Industrial enquiry assessment template

Start with what the buyer has already told you

An enquiry lands in the inbox, but the person who knows the product is busy. Sales does not want to promise something the business cannot supply, and the buyer should not have to start again with every reply. Record the requirement once, keep the unknowns visible and name the person who will decide the next step.

This industrial enquiry assessment template is an internal note for a human reviewer. Copy information from the buyer's message before asking for anything else. A short request may be enough to begin a conversation. Someone who cannot name a material or find a model reference may still have a genuine requirement.

Give the decision a meaning your team shares

Record availability separately when needed. A product desk can accept a model request for review while stock remains unknown. If you later learn the requested date is unavailable, record that finding and ask whether timing is flexible. Keep the earlier note so colleagues can follow what changed.

Industrial enquiry assessment: human review record

Enquiry reference / received date:
Named reviewer / role / review date:
Buyer contact and preferred reply method:
Product or service requested:
Application / job the buyer needs done:
Quantity and unit (or unknown):
Delivery or service location:
Requested timing / flexibility:
Files supplied / revision / approved storage reference:
What the buyer has confirmed:
Missing context needed for the next decision:
Technical question / person who can answer:
Availability: confirmed available / unavailable / unknown, with source and date:

Human decision
Accept for next review / clarify / decline / unavailable / unknown:
Reason about the requirement, with evidence or remaining uncertainty:
What this decision does and does not authorise:
Smallest useful question for the buyer:
Reply to send after review:
Next action / named owner / agreed follow-up date:
Buyer response / revised decision / reviewer / date:

Accept means agree a next review step. It does not approve suitability, price, production or an order.
Use the requirement and confirmed scope, not a person's email domain, job title or presumed value, to decide what needs review.
Keep private drawings and unnecessary personal information out of shared public documents.

Ask for the detail that changes the next decision

Confirm quantity with its unit when it matters. '40' could be pieces, pairs or sets. Record the application, delivery or service location, timing and supplied files, including a revision where one exists. Use 'unknown' when the buyer does not yet know. Ask the appropriate technical person what is necessary at this stage instead of sending every buyer a long questionnaire.

A personal email address is not a reason to reject a request. Review the stated requirement and use your normal verification process when one is needed. Do not assign a score to a person, infer their spending power or require a senior job title to get an answer. Keep confidential drawings in your approved sharing system; the review note can point to them without copying their contents.

If a question already has an answer in the message or attachment, use it. When a buyer cannot supply a detail, offer a practical way to continue, such as a model-label photo or a conversation with the reviewer, where that is appropriate for your business. Do not promise that an alternative will be enough to confirm suitability.

If you adapt part of the record into a website form, W3C recommends asking for the information needed to complete the process and using clear labels, grouping, instructions and feedback. Your internal review may need more detail than a buyer should have to enter at first contact. This template is not a form-accessibility assessment.

Three fictional enquiries and considerate replies

All requests, names and decisions below are invented. They illustrate a review conversation, not technical advice, confirmed product compatibility or customer results. Adapt each reply after the responsible person reviews the actual request.

A drawing arrives without a material specification

'Can you machine 40 of these brackets for our packing line? We need them in Pune by 30 September.' A drawing named BR-12 rev B is attached; material is not stated.

Reviewer: Nisha Rao, sales coordinator, 10 September. Product/application: machined brackets for a packing line. Quantity: 40 brackets, confirmed by the message. Location/timing: Pune, requested 30 September. File: BR-12 rev B, held in the approved enquiry folder. Missing context: material. Availability: unknown until technical review. Decision: clarify. Nisha owns the reply; technical reviewer Dev Malik will review after the buyer responds.

Suggested reply: Thanks for the drawing. Could you confirm the material? If it is still undecided, please say so and tell us what the bracket needs to do. Dev can then review the requirement; we have not confirmed the delivery date yet.

A clear request comes from a personal email address

'Please check 2 replacement rollers, model R-20, for our warehouse conveyor in Nashik. We can receive them in October.' The buyer uses a personal email address and includes a model-label photo.

Reviewer: Omar Khan, product desk, 10 September. Product/application: R-20 replacement rollers for a warehouse conveyor. Quantity: 2 pieces. Location/timing: Nashik, October with exact date unknown. File: model-label photo, revision not applicable. Missing context: confirmation of the existing assembly reference. Decision: accept for a product review. Availability: unknown; Omar must check with the stock owner. This does not confirm compatibility or accept an order. Omar owns the clarification and stock check.

Suggested reply: Thanks, the model photo gives us a useful starting point. Can you share the assembly reference or a photo of where the roller fits? If you cannot find it, let us know. Omar will check the match and availability before we discuss a quotation. You can reply from this email address.

The requested service is outside the seller's scope

'Can you install the 6 guards you quoted at our Surat plant on 18 September?' No installation drawings are attached. This fictional fabricator has confirmed that it supplies guards but does not provide site installation.

Reviewer: Leena Patel, sales lead, 10 September. Product/application: site installation of machine guards. Quantity: 6 guards. Location/timing: Surat, requested 18 September. Files: none supplied; none needed to establish the scope mismatch. Missing context: whether a supply-only discussion would still help. Decision: decline installation because it is outside the confirmed service scope. Installation availability: unavailable. Leena owns the reply; no installation date or alternative supplier is promised.

Suggested reply: Thanks for checking before arranging the work. We supply the guards but do not provide site installation, so we cannot take on that part of the request. Would a supply-only discussion still help? If so, Leena can confirm what remains to be reviewed. We understand if you need a supplier who handles both.

Keep the buyer informed when the answer is still unknown

An internal note with no owner can sit unnoticed. Before closing the record, name who will send the reply and who will answer any technical question. Agree a follow-up date your team can meet. If a check takes longer, tell the buyer what is still being reviewed and when you will next update them, without implying that supply is confirmed.

When the buyer responds, add the new information and let the reviewer update the decision. Preserve the reason for a decline or an unavailable item so a colleague does not repeat a promise the business has already ruled out. This template does not send messages, check stock or decide suitability for you.

For the enquiry path before the message arrives, see qualified enquiries.

If repeated enquiries lack the same product information, use the website content audit to choose a page improvement.

When reviewing the provider's delivered change, use the provider review worksheet.