Predictika · Sortation system quotes

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

An AI sales agent prepares a quote for a parcel or carton sortation system built on a Vanderlande CROSSORTER, POSISORTER 2 or VERTISORTER, with the number of parallel sorters, the rate the customer needs, the number of destinations, the item type and weight, the induction stations, and the capacity and availability the quote states. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the sorters and quote rules and returns a verdict and every reason.

Scope: Vanderlande sortation system quotes: CROSSORTER, POSISORTER 2 and VERTISORTER, parallel sorters, required rate, destinations, item type and weight, induction stations and the capacity and availability the quote states. See everything this validator covers

This validator models sortation system quotes, not just the scenarios shown below.

  • Rate, destinations and weight — the rate each sorter can carry and how it adds up across parallel sorters, the destinations each sorter configuration supports, and the heaviest item each handles.
  • Restrictions between choices — which item types each sorter handles, dual-sided sortation only on the POSISORTER 2, a companion line or loop sorter only with the VERTISORTER, and enough induction stations to feed the required rate.
  • Stated figures and approvals — the capacity and availability the quote states must match the model, and thin peak headroom or three or more parallel sorters need a person to review.

Any sortation quote that touches these rules is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: controls, software, service contracts and other Vanderlande systems. The product names and the headline capacity figures (CROSSORTER 18,000 carriers per hour, POSISORTER 2 over 10,000 cartons per hour, VERTISORTER up to 3,000 packages per hour) come from public Vanderlande pages; the destination limits, item weights, item-type table, induction rate, headroom and approval thresholds are modeled from comparable sorters and are not published by Vanderlande. No prices are modeled.

The AI sales agentBuilds the sortation 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
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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
Limits that change with the sorterOnly with care
Rate, destinations and item weight each have a different maximum for every sorter, so each limit needs its own list and a change of sorter must change all of them.		The sorter is a field of the request and every limit is looked up from it together on every call.
Rates that add up across parallel sortersOnly with care
The total rate is the number of sorters times the rate of one, and the required rate, the induction stations and the stated capacity are all compared with that total, so each comparison needs its own rule.		The total is computed once from the request and every comparison uses it on every call.
Choices that are not sold togetherOnly with workarounds
Dual-sided sortation, a companion sorter and each item type belong to certain sorters, so each pair needs a rule that looks at both sides in whatever order the choices were made.		All the choices are in the request, so every pair is checked on every call.
Approvals for thin headroom and multi-sorter systemsOnly with workarounds
Each approval has its own trigger and must be kept apart from the blocks, or a quote can be both stopped and approved by mistake.		Blocks and approvals are separate findings returned together, so a quote is never both stopped and approved.
Stated capacity and availability that must match the modelOnly with workarounds
The stated capacity depends on the sorter and the number of sorters, and the stated availability has a ceiling, so separate rules must recompute the capacity and compare both with the figures stated.		The stated figures are fields of the request and are compared with the computed ones on every call, together with every other finding.

  

  

    
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 customer needs 19,000 items per hour; the quoted sorters give 18,000.
2The required rate leaves less than 15 percent headroom for peaks; a person should confirm the peak assumption.
3The customer needs 301 destinations; this sorter configuration supports 300.
4This sorter is not modeled for the item type on the quote (see the item-type table).
5Items up to 31 kg are needed; this sorter handles up to 30 kg.
6Dual-sided sortation is only quoted on the POSISORTER 2.
7A companion line or loop sorter applies only to the VERTISORTER.
812,000 items per hour need more induction stations; 7 stations feed 10,500 per hour.
9The quote states 20,000 items per hour; the quoted sorters give 18,000.
10The quote states availability of 998 tenths of a percent; the model allows at most 997 (99.7 percent).
11Three or more parallel sorters is a multi-sorter system design; a person should review the layout.

