{"id":13404,"date":"2026-04-09T10:24:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T17:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/?p=13404"},"modified":"2026-04-09T10:24:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T17:24:00","slug":"introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing","title":{"rendered":"Introducing the Sales Champion for Manufacturing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=&#8221;13405&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221;][vc_column_text]<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sales teams in manufacturing operate across highly coordinated workflows. Every quote, order, and follow-up requires extracting data from ERP systems, validating commercial and technical details, managing supplier and customer communication, and ensuring accurate, timely updates.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In many organisations, these processes remain manual, fragmented, and time-intensive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From parsing RFQs to validating contracts and tracking order statuses, sales teams often spend a significant portion of their time managing operational tasks rather than driving revenue. The result is a revenue-efficiency gap &#8211; where growth is constrained not by demand, but by the ability to respond, execute, and scale sales operations effectively.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Reality of Sales Workflows Today<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A typical sales process in manufacturing looks like this:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Receive customer request (often via email, PDF, or portal)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Match request to ERP data<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Build and price the quote<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Send quotation and follow up<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Validate contracts and confirm orders<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Track inventory and coordinate with suppliers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Monitor orders and identify new opportunities<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each step involves switching systems, chasing information, and manually updating records. It\u2019s slow, error-prone, and hard to scale.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Introducing the Sales Champion<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Sales Champion, part of QAD\u2019s <\/span><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/what-is-agentic-ai-in-manufacturing-a-practical-guide\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">agentic AI<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> suite, is purpose-built for manufacturing sales workflows. It sits across your systems and inbox, managing the end-to-end sales cycle on your behalf &#8211; from RFQ intake to order fulfilment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of acting as a passive tool, it takes action. It\u2019s designed to eliminate repetitive, transactional work so your team can focus on closing deals.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What Jobs the Sales Champion Completes<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s how the Sales Champion supports your team day-to-day:<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th><strong>Capability<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>What It Does<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>RFQ Structuring &amp; Contract Review<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Parses inbound RFQs (email, PDF, Excel, portals) and validates specs, quantities, delivery terms, and compliance before quoting<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Quote Generation<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Generates quotes using historical win rates, margin targets, and pricing logic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Order Acceptance &amp; Contract Validation<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Validates PO details, flags mismatches, and updates ERP automatically<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>AI Price &amp; Part Recommendations<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Suggests optimal pricing and alternative parts based on history, margins, demand, and availability<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Follow-ups &amp; Reminders<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Tracks quote expiry, chases customers, and sends confirmations and delivery updates<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Two-Way ERP Sync<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Syncs order status and updates with ERP\/MRP systems in real time<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Proactive Selling Alerts<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Identifies high-value opportunities and flags customers to engage<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Data-Backed Reporting<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Enables natural-language queries for fast insights on orders, customers, and sales trends<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Business Impact<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Sales Champion directly improves how fast and effectively your team sells. With it in place, sales teams can:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Respond instantly to every RFQ: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No delays, no missed opportunities. RFQs are parsed, structured, and turned into quotes immediately, helping teams increase sales throughput by up to 40%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Eliminate missed follow-ups: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Automated follow-ups and real-time updates mean fewer dropped deals and less order friction. Every opportunity is tracked, chased, and progressed without manual effort.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Protect margins with intelligent pricing: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pricing recommendations are based on historical sales, deal context, customer value, and market signals &#8211; ensuring quotes are competitive <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> profitable.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Increase revenue without adding headcount: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By removing admin across quoting, order processing, and customer updates, teams can handle more volume without scaling costs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Ensure critical sales knowledge stays in the business: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pricing logic, customer context, and deal patterns are captured and stored, so new hires ramp faster and your team sells consistently without relying on individual experience.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See It in Action<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Sales Champion is part of <\/span><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/champion-ai\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">QAD\u2019s ChampionAI<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a suite of agentic AI solutions designed to execute real workflows within manufacturing systems.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=&#8221;13405&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221;][vc_column_text]Sales teams in manufacturing operate across highly coordinated workflows. Every quote, order, and follow-up requires extracting data from ERP systems, validating commercial and technical details, managing supplier and customer communication, and ensuring accurate, timely updates. In many organisations, these processes remain manual, fragmented, and time-intensive. From parsing RFQs to validating contracts and tracking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":227,"featured_media":13405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[197],"tags":[3233,3383,1851,3382,499,3381],"class_list":["post-13404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-innovation-and-technology","tag-agentic-ai","tag-manufacturing-sales","tag-order-management","tag-quoting-process","tag-sales","tag-sales-automation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Introducing the Sales Champion for Manufacturing | QAD Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Meet the Sales Champion, an AI agent that automates quoting, follow-ups, and order management to help manufacturing teams sell faster.