Find the estimating queue before it becomes silence

Measure the complete estimating touch

Include file review, missing-information questions, supplier pricing, routing, internal approval and preparing the issued offer. Timing only the arithmetic makes the apparent bottleneck disappear while the inbox still grows. Separate unusually large assemblies from routine repeat parts if one average conceals different workloads. Available estimating hours should exclude time the owner spends on the floor, purchasing and customer support. A forty-hour workweek does not automatically provide forty hours of focused quotation work.

Use the scenario as a testable assumption

Enter a proposed future time per RFQ based on a workflow change you can observe, such as a complete intake package or a reusable routing for repeat work. A shorter time must still include technical and commercial review. The calculator shows released hours at the same incoming volume; it does not decide whether the team uses them for more quotes, faster response or another job. A negative released-hours value is valid when the proposed process takes longer. Track a comparable sample before and after making a productivity claim.

Keep opportunity dollars hypothetical

The optional contribution result multiplies above-capacity RFQs by your assumed win fraction and contribution per won release. In the defaults, ten unanswered opportunities at 20% and $400 contribution produce $800 a week. This assumes those requests would otherwise receive no quote; a temporary queue may still be answered later, so the amount is not measured lost profit. There is no causal claim that a particular response speed creates a particular win rate. Use the quote log to distinguish incomplete packages, internal waiting and actual no-bids before changing staffing.

• Measure RFQ arrival and issue times