Best AI quoting tools for distributors in 2026
The right AI quoting tool depends on what slows you down: emailed RFQs for catalog items, purchase order entry, pricing governance, or estimating custom parts. For RFQ-to-quote drafting at distributors, Proton.ai, Mercura and Merlin are the closest matches; Conexiom focuses on order entry, Zilliant on pricing and CPQ, Paperless Parts on custom manufacturing, and Airdev builds custom systems. This page is written by Merlin, so we list what each vendor's own site says and where each one may suit you better than we do.
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Faster quotes. More orders. Hours back every week.
Win more orders
Buyers often go with the first solid quote they get. Merlin gets yours out in minutes, day or night, and follows up on the quotes that go quiet.
Get your team's time back
A desk that gets 60 quote requests a week at 15 minutes each spends about 65 hours a month building quotes. Merlin takes most of that routine work off their plate.
Grow without hiring
Handle more requests with the team you already have, in English and French, while good inside-sales people are hard to find.
How did we choose these tools?
We included tools whose current website we opened in October 2026 and that describe AI or software for quoting, RFQs or order intake at distributors or manufacturers. Every claim about another vendor comes from its own pages, linked in the sources below. We did not test competitors' products, and we only report pricing a vendor publishes.
Disclosure: Merlin wrote this page and is one of the tools listed. Merlin has no customers or case studies yet, so we make no performance claims for it here.
Which AI quoting tools are worth a look?
| Tool | Best for | How it works | Public pricing | Languages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merlin | Distributors and catalog manufacturers, 10 to 200 staff, Québec and Ontario | Reads emailed RFQs, matches lines to your price sheet, drafts quote and PDF; prices calculated in code; a rep approves every quote | Yes: $3,500 pilot, then $2,000 or $3,000/month CAD, plus setup $5,000 to $15,000 | English, Québec French |
| Proton.ai | Distributors wanting quote and order entry on a wider platform (CRM, PIM, eCommerce) | Turns inbound requests into quotes or orders with contract pricing and customer history; team reviews and approves | Not published | Not stated |
| Mercura | Technical distributors and manufacturers (HVAC, electrical, building materials, industrial supplies) | Reads emails, PDFs and tenders, matches lines to the catalog, writes the quote into the ERP | Not published | Site in English and German |
| Conexiom | High-volume PO and order entry at larger manufacturers and distributors | Reads POs and invoices, validates against master data, sends ERP-ready data to 40+ ERPs | Not published | Not stated |
| Zilliant CPQ | B2B companies that need governed pricing and margin control in quotes | Configure, price, quote with pricing rules, guardrails and approvals | Not published | Not stated |
| Paperless Parts | Job shops quoting custom parts from part files | Analyzes part geometry to estimate sheet metal, CNC and additive work | Not published (request form) | Not stated |
| Airdev | Prophet 21 distributors wanting a custom-built, owned system | Builds custom AI order entry that stages draft quotes in P21 for rep review | No per-order fees; project pricing not published | Not stated |
Verified October 2026 from each vendor's website. "Not stated" means we found no language claim on the pages reviewed, not that the product lacks the language.
What do the RFQ-to-quote tools have in common?
Proton.ai, Mercura and Merlin all start from the same pain: a rep retyping a customer's email or spreadsheet into a quote. Proton says its AI applies "your sourcing logic, contract pricing, and customer history" and that "your team just has to review and approve". Mercura says it reads requests "in any format", matches every line to your catalog and puts the finished quote into your ERP; its customer stories are mostly German companies *, which suggests a focus on German-speaking markets.
Merlin differs in three ways: it publishes flat pricing in CAD, it replies in English or Québec French, and it does not write into your ERP. It reads your price sheet and orders from Excel, CSV or a scheduled export, which keeps setup simple but means no native ERP connector. See the Quote Desk for details.
Where do the other tools fit?
- Conexiom is about orders after the sale: its site lists sales orders, vendor acknowledgements and AP invoices, with native integrations to 40+ ERPs. Full comparison: Merlin vs Conexiom.
- Zilliant CPQ is about pricing discipline: its page says CPQ ensures "every quote reflects pricing strategy, margin targets, and business rules". It suits companies whose problem is discounting and margin control rather than inbox volume.
- Paperless Parts is for custom manufacturing: it analyzes part files to estimate cost. Full comparison: Merlin vs Paperless Parts.
- Airdev builds custom AI order entry and quote intake for Prophet 21 users, "owned by you, with no per-order fees", and stages draft quotes that "a rep reviews, adjusts, and sends".
How should a distributor choose?
- Name the bottleneck. Slow quotes on catalog items, slow order entry, margin leakage and drawing-based estimating each point to a different tool.
- Check how prices are calculated. Ask whether the AI sets prices or only matches items, and whether unclear lines are flagged or guessed.
- Check the ERP path. A native connector takes longer to set up; a file or scheduled export is faster to start but less real-time.
- Check language and hosting. In Québec, ask whether replies go out in the customer's language and where your data is stored.
- Test on your own RFQs before paying full price. Merlin's shadow mode drafts on real RFQs for 1 to 2 weeks while nothing can be sent. Our RFQ automation guide covers what to measure.
Why does quote speed matter so much?
Buyers expect fast answers. In Paperless Parts' 2020 survey, 67% of part buyers expected a quote within 24 hours, and Harvard Business Review found that firms contacting leads within an hour were nearly 7 times as likely to qualify them. Any of the RFQ tools above aims at that gap. Compare costs on our pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Is this list biased toward Merlin?
Merlin wrote it, so read it with that in mind. We limited competitor descriptions to what their own websites say, linked every source, and noted where other tools are likely a better fit.
Which AI quoting tools publish their prices?
Of the tools on this page, only Merlin publishes plan prices, as of October 2026. Airdev states it has no per-order fees but does not publish project pricing. The others ask you to request a demo or a quote.
Which tools quote in French?
Merlin replies in the language the customer wrote in, English or Québec French. Mercura's site is in English and German. The other vendors' pages we reviewed do not state language support, so ask them directly.
Do I need a native ERP integration for AI quoting?
Not always. Proton, Mercura and Conexiom describe writing into the ERP. Merlin works from Excel, CSV or a scheduled ERP export refreshed every 6 hours, and direct integrations are custom work by its sister company JCube Tech.
What does verified October 2026 mean?
We opened each vendor's website in October 2026 and described what it said then. Products and pricing change, so check each vendor's current site before deciding.
Sources
- Proton.ai: Order & Quote Entry
- Mercura: homepage
- Mercura: Quotes & tenders
- Conexiom: Platform
- Conexiom: Solutions
- Zilliant: Configure, Price, Quote
- Paperless Parts: homepage
- Paperless Parts: pricing
- Airdev: Prophet 21 quote and RFQ automation
- Paperless Parts: 2020 part-buyer survey on quote response time
- Harvard Business Review: The Short Life of Online Sales Leads (2011)
