?
Immediately, the Send Email and Google Sheets blocks fire as soon as the RFQ is complete, so there's no delay waiting for someone to check a shared inbox.
Related reading
Available across India — see WhatsApp & AI calling automation by state and city.