Martin has been an estimator at ESP Colour for nearly 9 years. As the sole estimator handling quotes for both their digital and litho production, he'd developed efficient workflows with their MIS system over time.
But efficient didn't mean fast. Complex quotes could take 30 minutes or more to build. And there was another problem: pricing inconsistency.
"Someone might ask me for a price and I might say that's 500 pounds. Someone might ask someone else who works here for a price and they might say that's 400 pounds or that's 600 pounds," Martin explains. "There was a big difference in everyone's pricing depending on how you view the job."
ESP Colour became GelatoConnect's first customer to pilot AI Estimator in 2025. This week, Martin became the first estimator to process 1,000 estimates with the tool.
The quoting process before AI Estimator
Martin's previous workflow relied heavily on manual input through dropdown boxes in their MIS system. While they'd automated parts of the process over the years, each quote still required careful attention to detail.
"We've used [our old system] for so many years. We've input a lot of things into its brain and when you say I would like this product, sometimes it goes off on a route that you don't want it to," Martin says. "I know from experience that we wouldn't produce it like that so I then have to change something."
For complex jobs with multiple specifications, this meant building quotes piece by piece, often spending 30 minutes or more on a single estimate.
Learning to trust AI-powered quoting
Martin's initial reaction to AI Estimator was cautiously optimistic. He recognized the potential but needed to build trust in the system.
"To start with, I was double checking everything. You sort of haven't got that trust with it to start with so it took a bit longer," he recalls. "Whereas now I feel like I've got a hell of a lot more trust in it so I can just throw the quote in there pretty much save it and send it and I know it's going to be right."
The learning curve took a few weeks, but the improvement was continuous. "When we first started using it, I was very impressed on how quick the Gelato team actually developed it. When we started adding rules and personalizing it to us more, it started to get much better and quicker."
The workflow today
Martin's quoting process has transformed. He receives quote requests by email, copies the specifications, and pastes them directly into AI Estimator.
"Most of the time when I'm doing my estimates I'm just literally copying and pasting the spec into the AI box to generate its price and then at that point I'm just saving it, viewing a PDF and then just attaching that to the email," he explains.
The time savings are substantial. "I'd definitely say you could do it within 60 seconds from the start of putting it in there and then pressing send to the customer."
For straightforward quotes, Martin no longer even reviews the output. "If it's a very straightforward product I won't even check what it's done. I just completely trust it. I just do it and send it."
Beyond speed: consistency and strategic pricing
The speed improvement freed up time for more valuable work. "I am finding now I have got more time to actually start emailing customers and saying how did our price look and working with them more closely to actually win the work," Martin notes. "It's definitely helping in that regard [with win rates]."
But perhaps more valuable than speed is consistency. AI Estimator eliminated the pricing variation that existed when multiple people quoted the same job.
"With this system where it's just generating one price, anyone can use it and everyone's coming up with the same price every time," Martin explains. "If you want to make changes, you can just add that extra 5% or 10% or take it off and then monitor how many jobs you're winning and adjust it again accordingly."
ESP Colour also uses custom pricing rules to adjust margins for specific customers, ensuring competitive pricing where needed while maintaining profitability across the board.
Confidence after 1,000 estimates
After processing 1,000 estimates with AI Estimator, we asked Martin how confident he is in the quotes it produces.
"Very," he responds without hesitation. "Very confident... to the point sometimes if it's a very straightforward product I won't even check what it's done. I just completely trust it."
His advice to other estimators considering AI-powered quoting? "If someone asked my honest opinion and they said to me we're thinking of doing this, I would say yes, do it."
What's next for ESP Colour
Currently, ESP Colour uses AI Estimator primarily for their digital production. Martin's next goal is to expand it to their litho work as well.
"The idea eventually when we get to be able to actually do all that because obviously we've just concentrated on digital at the moment and making sure we've dialed digital in properly. When we get to a stage where you can put all the litho stuff in there as well, it then really will be a lot easier."
After nine years of manual quoting processes, Martin's verdict on AI Estimator is clear: "It is a good bit of kit and especially the more time we spend personalizing it to us it just makes things so much easier. It's definitely making my life easier so that can only be a good thing."
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