Quote Response Time Report 2026

Why are we running this survey?

Most public numbers on quote speed come from U.S. part buyers or from general sales research. We found no recent public data on how long Québec and Ontario distributors take to turn around an RFQ, how many requests a rep handles in a week, or how much of that work happens in French. Our quote response time statistics page shows what exists today and where the gaps are.

The goal is a benchmark you can compare yourself against: median response time, RFQ volume per rep, share of quotes sent the same day and the main bottlenecks. Every participant receives the full report before it is published.

Who can take part?

The survey takes about 10 minutes and is available in English and French. To take part or ask a question, email hello@merlin.work with the subject "Quote report 2026".

• Industrial distributors and manufacturers that sell to other businesses and send written quotes.
• Based in Québec or Ontario, with 10 to 200 employees.
• One response per company, from someone who knows the quoting process: an owner, sales manager, inside sales lead or customer service manager.
• Current or prospective Merlin customers can take part; their answers are treated exactly like everyone else's.

How will the survey work?

• Sampling: a convenience sample built from direct invitations, industry contacts and people who sign up on this page. It is not a random sample, and the report will say so.
• Period: the survey window will be announced on this page when it opens. We plan to keep it open until we have at least 50 qualified responses.
• Minimum sample: we will not publish results with fewer than 50 qualified responses. Any breakdown (by province, size or industry) needs at least 10 responses, otherwise it is merged or left out.
• Anonymisation: company and respondent names are never published. Contact details are stored separately from answers and used only to send you the report. Data is hosted in Canada and handled in line with Québec's Law 25; see our security page.
• Reporting: results will be shown as medians and ranges, not averages alone, with the number of responses (n) beside every figure. Open-ended answers will be summarised by theme, with quotes only where they cannot identify a company.
• Independence: Merlin sells quoting software, and we say so in the report. Questions are written so that no answer favours a product, and the full questionnaire is published below.

The full survey questionnaire

These are the exact questions participants will answer. Answer options are shown in parentheses.

1. Where is your company based? (Québec / Ontario / Both)
2. How many employees does your company have? (10 to 24 / 25 to 49 / 50 to 99 / 100 to 200)
3. Which best describes your company? (Industrial distributor / Manufacturer / Both / Other: specify)
4. What is your main product category? (Fasteners and fittings / Fluid power / Packaging / Electrical / Metal products / MRO supplies / Other: specify)
5. How many people on your team prepare quotes, full or part time? (1 / 2 to 3 / 4 to 6 / 7 to 10 / More than 10)
6. About how many RFQs or quote requests do you receive in a typical week? (Fewer than 20 / 20 to 49 / 50 to 99 / 100 to 199 / 200 or more)
7. How do most RFQs arrive? Choose up to two. (Email / Phone / Website form / EDI or customer portal / Sales rep visits / Other)
8. What share of your RFQs are written in French? (None / Less than 25% / 25% to 49% / 50% to 74% / 75% or more)
9. For a typical RFQ, how long from receipt to sending the quote? (Under 1 hour / 1 to 4 hours / Same business day / 1 to 2 business days / 3 to 5 business days / More than 5 business days)
10. What share of your quotes are sent the same business day? (Less than 25% / 25% to 49% / 50% to 74% / 75% or more / We don't track this)
11. Do you measure quote response time? (Yes, in our ERP or CRM / Yes, manually / No)
12. On average, how many minutes does it take to prepare one quote for a standard request? (Under 5 / 5 to 15 / 16 to 30 / 31 to 60 / More than 60)
13. What slows your quotes down the most? Choose up to two. (Finding the right part / Checking prices or customer-specific pricing / Confirming stock or lead time / Missing specs from the customer / Waiting on a supplier / Approvals / Not enough staff)
14. After a quote is sent, do you follow up? (Always, on a set schedule / Sometimes / Rarely or never)
15. About what share of your quotes become orders? (Less than 10% / 10% to 24% / 25% to 49% / 50% or more / We don't know)
16. In the past 12 months, have you lost an order because a competitor quoted faster? (Yes, often / Yes, occasionally / No / Don't know)
17. Is it harder to hire inside sales or customer service staff than two years ago? (Much harder / Somewhat harder / About the same / Easier)
18. Do you use any automation or AI for quoting today? (None / Templates or spreadsheets only / ERP or CPQ quoting module / AI tool / Other: specify)
19. What would make you trust an AI-drafted quote? (Open answer)
20. Would you like a copy of the full report? (Yes: email address / No)

Question 20 is optional. Email addresses are stored apart from answers and used only to send the report.

What will the results show?

Results will be published here when the survey closes. Until then, every cell below is a placeholder. We will not estimate or preview any figure before the minimum sample is reached.

No results have been collected or published yet.

How can you use the report?

Once published, the report will give you a reference point for your own numbers. Pair it with our guide to quote turnaround KPIs and the RFQ response time calculator to set a target your team can track. Questions about who is behind the survey? Read about Merlin.