# Automotive Supplier Document Automation for Salesforce | CloudFiles

> Document automation for automotive suppliers in Salesforce: RFQ folders, customer uploads, purchase orders read for review, and quotes and price letters generated.

*Automotive supplier documents in Salesforce*

## CloudFiles for *automotive suppliers and components*

Supplier sales teams answer RFQs, price changes and renewals from Salesforce, while drawings and orders sit in inboxes. CloudFiles keeps every program document on its record, processes incoming orders and builds quotes.

[Talk to a document expert](https://meet.cloudfiles.io/salesforce?utm_content=sf-industries-automotive-suppliers-and-components-hero)

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*Supplier documents, before and after*

## Every RFQ and program file on its *record*

Supplier sales and program teams quote, win and renew business in Salesforce, but the files behind each deal sit in inboxes and shared drives. CloudFiles keeps them on the record.

### The manual way

- RFQ drawings, specs and quotes are spread across inboxes and shared drives. When the customer asks for a requote, nobody can find the original package.
- Customers email RFQ packages that are too big for an inbox. Engineering gets them forwarded in pieces, and the quote starts late.
- Customer service retypes every emailed purchase order into Salesforce, line by line. A wrong quantity or part number reaches the shipment.
- Each year, price change letters are built by hand from a spreadsheet, one customer at a time. One wrong row sends a customer the wrong price.

### The CloudFiles way

- CloudFiles gives every RFQ opportunity its own folder inside the customer's account. Drawings, specs and every quote stay together and open from Salesforce.
- CloudFiles sends the customer one secure upload link for the whole package. Files land on the opportunity and in SharePoint, where engineering already works.
- CloudFiles reads each purchase order and matches it to the account and products. A person approves the order before anything is written.
- CloudFiles generates a price change letter for every customer in one run, filled with that customer's prices. Each letter is saved to its account.

*Automotive supplier use cases in Salesforce*

## Supplier documents, from *RFQ* to signed agreement

Six jobs supplier teams automate on the accounts, opportunities and sales agreements that they already use.

- **RFQ opportunity folder automation** — Every RFQ opportunity gets its own folder inside its customer's account, so drawings, specs and quotes stay together.
  - The folder is created as soon as the opportunity is saved, with the same subfolders every time
  - An account manager sees every RFQ for one customer in one place
  - Each drawing and quote opens on the opportunity, without leaving Salesforce
- **Sales agreement document management** — When a program is won, its nomination letter, purchase order and agreement move onto the sales agreement.
  - Closing the opportunity as won moves its folder to the new sales agreement
  - Program managers find the launch paperwork on the sales agreement
  - Every renewal is filed on the same agreement record
- **Customer RFQ package upload** — Customers send drawings, specs and large RFQ packages through one secure link, with no login.
  - One link collects every file needed for the quote
  - Each file is saved to the opportunity's folder in your own storage
  - Engineers open the package in SharePoint, where they already work
- **Purchase order processing** — Purchase orders are read, matched to the account and its products, and reviewed before the order is created.
  - A purchase order that lands on the account starts the process
  - Part numbers, quantities and dates are matched to your Salesforce products
  - Customer service approves the order header, then the order and its lines are created
- **Distributor onboarding document checks** — A new aftermarket distributor's packet is split into separate documents and checked against your required list.
  - One scanned packet is split into separate documents, such as the credit application and tax certificate
  - Each document is named for what it is, filed on the distributor's account and checked by staff
  - The distributor gets an upload link for anything still missing
- **Quote and price letter generation** — Quotes and price change letters are built from Salesforce with your own templates, and quotes go out for e-signature.
  - Quotes are filled from the opportunity and its quote lines
  - Price change letters run for every account at once, each with that customer's prices
  - Signed quotes return to the opportunity

*Document types*

## Key documents we handle for *automotive suppliers and components*

Every program brings these files, from the first quote to each renewal. Every other customer document is handled the same way.

