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Matching & memory

It reads “500′ #12 GRN” the way your counter does.

Contractors don’t write catalog descriptions. Goodshed reads their shorthand into gauge, insulation, trade size, amps and poles, finds the items in your catalog that fit, and remembers what your team chose the last time someone wrote the same words.

Gauge & insulationTrade size & conduitYour team’s past choicesHard-attribute checks

Open any line and the whole decision is there.

Line 3 of RQ-0142 says “500′ #12 GRN”. Goodshed read a gauge and a color, found four green candidates in Northline’s catalog, and chose the 500′ spool of THHN — because line 2 of the same list asked for THHN. The #10 made the shortlist but could never resolve on its own: its gauge disagrees.

Request · received Sep 22, 7:12 AM from the inbox

RQ-0142ABC ElectricReview 2

Lakeview Hospital Ph 2 · “Can you price the attached by Thursday?”

  1. 1 · 20 EA

    QO 30A 2P

    series=QOamps=30poles=2

    118204 · Square D QO230 · QO 2-pole 30A plug-on

    EA · $17.85 · 84 on hand

    Exact match on part number QO230 (Square D).

    Resolved
    High
  2. 2 · 2,000 FT

    #12 THHN BLK

    gauge=12insulation=THHNcolor=BLACK

    402117 · #12 THHN/THWN-2 stranded, black · 2,500′ reel

    FT · $0.21/ft · 11 reels on hand

    Your team chose 402117 for these exact words for ABC Electric before — 6 times.

    Resolved

    from your team’s memory

    High
  3. 3 · 500 FT

    #12 GRN

    gauge=12color=GREEN

    402121 · #12 THHN/THWN-2 stranded, green · 500′ spool

    FT · $0.22/ft · 23 spools on hand

    Gauge and color agree. Insulation isn’t stated; THHN matches line 2 of the same list.

    Resolved
    High

    1. 402121search

      #12 THHN/THWN-2 stranded, green · 500′ spool

      FT · $0.22/ft · 23 spools on hand

      gauge=12color=GREEN

      Gauge and color agree. Insulation isn’t stated; THHN matches line 2 of the same list, and a 500′ spool covers the quantity.

    2. 402129search

      #12 THHN/THWN-2 stranded, green · 2,500′ reel

      FT · $0.20/ft · 6 reels on hand

      gauge=12color=GREEN

      The same wire on a 2,500′ reel — far more than the 500′ asked for.

    3. 402321search

      #12 XHHW-2 stranded, green · 500′ spool

      FT · $0.27/ft · 8 spools on hand

      gauge=12color=GREEN

      Gauge and color agree, but the rest of the list is THHN.

    4. 402021search

      #10 THHN/THWN-2 stranded, green · 500′ spool

      FT · $0.33/ft · 14 spools on hand

      gauge=10 (asked 12)color=GREEN

      #10, not #12. A gauge conflict can’t be resolved automatically.

  4. 4 · 40 EA

    3/4 EMT SS CONN

    trade size=3/4conduit=EMT

    230145 · 3/4″ EMT set-screw connector, steel

    EA · $0.64 · 1,240 on hand

    Trade size, conduit type and fitting style all agree with the catalog item.

    Resolved
    High
  5. 5 · 45 EA

    4S COVERS — SAME AS HOSPITAL

    box=4SQpart=COVERrefers to an earlier job

    No item chosen · 3 candidates

    “Same as hospital” points to an earlier job, so a person picks the cover. Three candidates are ready.

    Review
    Medium
  6. 6 · 12 EA

    20A GFCI RECEPT WHITE OR EQUAL

    device=GFCIamps=20color=WHITEallows an equal

    40-3105 · 20A 125V self-test GFCI receptacle, white

    EA · $16.40 · 36 on hand

    The request allows an equal, so a person confirms the brand before it is quoted.

    Review
    High
  7. 7 · 30 EA

    4 SQ BOX 2-1/8 DEEP 1/2 KO

    box=4SQpart=BOX

    52151 · 4″ square box, 2-1/8″ deep, 1/2″ KOs

    EA · $2.18 · 412 on hand

    Box size and type agree; depth and knockouts match the catalog description.

    Resolved
    High
  8. 8 · 6 EA

    HBL5362W

    part number HBL5362W

    40-1177 · Hubbell HBL5362W · 20A 125V duplex, white

    EA · $9.62 · 54 on hand

    Exact match on part number HBL5362W (Hubbell).

