Predictika · Domestic parcel quotes

An AI sales agent's Parcel Post and Express Post quote, checked before it goes out

An AI sales agent prepares a quote for sending parcels within Australia: service, packaging and size, weight, Extra Cover and Signature on Delivery. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the published prices and limits and returns a verdict, every reason, a line-item quote where one can be priced, and the figures it computed.

Scope: Australia Post domestic Parcel Post and Express Post parcels: prepaid satchels, Express Post prepaid parcel boxes, flat rate packaging and your own packaging, with Extra Cover and Signature on Delivery. See everything this validator covers

This validator models domestic Parcel Post and Express Post parcel quotes built on the prices and limits Australia Post publishes, not just the scenarios shown below.

  • Packaging and prices — prepaid satchels, flat rate packaging by size (extra small to extra large) and your own packaging by weight band (up to 250 g, 500 g, 1 kg, 3 kg and 5 kg), on Parcel Post or Express Post; Express Post prepaid parcel boxes come in small to extra large, and there is no extra small box. Each is priced from the published tables for items up to 5 kg.
  • Limits — a parcel of up to 22 kg, 105 cm long and 0.25 cubic metres; satchels, boxes and flat rate packaging only up to 5 kg. Parcels over 5 kg are priced by weight and destination and are not published, so they go to a person.
  • Extra Cover and signature — cover from $100 to $5,000 (free for the first $100, then $2.50 for each further $100), Signature on Delivery at $2.95, which must be added when the item is valued over $500. The total the agent states is compared with the computed total.

Any domestic Parcel Post or Express Post parcel quote that touches these rules is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: international parcels, eParcel and other contract pricing, Registered Post, other optional extras, destination-based prices for parcels over 5 kg, how cubic weight is worked out (the quote supplies the chargeable weight), delivery times, GST and any negotiated discount. Assumptions: Extra Cover and signature fees are charged per parcel, a part of $100 is charged as a full $100, and the same Extra Cover fees apply on both services.

The AI sales agentBuilds the parcel 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.

7 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
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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
Postage that depends on service, packaging, size and weight bandOnly with care
A price rule for every combination of service, packaging type and size or band. It works, but every price change is another set of rules to maintain.		The tables are looked up from the choices on every call and each parcel is priced and totaled together.
Products that exist on one service onlyOnly with care
The prepaid parcel box is listed for Express Post only and has no extra small size; each exclusion is its own rule.		The packaging, service and size are in one request and every pairing is checked together.
Extra Cover fees that step with value, and a signature that becomes requiredOnly with workarounds
The cover fee steps by $100, and the signature requirement depends on the value on one line and the signature choice on another, so it needs a cross-line rule that interacts with the others.		Value, fee steps and the signature choice are in one request and checked with the rest.
Stated totals that must equal what the published prices giveOnly with care
A stated figure is a free-entry field; a rule can compare it with a computed total, 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 answerOnly 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.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
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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.

    
1There is no extra small Express Post prepaid parcel box.
2Prepaid parcel boxes are an Express Post product; the Parcel Post page lists satchels, flat rate and your own packaging.
3A chargeable weight of 5,001 grams is over the 5 kg limit for satchels, prepaid boxes and flat rate packaging; heavier parcels use your own packaging.
4Postage for a parcel over 5 kg depends on weight and destination and is not published; a person should confirm it with the postage calculator.
5A chargeable weight of 22,001 grams is outside the 1 gram to 22 kg limit for a parcel.
6A length of 106 cm is over the 105 cm maximum.
7A volume of 251 litres is over the 0.25 cubic metre (250 litre) maximum.
8An item valued at $501 needs Signature on Delivery added when it is over $500.
9Extra Cover of $5001 is outside the $100 to $5,000 range.
10The quote states a total of $159.99; the published prices give $160.00.
11The quote has 0 parcels; at least 1 is needed.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
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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. Weight, cover and signature: Parcel Post flat rate packaging at 5.5 kg with high-value cover, no signature and a total that does not add up

