Predictika · Equipment rental quotes

An AI sales agent's air compressor rental quote, checked before it goes out

An AI sales agent prepares a rental quote for air compressors: the compressor class, the number of units, how many day, week or 4-week month periods, the hours the equipment will run, the customer's insurance, and the total it states. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the contract rate schedule and rental terms that United Rentals filed publicly, and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.

Scope: United Rentals air compressors (24 classes, price-schedule category 100) at the published day, week and 4-week month contract rates, with shift rates, insurance and rental terms. See everything this validator covers

This validator models the rental of one air compressor class at a time, based on the contract price schedule and the Rental Agreement Additional Terms and Conditions that United Rentals filed in a State of Maine master agreement, not just the scenarios shown below.

  • Published classes and rates — the compressor class must be one of the 24 on the schedule (155-175 CFM through 1600-1800 CFM, including diesel, Tier 4, high pressure, IQ and electric units). The rate comes from the class and the rental period: a day (8 hours), a week (40 hours) or a 4-week month (160 hours, 28 days).
  • Shift rates and hours of use — the terms charge 1.5 times the rental charge for a double shift and 2 times for a triple shift on power equipment. The hours the compressors will run in a period are compared with the hours the rate covers, so a quote on one shift for longer running is blocked, and hours beyond a triple shift go to a person.
  • Rental period and total — the quoted periods must cover the days the customer needs, the quote must not present fuel, taxes, delivery and pick-up as part of the rental rate, and the total the quote states must not exceed the total the contract rates give.
  • Customer requirements — auto liability of at least 2 million dollars per occurrence, general liability of at least 2 million per occurrence and 4 million in the aggregate, loss payee status or the Rental Protection Plan for equipment not licensed for road use, and written consent before subletting or lending the equipment.

Any rental of these compressor classes that touches these rules is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: other equipment categories on the schedule, delivery and pick-up charges, fuel, taxes, environmental charges, the price of the Rental Protection Plan, discounts, current retail or negotiated rates (the rates are the contract rates in a 2018 schedule), late-return charges, and the wording of the full rental agreement beyond the clauses listed here.

The AI sales agentBuilds the rental 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

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
Rates that depend on the compressor class and the rental period (24 classes at day, week and 4-week month rates)Only with care
A price book keyed on the class and the period. It works, but the schedule is a long table that has to be kept in step with the filing, and every class is another row to maintain.		The class and the period arrive in one request and the published rate is looked up on every call.
Shift rates tied to the hours the equipment will runOnly with workarounds
The hours are compared with a different number of rated hours for each period (8, 40 or 160), the result is a required shift count, and that is compared with the shift the quote uses. That is a cross-field rule, not a price rule.		The planned hours, the rated hours and the quoted shifts are compared together, and hours beyond a triple shift are sent to a person.
Rental periods that must cover the days the customer needsOnly with care
A day, a week and a 4-week month are different lengths, so a rule has to convert the quoted periods to days and compare them with the customer's need.		Periods are converted to days and compared on every call.
Customer insurance and rental terms that are conditions of the rental, not pricesOnly with workarounds
Insurance limits, loss payee status, the Rental Protection Plan and subletting consent are not product options or prices, so they sit in validation rules or free text that a rep can skip.		Each condition is a field in the request, checked with the rest in any order.
Stated total against the contract rate, and every problem in one answerOnly with workarounds
A stated total is a free-entry field, and rules tend to fire as the quote is saved, so a person often fixes one error and meets the next.		The stated total travels with the quote and all findings come back together.

  

  

    
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.

    
1The order has 0 compressors; at least 1 is needed.
2The quote has 0 rental periods; at least 1 is needed.
3The compressors are planned to run 0 hours in a rental period; at least 1 is needed.
4The quote uses 0 shifts; United Rentals rates one shift, a double shift at 1.5 times and a triple shift at 2 times.
5The quote uses 4 shifts; United Rentals rates one shift, a double shift at 1.5 times and a triple shift at 2 times.
6The compressors will run 81 hours in each rental period, but the rate covers 40 hours per shift and the quote assumes 2 shifts; a higher shift rate applies.
7The planned operating hours exceed three shifts of the rated hours in a rental period; the rate schedule does not rate this, so a person should confirm.
8The compressors will run 41 hours in each rental period, but the rate covers 40 hours per shift and the quote assumes 1 shift; a higher shift rate applies.
9The compressors will run 9 hours in each rental period, but the rate covers 8 hours per shift and the quote assumes 1 shift; a higher shift rate applies.
10The compressors will run 161 hours in each rental period, but the rate covers 160 hours per shift and the quote assumes 1 shift; a higher shift rate applies.
11The quoted rental periods cover 21 days; the customer needs the compressors for 22 days.
12The quoted rental periods cover 28 days; the customer needs the compressors for 29 days.
13The quote presents the rental total as including fuel, taxes, delivery and pick-up; the rental rate does not include them.
14The customer carries $1 million of auto liability cover per occurrence; at least 2 million is required.
15The customer carries $1 million of general liability cover per occurrence; at least 2 million is required.
16The customer carries $3 million of general liability cover in the aggregate; at least 4 million is required.
17The compressors are not licensed for road use, so the customer must either name United Rentals as loss payee on its property insurance or buy the Rental Protection Plan; neither is on the quote.
18The customer plans to sublease or loan the compressors without United Rentals written consent.
19The quote states a total of $2,200.75; the contract rates give $2,200.74.
20The quoted rental periods cover 21 days; the customer needs the compressors for 30 days.

  

  

    
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 rental quote for air compressors: the compressor class, the number of units, how many day, and more. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the contract rate schedule and rental terms that United Rentals filed publicly, 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 4 air compressors, class 4300 (1300-1500 CFM diesel), on the 4-week month rate for 2 4-week months, for a rental of 70 days. The compressors will run about 160 hours in each 4-week month and the quote prices them at one shift. The rest of the request is on screen. The quote states a total of $30,573.36.
    4. 
      
  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
    5. 
      
  5. Blocked, with three findings, all in one answer. The quoted rental periods cover 56 days; the customer needs the compressors for 70 days. The customer carries $1 million of auto liability cover per occurrence; at least 2 million is required. The compressors are not licensed for road use, so the customer must either name United Rentals as loss payee on its property insurance or buy the Rental Protection Plan; neither is on the quote.
    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.
    7. 
      
  7. What this shows: for rental periods that must cover the days the customer needs, a rules-based CPQ is error-prone for this.
    8. 
      
  8. Now the agent resubmits.
    9. 
      
  9. The corrected request. It changes the periods quoted to 3, the auto liability to 2 million dollars per occurrence, the United Rentals named loss payee to yes and the stated total to $45,860.04.
    10. 
      
  10. It calls the validator again.
    11. 
      
  11. This time the validator clears it.
    12. 
      
  12. All three earlier findings are cleared, and the validator's total, $45,860.04, matches the quote.
    13. 
      
  13. Three problems caught in one call, fixed in one pass, and a clean $45,860.04 quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer.
    14.