Predictika · Industrial gases

An AI sales agent's gas cylinder order, checked before it goes out

An AI sales agent prepares an order for industrial gas cylinders from the BOC Ireland price list: the gas and cylinder size on up to two lines, the quantity, the rental plan and period, delivery or collection, an agent surcharge, and the total the quote states. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the public BOC Gases Ireland price list (BOC is a Linde company) and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.

Scope: BOC Gases Ireland cylinder orders only: which gases are listed in which cylinder sizes, gas charge, rental, delivery, agent surcharge and the stated total, excluding VAT. See everything this validator covers

This validator models an order for cylinders from the public BOC Gases Ireland Industrial Gases Price List of 1 January 2026 (prices exclude VAT), not just the scenarios shown below.

  • What is listed — the price list shows 20 gases in 19 cylinder sizes, but only some gases come in some sizes. A gas that has no price in the chosen size is blocked, on either of the two order lines.
  • Price build-up — gas charge per cylinder, rental per cylinder (by the month or by the year, with the number of months or years), the fixed delivery charge of €77.20 per transaction (none if the customer collects), and the agent surcharge of €2.50 per cylinder when the order goes through an agent, all excluding VAT.
  • Quantities and periods — the first line needs at least one cylinder, the second line may be zero but not negative, and the rental period must be at least one month or year.
  • Rental plan and the stated total — twelve or more months of monthly rental go to a person, because they cost more than the yearly rental listed for the same cylinder; and the total the order states must equal the total the list prices give.

Any order that touches these rules is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: the variable Environment and Energy Surcharge (BOC does not publish it in the price list), VAT, volume or contract discounts, hazardous-goods or other service charges, gases and sizes not in the price list, and cylinder contents or pressure.

The AI sales agentBuilds the order 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
Gas available only in some cylinder sizesOnly with care
The list is a matrix of 20 gases by 19 sizes with many empty cells, so a product rule has to be written for every gas and size pair, and each price change touches them again.		The gas, the size and the quantity arrive together and the price lookup is checked on every call.
Two order lines priced togetherOnly with care
Each line has its own gas, size, rental and quantity, and the totals have to add across lines and the rental period.		Both lines are priced in one call and the totals are recomputed from the list.
Rental that depends on size, plan and periodOnly with workarounds
Rental differs by size, is monthly or yearly, and is multiplied by a period the customer chooses; a price rule has to cover each combination.		The plan and the number of periods are fields in the request, priced from the list on every call.
The total the agent statesOnly with care
The stated total is a figure typed into the order, so a rule has to rebuild the whole price and compare it.		The stated total is a field in the request, compared with the one the list gives on every call.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Rules tend to fire as the order is saved or a step is completed, so a person 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.

    
1The price list shows no price for the first line gas in the selected cylinder size.
2The first line has 0 cylinders; at least 1 is needed.
3The second line has -2 cylinders; use 0 for no second line.
4The price list shows no price for the second line gas in the selected cylinder size.
5The rental period is 0; at least 1 month or year is needed.
612 months of monthly rental cost more than the yearly rental listed for the same cylinder; a person should confirm the rental plan.
724 months of monthly rental cost more than the yearly rental listed for the same cylinder; a person should confirm the rental plan.
8The order states a total of €1,542.70 excluding VAT; the list prices, rental, delivery and agent charges give €1,552.70.
9The order states a total of €1,552.71 excluding VAT; the list prices, rental, delivery and agent charges give €1,552.70.
10The order states a total of €1,552.70 excluding VAT; the list prices, rental, delivery and agent charges give €77.20.

  

  

    
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. Rental and stated total: Oxygen and hydrogen G20 packs on monthly rental with a lower stated total

    
The agent's request. Please quote 8 oxygen cylinders in the GENIE G20 size and 4 hydrogen cylinders in the GENIE G20 size. The cylinders are rented on the monthly plan for 12 months. They are delivered. The order goes through an agent. The quote states a total of €4,851.00 excluding VAT. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Stated total does not match. The order states a total of €4,851.00 excluding VAT; the list prices, rental, delivery and agent charges give €4,951.00.
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  • Monthly rental held for a year or more. 12 months of monthly rental cost more than the yearly rental listed for the same cylinder; a person should confirm the rental plan.
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2. Rental and stated total: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote 8 oxygen cylinders in the GENIE G20 size and 4 hydrogen cylinders in the GENIE G20 size. The cylinders are rented on the monthly plan for 12 months. They are delivered. The order goes through an agent. The quote states a total of €4,951.00 excluding VAT. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Monthly rental held for a year or more. 12 months of monthly rental cost more than the yearly rental listed for the same cylinder; a person should confirm the rental plan.
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  • Order summary. 12 cylinders, €1,575.00 of gas, €3,268.80 of rental and €107.20 of delivery and agent charges, €4,951.00 in total excluding VAT.
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3. Rental and stated total: The agent moves the order to the yearly rental plan