  

  

    
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. Rate, destinations and item restrictions: A CROSSORTER tote line with 19,000 items per hour, 320 destinations, 35 kg items and dual-sided sortation

    
The agent's request. Please quote one CROSSORTER for 19,000 items per hour: tote items up to 35 kg, 320 destinations and 8 induction stations, dual-sided. The quote states 20,000 items per hour in total and an availability of 99.8 percent. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Required rate over capacity. The customer needs 19,000 items per hour; the quoted sorters give 18,000.
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  • Too many destinations. The customer needs 320 destinations; this sorter configuration supports 300.
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  • Item too heavy. Items up to 35 kg are needed; this sorter handles up to 30 kg.
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  • Item type not handled. This sorter is not modeled for the item type on the quote (see the item-type table).
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  • Dual-sided only on POSISORTER. Dual-sided sortation is only quoted on the POSISORTER 2.
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  • Induction stations too few. 19,000 items per hour need more induction stations; 8 stations feed 12,000 per hour.
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  • Stated capacity does not match. The quote states 20,000 items per hour; the quoted sorters give 18,000.
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  • Stated availability too high. The quote states availability of 998 tenths of a percent; the model allows at most 997 (99.7 percent).
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2. Rate, destinations and item restrictions: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote two POSISORTER 2 sorters for 16,000 items per hour: tote items up to 40 kg, 100 destinations and 11 induction stations, dual-sided. The quote states 20,000 items per hour in total and an availability of 99.7 percent. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Sorter summary. 2 sorter(s), 20,000 items per hour in total, 120 destinations supported per sorter, 50 kg maximum item weight.
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3. VERTISORTER limits and companion sorter: A VERTISORTER carton line with 3,200 items per hour and five destinations

    
The agent's request. Please quote one VERTISORTER for 3,200 items per hour: carton items up to 25 kg, 5 destinations and 2 induction stations. The quote states 3,000 items per hour in total and an availability of 99.0 percent. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Required rate over capacity. The customer needs 3,200 items per hour; the quoted sorters give 3,000.
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  • Too many destinations. The customer needs 5 destinations; this sorter configuration supports 2.
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  • Item type not handled. This sorter is not modeled for the item type on the quote (see the item-type table).
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  • Induction stations too few. 3,200 items per hour need more induction stations; 2 stations feed 3,000 per hour.
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4. VERTISORTER limits and companion sorter: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote one VERTISORTER for 2,500 items per hour: parcel items up to 25 kg, 8 destinations and 2 induction stations, with a companion line or loop sorter. The quote states 3,000 items per hour in total and an availability of 99.0 percent. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Sorter summary. 1 sorter(s), 3,000 items per hour in total, 8 destinations supported per sorter, 30 kg maximum item weight.
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5. Parallel sorters and peak headroom: Three CROSSORTERS with a companion sorter for 52,000 items per hour

    
The agent's request. Please quote three CROSSORTERs for 52,000 items per hour: parcel items up to 20 kg, 250 destinations and 35 induction stations, with a companion line or loop sorter. The quote states 54,000 items per hour in total and an availability of 99.0 percent. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Companion sorter only with VERTISORTER. A companion line or loop sorter applies only to the VERTISORTER.
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  • Less than 15 percent peak headroom. The required rate leaves less than 15 percent headroom for peaks; a person should confirm the peak assumption.
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  • Three or more parallel sorters. Three or more parallel sorters is a multi-sorter system design; a person should review the layout.
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6. Parallel sorters and peak headroom: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote two CROSSORTERs for 30,000 items per hour: parcel items up to 20 kg, 250 destinations and 20 induction stations. The quote states 36,000 items per hour in total and an availability of 99.0 percent. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Sorter summary. 2 sorter(s), 36,000 items per hour in total, 300 destinations supported per sorter, 30 kg maximum item weight.
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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 a parcel or carton sortation system built on a Vanderlande CROSSORTER, POSISORTER 2 or VERTISORTER. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the sorters and quote rules and returns a verdict and every reason.
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  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
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  3. The agent says. Please quote one CROSSORTER for 19,000 items per hour: tote items up to 35 kg, 320 destinations and 8 induction stations, dual-sided. The quote states 20,000 items per hour in total and an availability of 99.8 percent. The rest of the request is on screen.
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  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
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  5. Blocked, with eight findings, all in one answer. The customer needs 19,000 items per hour; the quoted sorters give 18,000. The customer needs 320 destinations; this sorter configuration supports 300. Items up to 35 kg are needed; this sorter handles up to 30 kg. The other five are on screen.
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  6. The validator returned eight 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.
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  7. What this shows: for stated capacity and availability that must match the model, a rules-based CPQ can do this only with workarounds.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the sorter to POSISORTER 2, the parallel sorters to 2, the required rate to 16,000 items per hour, the destinations to 100 and the stated availability to 99.7. Two more changes are on screen.
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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. All eight earlier findings are cleared.
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  13. Eight problems caught in one call, fixed in one pass, and a clean quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer. Now you can try the other scenarios yourself.
    14.