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Introducing the Sales Champion for Manufacturing | QAD Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Meet the Sales Champion, an AI agent that automates quoting, follow-ups, and order management to help manufacturing teams sell faster.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"QAD Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/QADerp\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-09T17:24:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/04.09.2026-3-1024x512.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Deana Claessen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@QAD_Community\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@QAD_Community\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Deana Claessen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Deana Claessen\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/80edf3f961c308fba3589cadcf242a7c\"},\"headline\":\"Introducing the Sales Champion for Manufacturing\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-09T17:24:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing\"},\"wordCount\":736,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/04.09.2026-3-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Agentic AI\",\"manufacturing sales\",\"order management\",\"quoting process\",\"sales\",\"sales automation\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Innovation + Technology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing\",\"name\":\"Introducing the Sales Champion for Manufacturing | QAD Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/04.09.2026-3-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-09T17:24:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Meet the Sales Champion, an AI agent that automates quoting, follow-ups, and order management to help manufacturing teams sell faster.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/04.09.2026-3-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/04.09.2026-3-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1280,\"caption\":\"sales, agentic AI, sales champion\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Introducing the Sales Champion for Manufacturing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"QAD Blog\",\"description\":\"Next-Generation Manufacturing &amp; Supply Chain Solutions in the Cloud\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"QAD\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\",\"caption\":\"QAD\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/QADerp\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/QAD_Community\",\"https:\\\/\\\/instagram.com\\\/qad_erp\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/qad\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/QADInc\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/QADIncorporated\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/en.wikipedia.org\\\/wiki\\\/QAD_Inc.\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/80edf3f961c308fba3589cadcf242a7c\",\"name\":\"Deana Claessen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/deana-claessen_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/deana-claessen_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/deana-claessen_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Deana Claessen\"},\"description\":\"Deana is a Marketing Manager at QAD\u2019s ChampionAI team. She focuses on bringing AI solutions for manufacturing to market, helping teams understand how AI can be applied to real workflows to reduce manual work and operate more efficiently.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.qad.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/deana-claessen\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Introducing the Sales Champion for Manufacturing | QAD Blog","description":"Meet the Sales Champion, an AI agent that automates quoting, follow-ups, and order management to help manufacturing teams sell faster.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Introducing the Sales Champion for Manufacturing | QAD Blog","og_description":"Meet the Sales Champion, an AI agent that automates quoting, follow-ups, and order management to help manufacturing teams sell faster.","og_url":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing","og_site_name":"QAD Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/QADerp","article_published_time":"2026-04-09T17:24:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":512,"url":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/04.09.2026-3-1024x512.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Deana Claessen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@QAD_Community","twitter_site":"@QAD_Community","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Deana Claessen","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing"},"author":{"name":"Deana Claessen","@id":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/80edf3f961c308fba3589cadcf242a7c"},"headline":"Introducing the Sales Champion for Manufacturing","datePublished":"2026-04-09T17:24:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing"},"wordCount":736,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/04.09.2026-3-scaled.jpg","keywords":["Agentic AI","manufacturing sales","order management","quoting process","sales","sales automation"],"articleSection":["Innovation + Technology"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing","url":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing","name":"Introducing the Sales Champion for Manufacturing | QAD Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/04.09.2026-3-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-09T17:24:00+00:00","description":"Meet the Sales Champion, an AI agent that automates quoting, follow-ups, and order management to help manufacturing teams sell faster.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/04.09.2026-3-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/04.09.2026-3-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1280,"caption":"sales, agentic AI, sales champion"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/introducing-the-sales-champion-for-manufacturing#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Introducing the Sales Champion for Manufacturing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/","name":"QAD Blog","description":"Next-Generation Manufacturing &amp; Supply Chain Solutions in the Cloud","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"QAD","url":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"QAD"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/QADerp","https:\/\/x.com\/QAD_Community","https:\/\/instagram.com\/qad_erp\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/qad","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/QADInc\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/QADIncorporated\/","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/QAD_Inc."]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/80edf3f961c308fba3589cadcf242a7c","name":"Deana Claessen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/deana-claessen_avatar-96x96.jpg","url":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/deana-claessen_avatar-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wp-admin-prod.qad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/deana-claessen_avatar-96x96.jpg","caption":"Deana Claessen"},"description":"Deana is a Marketing Manager at QAD\u2019s ChampionAI team. She focuses on bringing AI solutions for manufacturing to market, helping teams understand how AI can be applied to real workflows to reduce manual work and operate more efficiently.","url":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/author\/deana-claessen"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/227"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13404"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13407,"href":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13404\/revisions\/13407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}