Hi everyone! I’m trying to build a system that can automatically scan incoming emails in Outlook and identify messages that contain requests for quotations. The goal is to have it analyze each email, detect RFQ content (even when it’s written in short or technical formats), then automatically mark these emails with tags and move them to priority view.
I’m considering different options like Zapier, n8n, or maybe creating a custom solution from scratch. Has anyone tackled something similar? Would love to hear about your experiences and which tools worked best for this kind of email automation.
I built something like this for our procurement team two years back. We went with Power Automate since we’re already deep in Microsoft’s ecosystem. The trick was teaching it to spot RFQ terms - stuff like “request for proposal,” “quotation needed,” “bid submission” and all the usual abbreviations. Also set it to catch emails with certain file names or from vendor domains we know. Accuracy got way better once we added feedback where users could flag when it screwed up. Here’s what I learned: start simple with basic keyword detection, then build from there. Don’t try to create some fancy AI solution right off the bat. Power Automate played nice with Outlook, and the licensing was cheaper than going third-party.
We tried something similar with Zapier about 18 months ago - results were all over the place at first. Biggest headache? Suppliers don’t stick to standard language. You’ll get “pricing inquiry,” “cost estimate,” or just “pricing please” instead of proper RFQ terms. Multiple trigger conditions saved us, plus Gmail’s search operators (I know you’re on Outlook though). Game changer was tracking email subject patterns and sender domains instead of just scanning message content. Most of our regular suppliers follow the same naming patterns for quote requests. Watch out for false positives - our internal cost discussions kept getting flagged. Had to add sender filtering to block internal domains. Zapier handled the volume fine, but man, those monthly costs pile up fast when you need the higher tier plans for complex logic.
n8n’s probably your best option if you want to skip subscription fees. Just throw it on a VPS and you’re set. I’ve been running email automation with it for 6 months - way more flexible than Zapier once you figure it out. Outlook integration’s solid, but test your regex patterns first or you’ll regret it.