QuoteMesa

For small manufacturers buying corrugated boxes

Packaging quote comparison for small manufacturing teams.

QuoteMesa reads supplier quotes from PDFs, spreadsheets and emails, puts them on the same order quantity and price basis, and links every number back to the line it came from. You can see what actually differs and explain the choice to your team.

Request access Explore a sample comparison

Purchase request PR-1042: Shipping box — first order

300 × 200 × 150 mm · Kraft, B-flute · 1 colour · First order · USD · excluding tax and duties

Boxes needed

Illustrative example — fictional supplier quotes

  • At 10,000 boxes, Supplier B has the lowest comparable quoted total: $4,670.00, $80.00 below Supplier A.
  • Supplier C is not ranked: E-flute instead of the requested B-flute and freight is not quoted.
  • Supplier C's minimum order of 20,000 boxes means buying 10,000 more than needed.
Three fictional box quotes compared at 10,000 boxes
All amounts USD Supplier A PDF · supplier-a-quote.pdf +$80.00 vs lowest Supplier B XLSX · supplier-b-quote.xlsx Lowest comparable total Supplier C Email · Re: Box quote — 300x200x150 Not ranked
Quoted price $0.420 / box Per box, as quoted $455 / 1,000 boxes Basis kept from the quote $0.395 / box Per box, as quoted
Order quantity 10,000 boxes Matches requirement 10,000 boxes Matches requirement 20,000 boxes 10,000 more than needed (minimum order)
Freight $250.00 Included $0 extra Not quoted Not in the source document
Order total $4,750.00 $80.00 above lowest $4,670.00 Lowest comparable quoted total $8,400.00 + unquoted freight Known subtotal only · not ranked
Board Kraft, B-flute Matches request Kraft, B-flute Matches request Kraft, E-flute Spec mismatch: requested B-flute
Lead time 21 calendar days From artwork approval 18 calendar days From order confirmation 14 calendar days From proof sign-off
Open the full sample comparison →

Totals are calculated by code with exact decimal arithmetic. Supplier quality, payment risk and capacity are not evaluated in this sample.

What changes the price

The lowest unit price is rarely the lowest order.

Box quotes arrive on different bases, with different minimums, fees and specifications. These are the details QuoteMesa brings to the surface before anything is compared.

$455 / 1,000 → $0.455 / box

Price basis

A price per thousand and a price per box are different numbers. QuoteMesa keeps the basis from the quote and calculates the per-box price beside it.

Need 10,000 · MOQ 20,000 +10,000 boxes

Minimum order

A minimum above your need means paying for boxes you didn't ask for. The real order quantity and the excess are shown, not hidden in a low unit price.

10,001 → 10,025 bundles of 25

Pack multiples

Orders round up to whole bundles. The rounding rule stays visible next to the quantity it changed.

+ $300 plate and die

First-order costs

Print plates, cutting dies and setup charges are added to the order total instead of sitting in a footnote.

$8,400 + unquoted freight

Freight

If a quote doesn't mention freight, the total says so. A missing cost is never treated as zero.

E-flute ≠ B-flute

Specification

A quote for a different board, flute or size is flagged as a spec mismatch and kept out of the ranking until you decide.

How it works

From a folder of quotes to a comparison you can defend.

One purchase request, two to five quotes, and a side-by-side result where every number can be traced and every gap is visible.

  1. Define the request

    Box size, board and flute, print, quantity, delivery point and the date you need it.

  2. Add the quotes

    Upload PDFs and spreadsheets or paste an email. Each quote is processed as its own document.

  3. Review what was extracted

    Every field shows the line it came from. Missing, conflicting or unclear values are flagged for you to check, and two different products are never treated as the same without your confirmation.

  4. Compare at your quantity

    QuoteMesa works out the order quantity, goods cost and known fees for each quote and lines them up side by side.

  5. Export or follow up

    Download the comparison for your manager or finance team, or get a draft list of questions for suppliers. The decision, and anything sent to suppliers, stays with you.

Numbers you can check

Built so a purchasing decision can be explained line by line.

Every value links to its source

A page and line in a PDF, a cell in a spreadsheet, a paragraph in an email. Open it, read the original wording, confirm.

Claude reads. Code calculates.

QuoteMesa uses Claude, Anthropic's AI model, to read quote documents, propose structured fields and match differently named items. Totals, unit conversions and rounding are calculated by QuoteMesa's own code with exact decimal arithmetic. A model-written total never replaces a calculated one.

Missing stays missing

A value the quote doesn't state is stored as unknown, not zero. Zero is used only when the quote says the cost is included or zero.

Uncertain means review

Ambiguous terms, fees that conflict between documents, different currencies, and calendar versus business days are shown for review, never silently made equal.

Who it's for

Teams that make their own products and buy their own boxes.

Usually a production manager, operations manager or purchasing lead runs the comparison, and an operations lead or owner signs it off.

A good fit if you

  • collect quotes from three or more suppliers for a purchase
  • compare box quotes every month, not once a year
  • fill in a comparison spreadsheet by hand
  • need to explain the choice to finance or the owner

What QuoteMesa doesn't do

  • choose a supplier or place orders for you
  • negotiate prices or email suppliers on your behalf
  • rate supplier quality, payment risk or capacity
  • calculate customs duties or taxes

Request access

See QuoteMesa with your own box quotes.

Tell us a little about your team. We'll reply from founder@quotemesa.com with next steps and current pricing.

We use these details only to reply to your request. See the privacy notice.

FAQ

Questions

What does the sample comparison show?

Three fictional quotes for the same printed shipping box: one PDF, one spreadsheet and one email. You can switch between 10,000 and 20,000 boxes, open the source of any value and download the result as CSV.

Everything in it, including the companies, documents and prices, is fictional.

Can I use QuoteMesa with my own quotes?

Access is by request. Tell us about your team using the form above and we'll get back to you with next steps.

Which packaging does QuoteMesa cover?

Corrugated shipping boxes. Size, board, flute, print, minimum order, pack multiples, lead time and first-order costs are modelled specifically. We'd rather do one category properly than all of them loosely.

How does QuoteMesa use AI?

Claude reads the documents and proposes fields, each with the text it was taken from. You review anything flagged as missing, conflicting or unclear. All arithmetic, including unit conversions, minimum-order and pack rounding, and totals, is done by QuoteMesa's own code.

Does QuoteMesa choose the supplier?

No. It shows the lowest comparable quoted total and makes clear which quotes aren't comparable and why. Supplier quality history, payment risk and capacity are not part of the comparison, and the decision stays with you.

How much does it cost?

We share current pricing when we reply to your access request.

Who is behind QuoteMesa?

QuoteMesa was founded by Arif Dursun Kaya and is operated from Bursa, Türkiye. You can reach us at founder@quotemesa.com.

Value in the comparison

Source text

Document

All companies, documents and prices in this sample are fictional.