    
The agent's request. Please quote 40 Parcel Post parcels, each in a large flat rate packaging, with a chargeable weight of 5.5 kg, 39 cm long and 15 litres in volume, with Extra Cover of $800 per parcel, without Signature on Delivery. The quote states a total of $1,200.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Packaging size limit. A chargeable weight of 5,500 grams is over the 5 kg limit for satchels, prepaid boxes and flat rate packaging; heavier parcels use your own packaging.
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  • Signature on Delivery needed. An item valued at $800 needs Signature on Delivery added when it is over $500.
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  • Stated total does not match. The quote states a total of $1,200.00; the published prices give $1,510.00.
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2. Weight, cover and signature: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote 40 Parcel Post parcels, each in its own packaging, with a chargeable weight of 4.5 kg, 39 cm long and 15 litres in volume, with Extra Cover of $800 per parcel, with Signature on Delivery. The quote states a total of $1,796.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Order summary. 40 parcels at $44.90 each (postage $24.45, Extra Cover $17.50, signature $2.95); estimated total $1,796.00.
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3. Heavy parcels and length: Twenty-five parcels of 12 kg, 110 cm long, on Parcel Post

    
The agent's request. Please quote 25 Parcel Post parcels, each in its own packaging, with a chargeable weight of 12 kg, 110 cm long and 60 litres in volume, without Signature on Delivery. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Too long. A length of 110 cm is over the 105 cm maximum.
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  • Price over 5 kg not published. Postage for a parcel over 5 kg depends on weight and destination and is not published; a person should confirm it with the postage calculator.
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4. Heavy parcels and length: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote 25 Parcel Post parcels, each in its own packaging, with a chargeable weight of 12 kg, 100 cm long and 60 litres in volume, without Signature on Delivery. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Price over 5 kg not published. Postage for a parcel over 5 kg depends on weight and destination and is not published; a person should confirm it with the postage calculator.
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5. Heavy parcels and length: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote 25 Parcel Post parcels, each in its own packaging, with a chargeable weight of 4.8 kg, 60 cm long and 40 litres in volume, without Signature on Delivery. The quote states a total of $611.25. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Order summary. 25 parcels at $24.45 each (postage $24.45, Extra Cover $0.00, signature $0.00); estimated total $611.25.
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6. Express satchels over 5 kg: Express Post satchels at 6.2 kg with Extra Cover and a total that is too low

    
The agent's request. Please quote 30 Express Post parcels, each in an extra large prepaid satchel, with a chargeable weight of 6.2 kg, 50 cm long and 14 litres in volume, with Extra Cover of $450 per parcel, without Signature on Delivery. The quote states a total of $670.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Packaging size limit. A chargeable weight of 6,200 grams is over the 5 kg limit for satchels, prepaid boxes and flat rate packaging; heavier parcels use your own packaging.
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  • Stated total does not match. The quote states a total of $670.00; the published prices give $1,303.50.
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7. Express satchels over 5 kg: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote 30 Express Post parcels, each in its own packaging, with a chargeable weight of 4.9 kg, 50 cm long and 14 litres in volume, with Extra Cover of $450 per parcel, without Signature on Delivery. The quote states a total of $1,288.50. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Order summary. 30 parcels at $42.95 each (postage $32.95, Extra Cover $10.00, signature $0.00); estimated total $1,288.50.
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Narration transcript
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The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. An AI sales agent prepares a quote for sending parcels within Australia: service, packaging and size, weight, and more. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the published prices and limits and returns a verdict, every reason, a line-item quote where one can be priced, and the figures it computed.
    2. 
      
  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
    3. 
      
  3. The agent says. Please quote 40 Parcel Post parcels, each in a large flat rate packaging, with a chargeable weight of 5.5 kg. The quote states a total of $1,200.00. The rest of the request is on screen.
    4. 
      
  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
    5. 
      
  5. Blocked, with three findings, all in one answer. A chargeable weight of 5,500 grams is over the 5 kg limit for satchels, prepaid boxes and flat rate packaging; heavier parcels use your own packaging. An item valued at $800 needs Signature on Delivery added when it is over $500. The quote states a total of $1,200.00; the published prices give $1,510.00.
    6. 
      
  6. The validator returned three 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.
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  7. What this shows: for postage that depends on service, packaging, size and weight band, a rules-based CPQ is error-prone for this.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the packaging to own packaging, the chargeable weight to 4,500 g, the signature on Delivery to yes and the stated total to $1,796.00. It removes the packaging size.
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  10. It calls the validator again.
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  11. This time the validator clears it.
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  12. The validator also returns the line-item quote. It starts with Postage and Extra Cover for $800 declared value ($2.50 per $100 above the first $100); the other line is on screen.
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  13. All three earlier findings are cleared, and the validator's total, $1,796.00, matches the quote.
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  14. Three problems caught in one call, fixed in one pass, and a clean $1,796.00 quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer. Now you can try the other scenarios yourself.
    15.