- **RFQ packages** — The drawings, specs and requirements that come with a customer's request for quote. They stay in the opportunity's folder.
- **Quotes and cost breakdowns** — Your answer to each RFQ. The quote is generated from the opportunity, and the cost breakdown is kept beside it in the opportunity's folder.
- **Nomination letters and purchase orders** — Proof that a program was won and ordered. They are filed on the sales agreement for the launch team.
- **Sales agreements** — The long-term terms with each customer, renewed as volumes and prices change. Each renewal is filed on the same record.
- **Price change letters** — Annual price adjustments for each customer, generated from Salesforce in one run and saved to the account.
- **Distributor price lists and program terms** — Price lists, catalogs and program rules for aftermarket distributors, shared in each distributor's portal folder.

*Security & compliance*

## Stay industry compliant

CloudFiles is independently audited for SOC 2 Type II, certified to ISO 27001, and compliant with HIPAA and GDPR. Data residency is supported in the US, EU, UK and AU. Your files stay in your own storage. CloudFiles never re-hosts them, and they are not used to train our AI models.

Certifications: SOC 2 (Type II), HIPAA (Compliant), ISO 27001 (Certified), GDPR (Compliant)

[Security overview](/security)

## Frequently asked questions

**Q: Can automotive suppliers use CloudFiles alongside Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud?**
Yes. CloudFiles installs from AppExchange and works on any Salesforce object, standard or custom, through Salesforce Flow. Each record can have its own folder and upload links, and your existing objects stay as they are.

**Q: How do I keep RFQ drawings in SharePoint and open them from Salesforce?**
CloudFiles connects Salesforce to SharePoint, Google Drive, Azure Blob, Amazon S3 and other storage. Each RFQ opportunity gets a folder in your storage, and drawings open from the opportunity. Engineers keep working in SharePoint with their existing access.

**Q: How can a customer send a large RFQ package to Salesforce securely?**
CloudFiles sends the customer a secure upload link from the opportunity. The customer uploads drawings and specs from any browser, with no login. Every file is saved to the opportunity's folder, ready for engineering. Admins create the link with the create file request flow action.

**Q: Can Salesforce read a customer's purchase order and create the order?**
Yes. CloudFiles reads each purchase order and matches its part numbers, quantities and dates to your Salesforce products. Customer service approves the order header before anything is written, and the order and its lines are then created on the right account.

**Q: Can CloudFiles check a new distributor's onboarding documents automatically?**
Yes. CloudFiles splits a new distributor's scanned packet into separate documents for staff to check, names each one and files it on the distributor's account. The documents are compared with your required list, and the distributor is asked for anything missing.

**Q: How do I send a price change letter to every customer from Salesforce?**
CloudFiles generates one letter per customer in a single run, each filled with that customer's prices from Salesforce. Every letter is saved to the customer's folder, ready to send or share. Admins schedule the run with the generate document (batch) flow action.

**Q: Can a supplier generate quotes from a Salesforce opportunity and send them for e-signature?**
Yes. CloudFiles builds each quote from the opportunity and its quote lines, using your own Word or PDF template. The quote goes out for e-signature with signers in order. The signed copy returns to the opportunity.

**Q: How do I share price lists and program terms with aftermarket distributors?**
With the CloudFiles Experience Cloud add-on, each distributor's own folder is shared in your partner portal. Distributors open current price lists and program terms there, and see only their own folder. Access is removed from the portal when a distributor leaves.

**Q: Can I see when a customer opens a quote I shared from Salesforce?**
Yes. CloudFiles tells the person who created a link when a customer opens it, on the first view or on every view, as your admin sets it. Links can be limited to the customer's email domain, protected with a password and set to block downloads.

## Bring one *RFQ* to a demo

Bring an RFQ package or a purchase order with names removed. We will show it landing on an opportunity in Salesforce, filed and ready.

[Book a demo](https://meet.cloudfiles.io/salesforce?utm_content=sf-industries-automotive-suppliers-and-components-footer)