Predictika · Conveyor module, rack and support structure, programs, design throughput in cartons per hour, options and support years

An AI sales agent's conveyor system quote, checked before it goes out

An AI sales agent prepares a conveyor system quote: conveyor module, rack and support structure, programs, design throughput in cartons per hour, options and support years. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the product catalog and returns a verdict, every reason and the price it computed.

Scope: Illustrative conveyor system quotes: four conveyor module types, three rack and support structures and three project programs. See everything this validator covers

This validator models conveyor system quotes for a product line of this style: four conveyor module types, three rack and support structures and three project programs, not just the scenarios shown below.

  • Modules and structures — A gravity roller transfer module, a roller conveyor module, a belt conveyor module and a tilt-tray sorter module, on floor supported, mezzanine supported and heavy duty seismic mezzanine frames, including the frames that cannot carry the sorter loading.
  • Design throughput — A design throughput in cartons per hour checked against the module limit and the support structure limit, with a controls and throughput engineering review above 10,000.
  • Options and programs — The accumulation control package and predictive maintenance service by module type, and equipment purchase, multi-site and strategic account programs with their module minimums and discounts.
  • Term and order size — Support terms from 1 to 5 years, a finance review above 3 years, a project schedule review above 60 modules, an approval band above 10 percent total discount, a limit at 18 percent and a deal desk review above USD 5,000,000.

Any quote that touches these rules is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: other products such as automated storage and retrieval systems, shuttles or robotics, real list prices, layout and flow simulation, regional building and safety codes, or tax and multi-currency quoting.

The AI sales agentBuilds the conveyor system quote from the conversation and says it is ready.
Predictika validatorChecks every rule at once and returns the verdict, each finding, and the computed figures.

6 scenarios in 3 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI sales agent says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: AI sales agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      
Waiting for the call.

Where rules-based CPQ gets it wrong

Click to expand

Our assessment of what a typical rules-based CPQ (product rules, price rules and validation rules, as in Salesforce CPQ) does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built.

What the validator caughtTypical rules-based CPQPredictika
A compatibility between two catalogsOnly with workarounds
A pairwise compatibility between two catalogs usually becomes one rule per combination, kept in step by hand.
Compatibility is a property of the two products, checked on every call.
A figure that must fit two limitsOnly with care
A number that must fit both a product range and a limit of another product spans several validation rules.
Both limits and the review band are evaluated together.
Options that only some products offerOnly with care
Option rules per product, extended for every new product or option.
The product lists which options it offers; the check follows from the choices.
Discount stacking and approval bandsOnly with workarounds
Program, volume and extra discounts add up across rules and approval levels, and the total is rarely checked in one place.
The discounts are added once and compared with both the rep authority and the limit.
The total the agent statesOnly with workarounds
Comparing a stated total with a computed one needs a separate rule per quote layout, and price rules rarely run on stated figures.
The stated net total is a field in the request and is checked against the computed total.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Rules tend to fire as the quote is saved, so a rep often fixes one error and meets the next.
All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in.

What this validator catches: findings from its test cases

Click to expand

Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the quote; approval findings need a person to sign off; everything else is computed.

1A contract of 4 years is longer than 3 years; finance must approve the price lock.
2A design throughput of 11,000 is above 10,000; a controls and throughput engineering review is required.
365 modules are above 60; a project schedule review is required.
4Total discount of 13 percent is above the 10 percent a rep can give; sales director must approve.
562 modules are above 60; a project schedule review is required.
6Order value of USD 5,505,228 is above USD 5,000,000 and needs a deal desk review.
7250 modules are outside the 1 to 200 allowed.
8Order value of USD 7,733,000 is above USD 5,000,000 and needs a deal desk review.
9The accumulation control package is not available on the Gravity roller transfer module.
10The predictive maintenance service is not available on the Gravity roller transfer module.
11The Floor supported frame cannot carry the sorter loading.
12A design throughput of 3,500 is outside the 500 to 3,000 range of the Roller conveyor module.
13A design throughput of 9,500 is above the 9,000 limit of the Mezzanine supported frame.
146 modules are below the 10 modules minimum of the Multi-site program.
15A contract of 6 years is outside the 1 to 5 years allowed.
16Total discount of 16 percent is above the 10 percent a rep can give; sales director must approve.
17The quoted net total of USD 234,432 does not match the USD 260,480 the validator computed.

Scenarios and results

Click to expand

The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

1. Sorter program order: A 56-module tilt-tray sorter program on a floor supported frame with a six year support term and an extra 10 percent discount

The agent's request. Please quote the tilt-tray sorter module on the floor supported frame for 56 modules under the multi-site program, with a design throughput of 11,000 cartons per hour and a 6 year support term, with an extra 10 percent discount. The net total is USD 3,564,288. It is ready to send.

