Predictika · Piping system quotes
An AI sales agent prepares a quote for PVC-U pressure pipe from the Lareter price list: the standard, pressure class and diameter, the joint, the working pressure and temperature, and the metres ordered. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the published price list and returns a verdict, every reason, a line-item quote and the figures it computed.
This validator models quotes for Lareter metric PVC-U pressure pipes (Lareter is an Aliaxis brand) in the three standards of the price list, not just the scenarios shown below.
Any quote for these pipes that touches these rules is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: fittings, sewer, threaded, inch-size (BS) and other pipe ranges, other Aliaxis brands, discounts, freight and tax. Assumptions: prices are the printed list prices (euro per metre, ex works) from December 2022 and may have changed; an order is a whole number of 6 m lengths; the Power-Lock gasket is treated as the rubber ring joint from 63 mm, as the price list text describes it.
7 scenarios in 3 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch
Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.
Proposing agent: AI sales agent (scripted)
Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run
What this means
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 caught | Typical rules-based CPQ | Predictika |
|---|---|---|
| A size that exists only in some standard and PN combinations | Only with workarounds The list is a grid of about 180 valid cells across three standards, six PN classes and 22 diameters. In a rules-based CPQ that is a large compatibility table to build and keep in step with each new price list, and every missing cell needs its own message. | The grid is part of the model: any standard, class and diameter is looked up and a missing cell is reported with the values chosen. |
| Working pressure that falls as the temperature rises | Only with workarounds The rating depends on the PN class and a temperature band, and is compared with the duty entered on another line, so it needs a cross-field rule for every class and band. | Class, temperature band and duty are in one request and the rating is checked with everything else. |
| Joints offered only above a minimum diameter | Only with care One rule per joint type that compares it with the diameter. It works, but each rule is another place to keep current. | Each joint is checked against the diameter on every call, on each line. |
| Sizes the list prices but marks “on request” | Only with care A price exists, so the line prices normally; a flag and an approval path have to be added for the sizes that need confirmation. | The on-request cells are part of the same grid and send the quote to a person while still showing the price. |
| Stated totals that must equal the list prices | Only with care A stated total is a free-entry field; a rule can compare it with the sum of metres times price, but someone has to write and maintain that comparison. | The stated total travels with the quote and is compared with the computed total on every call. |
| Every problem returned in one answer | Only with workarounds Rules tend to fire as the quote is saved or a step is completed, so a rep often fixes one error and meets the next. | All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in. |
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.
| 1 | Line 1: a 32 mm pipe in PN 6 to the UNI EN ISO 1452 standard is not in the Lareter price list. |
| 2 | Line 1: a 110 mm pipe in PN 12.5 to the NF EN 1452 standard is not in the Lareter price list. |
| 3 | Line 1: the price list marks this size and PN class as on request; Lareter should confirm availability and price. |
| 4 | Line 1: the solvent socket joint is not offered on a 16 mm pipe (rubber ring from 40 mm, Power-Lock from 63 mm, solvent socket from 20 mm). |
| 5 | Line 1: at 20°C this pipe is rated for 10 bar working pressure, but the duty is 11 bar. |
| 6 | Line 1: PN 6 pipe has no working pressure rating in the price list above 40°C; the operating temperature is 60°C. |
| 7 | Line 1: the price list gives no working pressure above 20°C for PN 12.5, PN 20 and PN 25 pipe; a person should confirm the rating at 30°C. |
| 8 | The operating temperature of 61°C is above 60°C, the highest temperature in the price list pressure table. |
| 9 | Colours other than dark grey (blue, orange, yellow) are available on request; Lareter should confirm. |
| 10 | Lengths other than the standard 6 m (9 m down to 0.15 m) are available on request; Lareter should confirm. |
| 11 | The quote states a total of €1,598.60; the list prices give €1,599.60. |
| 12 | Line 1 has 0 lengths of pipe; at least 1 length is needed. |
| 13 | Line 2 has -3 lengths of pipe; the number cannot be negative. |
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.
The agent's request. Please quote 50 lengths of UNI EN ISO 1452 PN 10 pipe, 160 mm, with Power-Lock rubber ring socket, and 30 lengths of UNI EN ISO 1452 PN 10 pipe, 110 mm, with Power-Lock rubber ring socket (each length is 6 m), for a working pressure of 12 bar at 20°C. The quote states a total of €8,508.00. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Blocked.
The agent's request. Please quote 50 lengths of UNI EN ISO 1452 PN 16 pipe, 160 mm, with Power-Lock rubber ring socket, and 30 lengths of UNI EN ISO 1452 PN 16 pipe, 110 mm, with Power-Lock rubber ring socket (each length is 6 m), for a working pressure of 12 bar at 20°C. The quote states a total of €16,249.20. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Allowed.
The agent's request. Please quote 120 lengths of NF EN 1452 PN 16 pipe, 63 mm, with solvent socket, and 80 lengths of UNI EN ISO 1452 PN 10 pipe, 32 mm, with rubber ring socket (each length is 6 m), for a working pressure of 9 bar at 40°C, in blue rather than the standard dark grey. The quote states a total of €7,209.60. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Blocked.
The agent's request. Please quote 120 lengths of NF EN 1452 PN 16 pipe, 63 mm, with solvent socket, and 80 lengths of UNI EN ISO 1452 PN 16 pipe, 32 mm, with solvent socket (each length is 6 m), for a working pressure of 9 bar at 40°C, in blue rather than the standard dark grey. The quote states a total of €7,555.20. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Needs approval.
The agent's request. Please quote 120 lengths of NF EN 1452 PN 16 pipe, 63 mm, with solvent socket, and 80 lengths of UNI EN ISO 1452 PN 16 pipe, 32 mm, with solvent socket (each length is 6 m), for a working pressure of 9 bar at 40°C. The quote states a total of €7,555.20. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Allowed.
The agent's request. Please quote 60 lengths of NF EN 1452 PN 12.5 pipe, 200 mm, with Power-Lock rubber ring socket, and 40 lengths of DIN 8061/62 (DVGW) PN 16 pipe, 225 mm, with Power-Lock rubber ring socket (in non-standard lengths rather than 6 m), for a working pressure of 10 bar at 20°C. The quote states a total of €44,454.00. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Blocked.
The agent's request. Please quote 60 lengths of UNI EN ISO 1452 PN 16 pipe, 200 mm, with Power-Lock rubber ring socket, and 40 lengths of DIN 8061/62 (DVGW) PN 16 pipe, 225 mm, with Power-Lock rubber ring socket (each length is 6 m), for a working pressure of 10 bar at 20°C. The quote states a total of €48,255.60. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Allowed.
The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.