How a construction contractor creates an RFQ for a whole materials list from ChatGPT

What kind of company is it and what problem did it have?

The scenario is illustrative: a construction contractor near Cluj, with around 25 employees, building small residential blocks and warehouses. One person handles procurement while working on three or four sites at the same time.

For each stage of work, the site engineer sends a materials list: cement, AAC blocks, rebar, welded mesh, adhesive mortar, polystyrene. The list usually arrives on WhatsApp as a photo, or in an Excel file with item names written differently from one site to the next.

How were quotes requested before?

The procurement manager retyped the list into an email, sent it to five or six known suppliers and then called those who did not reply. Quotes came back in different formats, some for the whole list, others for a few items only, and the comparison was done by hand in a spreadsheet.

Lost time was not the only problem. New suppliers, perhaps closer to the site, never heard about the request, and the price history stayed scattered across emails.

What do you need to work this way?

The connection is set up once; after that you work directly in the ChatGPT conversation. This scenario needs:

• Your company is verified by the platform (the “Verified by the platform” badge); AI assistants are available only to verified companies.
• A user with the right to manage MCP has switched the connection on for the company, in Markonex, under AI → MCP → Details.
• You have a ChatGPT plan that allows custom connectors (developer mode) and you added the Markonex connector with the address shown in Markonex, under AI → MCP → “Connection and usage”.
• When you authorise it, on the Markonex page, you tick only the permissions you need; read permissions are ticked by default, write permissions are your choice.
• Permissions used here: reading and creating RFQs (rfq:read, rfq:write), reading offers and changing offers (offers:read, offers:write, for awarding lines).

Step 1: the materials list becomes a draft RFQ

The procurement manager pastes the list from the site as it is, with abbreviations and mixed units. ChatGPT uses Markonex line extraction, which recognises products and quantities, then saves a draft. A draft is not visible to suppliers, so it is saved directly, without confirmation.

1. You

   Create an RFQ for the Florești site, delivery within 10 days: 500 bags of CEM II cement 40 kg, 2,000 AAC blocks 25 cm, 4 tonnes of PC52 rebar 12 mm, 120 sqm welded mesh, 300 bags of polystyrene adhesive, 400 sqm expanded polystyrene 10 cm.

2. ChatGPT

   I extracted 6 lines: CEM II cement 40 kg - 500 bags; AAC blocks 25 cm - 2,000 pcs; PC52 rebar Ø12 - 4 t; welded mesh - 120 sqm; polystyrene adhesive - 300 bags; expanded polystyrene 10 cm - 400 sqm. I saved the draft “Structure and insulation materials - Florești” in the Building materials category, location Florești, Cluj. Do you want to add anything or change how long it stays open?

3. You

   Add to the description that delivery is by crane on site and keep it open for 30 days.

Step 2: you review the draft and confirm publishing

Publishing makes the request visible on the marketplace, so it is an action with commercial effect. ChatGPT prepares the publication and Markonex shows an exact summary of the action. The confirmation is valid for 5 minutes and applies only to that data; if anything changes, a new confirmation is prepared.

1. Markonex - confirmation

   Confirmation required - publish RFQ: “Structure and insulation materials - Florești”, 6 lines, Building materials category, location Florești, Cluj, open for 30 days, delivery by crane on site. Do you confirm?

2. You

   Yes, publish it.

3. ChatGPT

   The RFQ is published and active. The platform automatically matches it with relevant suppliers, and those following this kind of request get a notification. I will tell you when offers come in.

Step 3: you ask which offers arrived and compare them line by line

Two days later, the procurement manager no longer opens emails and spreadsheets. He asks in the chat, and ChatGPT reads the line-by-line offer comparison from Markonex.

1. You

   Which offers did I get on the Florești RFQ? Show me the best price on each line.

2. ChatGPT

   You have 4 offers. On cement and adhesive, the best price comes from a distributor in Cluj-Napoca, ANAF-verified. On AAC blocks and polystyrene, from a warehouse in Turda that quotes only those two lines. On rebar and welded mesh, from a rebar processor in Apahida. All three companies have public financial statements on their profiles; do you want a financial summary before you decide?

Step 4: you award lines to the chosen suppliers, with confirmation

On a request with a product list, lines can be awarded to different suppliers. Awarding has commercial effect, so it goes through confirmation again.

1. You

   Award cement and adhesive to the Cluj distributor, AAC blocks and polystyrene to the Turda warehouse, and rebar and mesh to the Apahida processor.

2. Markonex - confirmation

   Confirmation required - award lines on the RFQ “Structure and insulation materials - Florești”: 2 lines to the Cluj-Napoca distributor, 2 lines to the Turda warehouse, 2 lines to the Apahida processor. Do you confirm?

3. You

   Confirmed.

4. ChatGPT

   The lines have been awarded. Each supplier sees what was awarded to it, and negotiation, the agreement and, if needed, the contract continue in Markonex.

What changed for the procurement team?

The site list reaches the marketplace without being retyped, and the request also reaches suppliers the company did not know. The line-by-line comparison replaces the hand-made spreadsheet, and the full history stays in Markonex, on the request and on each offer.

As an illustrative estimate, not a measured result: if preparing a request and collecting quotes used to take half a day per site, the procurement manager now spends a few minutes in the chat and the rest of the time on the decision and the negotiation.

What can ChatGPT not do through Markonex?

ChatGPT works only within the rights the user has in Markonex and the permissions ticked at authorisation. It does not publish, award or accept anything without confirmation, and in the activity log every action appears under the person's name, as “Name (via ChatGPT)”.

• It does not issue or change invoices and does not send anything to e-Factura; invoices are read-only.
• It does not make payments and does not see payment data; Markonex does not process payments.
• It does not administer the company, users or permissions and does not change MCP settings.
• It does not download files and does not sign documents.