Verdict: Blocked.

  • Stated net total. The quoted net total of USD 3,564,288 does not match the USD 3,168,256 the validator computed.
  • Support structure design throughput limit. A design throughput of 11,000 is above the 5,000 limit of the Floor supported frame.
  • Support structure compatibility. The Floor supported frame cannot carry the sorter loading.
  • Contract term. A contract of 6 years is outside the 1 to 5 years allowed.
  • Total discount limit. Total discount of 20 percent exceeds the 18 percent limit.

2. Sorter program order: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

The agent's request. Please quote the tilt-tray sorter module on the heavy duty seismic mezzanine frame for 56 modules under the multi-site program, with a design throughput of 11,000 cartons per hour and a 3 year support term, with an extra 3 percent discount. The net total is USD 4,460,803.20. It is ready to send.

Verdict: Needs approval.

  • Controls and throughput engineering review. A design throughput of 11,000 is above 10,000; a controls and throughput engineering review is required.
  • Discount approval. Total discount of 13 percent is above the 10 percent a rep can give; sales director must approve.

3. Sorter program order: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

The agent's request. Please quote the tilt-tray sorter module on the heavy duty seismic mezzanine frame for 56 modules under the multi-site program, with a design throughput of 9,500 cartons per hour and a 3 year support term. The net total is USD 4,614,624. It is ready to send.

Verdict: Allowed.

4. Options by module: Accumulation control package on the gravity roller transfer module

The agent's request. Please quote the gravity roller transfer module on the floor supported frame for 8 modules under the equipment purchase, with a design throughput of 1,000 cartons per hour and a 2 year support term, with the accumulation control package. The net total is USD 113,920. It is ready to send.

Verdict: Blocked.

  • Accumulation control package availability. The accumulation control package is not available on the Gravity roller transfer module.

5. Options by module: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

The agent's request. Please quote the roller conveyor module on the floor supported frame for 8 modules under the equipment purchase, with a design throughput of 1,000 cartons per hour and a 2 year support term, with the accumulation control package. The net total is USD 189,920. It is ready to send.

Verdict: Allowed.

6. Review by a person: Multi-site program for 12 roller conveyor modules with an extra 6 percent discount

The agent's request. Please quote the roller conveyor module on the floor supported frame for 12 modules under the multi-site program, with a design throughput of 2,500 cartons per hour and a 2 year support term, with an extra 6 percent discount. The net total is USD 211,305.60. It is ready to send.

Verdict: Needs approval.

  • Discount approval. Total discount of 13 percent is above the 10 percent a rep can give; sales director must approve.

Narration transcript

Click to expand

The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. An AI sales agent prepares a conveyor system quote: conveyor module, rack and support structure, programs, and more. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the product catalog and returns a verdict, every reason and the price it computed.
  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
  3. The agent says. Please quote the tilt-tray sorter module on the floor supported frame for 56 modules under the multi-site program, with a design throughput of 11,000 cartons per hour and a 6 year support term. The net total is USD 3,564,288. The rest of the request is on screen.
  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
  5. Blocked, with five findings, all in one answer. The quoted net total of USD 3,564,288 does not match the USD 3,168,256 the validator computed. A design throughput of 11,000 is above the 5,000 limit of the floor supported frame. The floor supported frame cannot carry the sorter loading. The other two are on screen.
  6. The validator returned five blocking findings in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the quote are checked against each other and against the stated total.
  7. What this shows: for a compatibility between two catalogs, a rules-based CPQ can do this only with workarounds.
  8. Now the agent resubmits.
  9. The corrected request. It changes the support structure to heavy duty seismic mezzanine frame, the contract term to 3 years, the extra discount requested to 3 percent and the net total stated on the quote to 4,460,803.20.
  10. It calls the validator again.
  11. Not blocked, but held for a person.
  12. The validator also returns the line-item quote. It starts with Tilt-tray sorter module and Heavy duty seismic mezzanine frame; the other line is on screen.
  13. The five blocking findings are cleared; two approvals remain for a person: controls and throughput engineering review and discount approval.
  14. The agent resubmits once more.
  15. The revised request. It changes the design throughput to 9,500 and the net total stated on the quote to 4,614,624. It removes the extra discount requested.
  16. It calls the validator once more.
  17. This time the validator clears it.
  18. The validator also returns the line-item quote. It starts with Tilt-tray sorter module and Heavy duty seismic mezzanine frame; the other line is on screen.
  19. Both earlier findings are cleared, and the validator's total, $4,614,624, matches the quote.
  20. Five problems caught in one call, fixed in two passes, and a clean quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer.