How do you match a waterworks distributor quote to your material list when the descriptions don't match yours?

Quote mapping is matching every line of a vendor's quote to the contractor's own resource codes so pricing lands on the bid sheet without retyping. It comes before leveling, and it is where most of the hand-typing into HeavyBid or Excel happens. The basics are in What is quote mapping?

Why don't distributor descriptions match your material list?

Each distributor writes from its own catalog. Here is one row from Coffer's synthetic sample job, as four made-up suppliers wrote it:

The same drift runs through a whole quote:

• Abbreviations. RW for resilient wedge, ACC for accessory, ASSY, VLV, BFV, CHK, W/ for with.
• Size notation. 8", 8 IN, 8IN, 8-Inch; 8-IN X 6-IN comes back as 8IN X 6IN.
• Class notation. CL52, CL 52, Class 52, PC350, DR18, PC235.
• End connections. MJ, FLG, MJxFLG, push-on, CTSxFIP on service brass.

Which identifiers can you trust when you match?

A quote can carry three kinds of numbers. Keep them apart.

• The distributor's item number names the distributor's catalog record. It differs between distributors and can stand for a kit.
• The manufacturer's part number names the maker's product. It means something only next to the maker's name.
• Your resource code is yours. Supplier quotes do not print it, so the match is made on your side.

A part-number match is strong only inside the same numbering system, and a part-number conflict outweighs similar wording. Products that agree on everything except the ends are different products: an MJ gate valve is not an MJ x FLG gate valve.

What do Core & Main and Ferguson Waterworks quotes look like?

Layouts vary by branch and change over time, so treat these as patterns to check, not rules. In the waterworks quotes Coffer has mapped:

• Both often group lines under your own bid items, sometimes echoing your description, with a subtotal per group. A group is a small bill of materials: valve, accessory set, restraint, valve box.
• Core & Main bid proposals number every row, including notes and terms. Rows marked ** are priced for reference and left out of the printed total. A note row can say the supplier counted a different quantity on the plans.
• Ferguson Waterworks quotes print an item number column and price in FT, EA, RL and C (per hundred) bases. Accessories sit beneath the bid-item section they serve. A branch number on the vendor name identifies the branch, not the product.

How do you handle one quote line that covers several of your rows, or the reverse?

• One line, several rows. The supplier quotes 1,920 FT of 8-inch ductile iron on one line. Your list carries 1,800 LF of mainline and 120 LF at a bore crossing as separate pay items. Split the line. The parts must add back to 1,920.
• Several lines, one row. Your list carries 8-IN TAPPING SLEEVE WITH 8-IN MJ VALVE as one row. The supplier quotes the sleeve and the tapping valve on two lines. Both map to the row, and the row's unit price is the sum of the parts.
• One product, several groups. The supplier quotes the same 8-inch gasket and bolt set under the valves, the tees and the bends. Your list has one row. Every occurrence maps to it, and the quantities add up before you compare them with yours.
• Header and line disagree. A group header can repeat your DR14 item while the line under it is DR18. Map the line and record the substitution.

For what to do with the matched lines next, see How do you level pipe and fittings supplier quotes?

Why should confirmed matches be remembered per vendor?

A distributor tends to describe the same product with the same words and item number, quote after quote. A match confirmed once is good evidence for the next quote from that vendor. It is weak evidence for a different vendor: Supplier B's 8IN MJ RW GATE VALVE and Supplier D's 8IN MJ GATE VLV RW are separate entries to learn.

Keep that memory honest. Reuse only matches a person confirmed. Check again when the item number, description, unit basis or product changes. Join vendor name variants (branch numbers, "LLC") into one vendor so the memory does not split, and do not turn one vendor's habit into a rule for every vendor.

Is there an AI tool that can read Core & Main or Ferguson quotes and put the prices into my bid sheet?

There are a few routes. Test each one on your own quotes, including revisions, alternates and partial coverage.

• HeavyBid web. In its Summer 2026 HeavyBid release webinar (recorded July 16, 2026), HCSS showed "upload and extract prices" on a quote folder. HeavyBid identifies the vendor, finds prices for the folder's items, shows a confidence rating and the source page, and warns when quantities differ. The estimator can uncheck or edit lines first. In the same webinar's Q&A, HCSS said the feature does not yet handle escalations, most likely misses add-on fees unless they are set up as their own items, and that pulling out conditions, inclusions and exclusions is still to come. More: How do you get vendor quotes into HeavyBid in 2026?
• General AI assistants. A chat assistant can turn a quote PDF into a table. It does not know your resource codes or past matches unless you supply them each time, and each line still needs a check. More: Can ChatGPT or Claude compare your vendor quotes?
• Coffer. Coffer is a service. We read each distributor quote, match every line to your material list and resource codes, and level the quotes. Coffer ties every proposed match back to its line on the source quote and recommends a carry for each row. Your estimator makes the final carry decision. The comparison comes back in your own workbook, and confirmed matches stay with that vendor to inform the next quote.

Next step: send one past bid's material list and supplier quotes to declan@coffer.build, or use the contact form below. We will return the mapped, leveled comparison.