Reliable Support: AI-powered assistant helps create more accurate quotes
Above: Jason Ray, cofounder and CEO of Paperless Parts

January, 2025- Quoting is an important process for custom part manufacturers, but the nature of working in a job shop  balancing multiple jobs, tight deadlines and limited resources also makes it incredibly challenging. Quoting is not just about speed; it’s about precision, accuracy, consistency and delivering quotes that reflect the true value of your work.

Paperless Parts’ mission has always been to empower manufacturers by making the quoting process as efficient, painless and risk-free as possible. That’s why we developed Wingman, a new secure, proprietary, AI-powered automation tool inside of our quoting platform.

In the Navy, a wingman is a pilot who supports and protects another pilot during a mission. This role is crucial in maintaining formation, providing cover and ensuring the safety and success of the team during operations. The wingman often flies slightly behind the lead pilot, watching their back, helping to identify threats and being ready to assist in various tactical situations. The concept of a wingman emphasizes teamwork, trust and the importance of mutual support in high-pressure environments.

Paperless Parts’ Wingman extracts key information from RFQs to streamline quoting. 

SCANNING DRAWINGS

The Wingman quoting assistant is designed to arm customers with the right information to make it faster and easier to get to the meat of quoting. It automatically extracts critical details from quote packages (prints, models, emails, etc.) to deliver accurate quotes quickly, rather than worrying about making mistakes. Wingman focuses on two key areas of data identification and extraction that most directly impact costing and pricing: technical drawings and RFQ emails.

It recognizes over 10,000 ASTM, AMS, MIL-SPEC, NADCAP and OEM specific process/material specifications, highlights them on prints and presents their definitions right next to the print, as well as identifies UTS and metric thread specifications, which could indicate taps, inserts or other hardware requirements. It’s able to identify 29 common process keywords, including anodizing, welding and heat treating; terms like “CUI,” “ITAR” or “export controlled;” and the best-matching Paperless Parts material. It’s able to extract and suggest values for part number and revision, and it will unpack files contained within all PDFs, including 3D models with product manufacturing information from 3D annotations in 3D PDFs.

Paperless Parts is developing AI models to identify additional geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) specifications, further streamlining the quoting process and reducing risk.

EMAIL EXTRACTION

Wingman processes RFQ emails that are forwarded into a client’s Paperless Parts account to extract key pieces of information and reduce clicks in the quote setup process. It can complete the following tasks:

• Scan RFQ emails and all of their attachments for viruses.

• Extract and process all the part files included in RFQ emails, including zip files and password-protected zips.

• Automatically identify who submitted the RFQ and assign the correct contact and account to your quote.

• Automatically time stamp when RFQ was received, so the true quote turnaround time can be measured.

• Find and pull part numbers, revisions, descriptions and quantities from the body of the RFQ email to more quickly create a quote.

• Identify and help move the right files to line items with a single click.

LONG-TERM VISION

Wingman is more than just a tool; it’s an evolving partner. Unlike many AI tools on the market, such as Microsoft’s Copilot, Wingman offers persistent memory and historical context, helping to minimize errors and improve efficiency over time. Copilot also poses challenges with its limited compatibility with non-Microsoft platforms, potential data exposure risks and inconsistencies inherent in generative AI.

Wingman can be the foundation of a company’s quoting process, and Paperless Parts plans to continuously innovate and expand its capabilities. Customers need tools not just to compete, but to lead, because success is about sett ing the pace.

Paperless Parts, 617/858-5731, paperlessparts.com.