Why do distributors need trained estimators to quote, and how does AI change that?

Estimators carry hard-won knowledge: which of many similar products a customer actually means, how items map to the catalog, what's in stock, and what pricing applies to whom. That expertise takes years and can't be handed to a new hire off the street, which makes quoting capacity expensive to grow. AI shifts the math — Quantity Supply carries much of that catalog knowledge itself, so a less-experienced person can review and approve quotes that used to need a specialist. The expertise becomes a check on the work rather than the whole job.