A more scalable RFQ process combining the speed of AI-supported document analysis with the security, confidentiality, and engineering judgment required

Osbra is a family-owned specialist for premium plastic components, based in Bad Wörishofen, Germany. With more than 45 years of experience as a Tier 1 supplier to the automotive industry, Osbra specializes in complex plastic components in low to medium volumes.

As a full-service partner, Osbra covers the entire value chain from component development and tooling to series production and logistics. The customer requests and specifications Osbra receives are correspondingly complex, often combining technical drawings, OEM standards, validation requirements, commercial assumptions, and project-specific constraints.

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Automotive RFQs often contain highly sensitive information: OEM-specific standards, early-stage product concepts, technical drawings, validation requirements, commercial assumptions, supplier scopes, and project timelines. For Osbra, this information must be handled with the same level of care, confidentiality, and traceability as any other customer-controlled project data.

At the same time, every OEM works with its own standards, factory norms, specification formats, and approval processes. A single RFQ can include dozens or even hundreds of files, ranging from technical drawings and product specifications to Excel sheets, test requirements, and special customer concepts.

Before Osbra can respond, the team needs to understand the full scope, identify relevant norms, assess technical feasibility, estimate testing costs, and surface potential red flags. This review requires experienced employees across sales, engineering, quality, purchasing, and project management.

The process was time-consuming because relevant information was spread across large document packages. Critical requirements could be hidden deep inside attachments, tables, or customer-specific standards. When subcontractors were involved, the complexity increased further: scope had to be extracted, supplier-relevant information prepared, and cost assumptions tracked separately - without unnecessarily sharing complete customer documentation.

Osbra needed a faster and more controlled way to evaluate RFQs while maintaining the confidentiality, security, and care expected in automotive supplier relationships.

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The Solution

Together with Atira, Osbra introduced an AI-supported RFQ evaluation process designed for secure, Osbra-controlled processing of customer requirements.
Incoming RFQ documents are analyzed within a structured internal workflow. Dedicated Atira agents support specific evaluation steps: identifying relevant norms, extracting test requirements, preparing cost inputs, prefilling product specification sheets, flagging red flags, and creating structured handover material for internal experts.
The process helps Osbra turn complex RFQ packages into actionable internal working documents - without replacing expert judgment. Employees remain in control of the final assessment, customer communication, and bid/no-bid decision.

Secure Processing for Highly Sensitive Automotive Requirements

Data security, customer confidentiality and independence of US AI-platforms are central to the setup.
Atira is used as an internal processing layer that supports Osbra’s RFQ evaluation workflow. Within this controlled process, customer requirements are extracted, classified, and referenced so they can be reviewed by the responsible Osbra experts. The purpose is to turn complex RFQ packages into structured internal working documents - with clear traceability back to the original customer materials.
Access to sensitive information is controlled by Osbra’s internal workflow and permission logic. The Atira Agents support the preparation of structured working documents, while Osbra’s experts remain responsible for validation, customer communication, and final decisions.
Where subcontractors or suppliers need to be involved, Atira helps create focused handover extracts so that only the relevant scope information is shared - not the full customer document package. This reduces unnecessary data exposure while improving clarity for everyone involved.
In this way, Osbra can accelerate RFQ evaluation while meeting the confidentiality, traceability, and security expectations of automotive customers.

Norms and Standards Identified Early

Atira scans the RFQ package and identifies required norms and standards together with the exact reference in the tender documents. OEM-specific factory standards are captured alongside international norms and project-specific requirements.
Instead of receiving a simple list of norm numbers, Osbra receives structured context: where the norm appears, what it relates to, and whether it affects testing, feasibility, quality, or commercial assumptions.
This helps the team assess requirements earlier and reduces the risk of overlooking important customer-specific obligations.

Test Cost Estimation from RFQ Requirements

Automotive RFQs often include extensive validation and testing requirements, each of which can affect project cost and feasibility.
Atira extracts these requirements from the RFQ, compares them with Osbra’s internal test cost logic, and prepares an initial view of which internal or third-party tests may be required.
This gives the commercial team an earlier cost indication before detailed bid work begins and helps avoid late surprises in the quoting process.

From RFQ to Internal Steering Material

Atira supports Osbra by preparing internal steering materials based on the structured RFQ analysis.
For each new request, the system can prefill sales and project templates with the key commercial, regulatory, and technical points of the project. This gives the team a strong starting point for internal steering meetings.
Instead of spending time manually assembling slides and copying information from documents, the team can focus on discussing feasibility, risks, assumptions, and the right customer response.

Faster Bid/No-Bid Decisions

For every incoming RFQ, Atira helps prefill a customizable product specification sheet with the framework conditions a sales engineer needs for a first assessment, such as process type, component characteristics, color requirements, thickness ranges, and other feasibility-relevant parameters.
The system also highlights red flags and requirements that may need clarification based on internal standards or past project experience.
This enables Osbra to reach an initial bid/no-bid view much faster - before significant resources are committed to a project that may not be technically or commercially attractive.

Structured Handover to Experts and Suppliers

Beyond the first RFQ review, Atira agents prepare structured extracts for the people who need to act on specific parts of the request.
Internal experts receive the requirements relevant to their discipline, such as assembly scope, fixtures, tooling considerations, testing, quality, or logistics. Where subcontractors are involved, Osbra can prepare focused sub-scopes instead of forwarding full customer document packages.
This improves coordination, reduces unnecessary data sharing, and gives each stakeholder a clearer basis for their contribution.

Outcome

With Atira, Osbra can evaluate complex automotive RFQs faster, more consistently, and with stronger control over sensitive customer information. The AI-supported process helps identify norms, test requirements, feasibility risks, cost drivers, and supplier scopes earlier in the RFQ lifecycle. At the same time, Osbra remains in control of data handling, expert validation, customer communication, and final decision-making.
For Osbra, Atira creates a more scalable RFQ process, one that combines the speed of AI-supported document analysis with the security, confidentiality, and engineering judgment required in automotive supplier relationships.

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