    
The agent's request. Please quote 8 oxygen cylinders in the GENIE G20 size and 4 hydrogen cylinders in the GENIE G20 size. The cylinders are rented on the yearly plan for 1 year. They are delivered. The order goes through an agent. The quote states a total of €4,673.20 excluding VAT. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Order summary. 12 cylinders, €1,575.00 of gas, €2,991.00 of rental and €107.20 of delivery and agent charges, €4,673.20 in total excluding VAT.
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4. Size not listed: Twelve E50 argon and six V33 ARGOSHIELD Heavy cylinders

    
The agent's request. Please quote 12 PURESHIELD argon cylinders in the EVOS E50 size and 6 ARGOSHIELD Heavy cylinders in the EVOS V33 size. The cylinders are rented on the yearly plan for 1 year. They are delivered. The order does not go through an agent. The quote states a total of €6,244.60 excluding VAT. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Second line gas not listed in that cylinder size. The price list shows no price for the second line gas in the selected cylinder size.
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5. Size not listed: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote 12 PURESHIELD argon cylinders in the EVOS E50 size and 6 ARGOSHIELD Heavy cylinders in the EVOS E33 size. The cylinders are rented on the yearly plan for 1 year. They are delivered. The order does not go through an agent. The quote states a total of €6,716.20 excluding VAT. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Order summary. 18 cylinders, €3,205.20 of gas, €3,433.80 of rental and €77.20 of delivery and agent charges, €6,716.20 in total excluding VAT.
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6. Acetylene size: Five dissolved acetylene cylinders in the X size

    
The agent's request. Please quote 5 dissolved acetylene cylinders in the X size. The cylinders are rented on the yearly plan for 1 year. They are delivered. The order does not go through an agent. The quote states a total of €537.95 excluding VAT. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • First line gas not listed in that cylinder size. The price list shows no price for the first line gas in the selected cylinder size.
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7. Acetylene size: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote 5 dissolved acetylene cylinders in the A size. The cylinders are rented on the yearly plan for 1 year. They are delivered. The order does not go through an agent. The quote states a total of €1,343.70 excluding VAT. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Order summary. 5 cylinders, €471.00 of gas, €795.50 of rental and €77.20 of delivery and agent charges, €1,343.70 in total excluding VAT.
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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 an order for industrial gas cylinders from the BOC Ireland price list: the gas and cylinder size on up to two lines, the quantity, the rental plan and period, and more. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the public BOC Gases Ireland price list (BOC is a Linde company) and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.
    2. 
      
  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
    3. 
      
  3. The agent says. Please quote 8 oxygen cylinders in the GENIE G20 size and 4 hydrogen cylinders in the GENIE G20 size. The cylinders are rented on the monthly plan for 12 months. The rest of the request is on screen. The quote states a total of €4,851.00 excluding VAT.
    4. 
      
  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
    5. 
      
  5. Blocked, with one finding and one approval, all in one answer. The order states a total of €4,851.00 excluding VAT; the list prices, rental, delivery and agent charges give €4,951.00.
    6. 
      
  6. The validator returned one blocking finding and one approval 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. 
      
  7. What this shows: for rental that depends on size, plan and period, a rules-based CPQ can do this only with workarounds.
    8. 
      
  8. Now the agent resubmits.
    9. 
      
  9. The corrected request. It changes the stated total as to 4,951.00.
    10. 
      
  10. It calls the validator again.
    11. 
      
  11. Not blocked, but held for a person.
    12. 
      
  12. The one blocking finding is cleared; one approval remains for a person: monthly rental held for a year or more.
    13. 
      
  13. The agent resubmits once more.
    14. 
      
  14. The revised request. It changes the rental plan to yearly, the rental periods to 1 months or years and the stated total as to 4,673.20.
    15. 
      
  15. It calls the validator once more.
    16. 
      
  16. This time the validator clears it.
    17. 
      
  17. The earlier finding is cleared, and the validator's total, €4,673.20, matches the quote.
    18. 
      
  18. Two 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.
    19.