    Resolved
    High
  9. 9 · 200 FT

    1/2 LFMC

    trade size=1/2conduit=LFMC

    311020 · 1/2″ liquidtight flexible metal conduit, 100′ coil

    FT · $1.34/ft · 9 coils on hand

    Trade size and conduit type agree; sold by the coil, so 2 coils cover 200′.

    Resolved
    High

Illustrative data. Line 3 is open; every other line opens the same way.

  1. 01

    Read

    The parser pulls gauge, color, trade size and the rest out of the customer’s words — the same way every time, with no AI involved.

  2. 02

    Shortlist

    Up to ten items from your catalog, found by part number, prefix or full-text search, then re-scored by how well their attributes agree.

  3. 03

    Choose

    Your team’s earlier choice or an exact part number settles it. Otherwise the AI picks from the shortlist, and only from the shortlist, with a reason.

  4. 04

    Check

    Rules in code, not the AI, have the last word: a hard-attribute conflict, less than High confidence, “or equal” wording or a unit mismatch sends the line to Review.

Matching that knows what a trade size is.

Most search treats “3/4” as a fraction and “4S” as a typo. Goodshed treats them as what they are in electrical distribution.

Reads the way contractors write

“#12”, “12 AWG” and “12 GA” are the same gauge. “1-1/4 RIGID” is rigid metal conduit. “1 1/4”, “1-1/4” and 1-1/4″ are one trade size, with or without the inch mark. “SQUARE D HOMELINE 20A 1P” is a HOM breaker, 20 amps, one pole.

The same reading runs over your catalog

When your catalog is imported, every item description goes through the same parser. So “#12 THHN blk str” from a contractor and “WIRE THHN 12 AWG STRANDED BLACK” from your ERP reduce to the same four attributes — and can be compared directly.

Some attributes can’t be argued with

Gauge, amps, poles, trade size and kVA are hard attributes: they count double when candidates are ranked, and a conflict on any of them blocks the line from resolving automatically. A #10 is never quietly quoted for a #12.

It remembers what your team chose

When a rep picks an item with “Use this item”, Goodshed remembers those exact words and that item — for that customer and in general — and counts how often. Next time the same words arrive, the line resolves from memory before any AI is asked, and says so.

How a line is decided, in order.

The cheapest, most certain answer is tried first. The AI only sees a line when nothing more certain settled it, and even then it can only choose from your catalog.

  • Memory is checked first: a choice made for this customer, then one made for everyone. It wins even over an exact part number, because your team may stock a house equivalent on purpose. Lines that say “or equal” or “same as last job” still go to a person.

  • If the line carries a part number or SKU that matches exactly one catalog item and no hard attribute disagrees, the line is decided right there — Resolved, or Review if something softer, like a color, doesn’t match. No model is called.

  • Every line gets a shortlist: candidates by part number or SKU, then by part-number prefix, then by full-text search over your catalog, re-scored by attribute agreement with hard attributes counting double. When memory or an exact number hasn’t settled the line, this list is all the AI can choose from.

  • The AI (Claude) sees the line, the request’s context and the shortlist — nothing else to pick from. It must name a candidate, a status, a High, Medium or Low confidence, and a reason. A named item that isn’t on the list is ignored.

  • Resolved without High confidence becomes Review. Resolved against a hard attribute becomes Review. “Or equal”, “equiv”, “same as last job”, “as before” and “previous” always go to a person. A request in feet against an item sold by the each is flagged too.

What the parser reads.

A deterministic reader for electrical product language: regular rules over the text, the same answer every time. It reads what was written — it does not judge suitability.

Wire & cable

Gauge from #14 through 4/0 and kcmil sizes like 250 KCMIL; insulation and cable types such as THHN/THWN-2, XHHW, NM, MC, SER and SO; solid or stranded; and color, including BLK, WHT, GRN and RD.

Conduit & fittings

Trade sizes written as 3/4, 1-1/4 or 1 1/4, with or without the inch mark, and conduit types EMT, IMC, rigid (RMC), PVC, FMC, LFMC and ENT.

Breakers & voltage

Amps and poles in any order, breaker series such as QO and HOM, and brands like Square D. Voltages such as 120/240 and 277/480 are read too.

Boxes, covers & rings

4S, 4 SQ and 4″ square are one box family; 4-11/16 is another. And it tells the box from the cover from the mud ring, so a 4-square cover and a 4-square box never read as the same thing.

Wiring devices

GFCIs, duplex receptacles and switches, with amps, voltage, color, spec or hospital grade (HG), and features such as tamper-resistant (TR) or weather-resistant (WR). Part numbers like HBL5362W are pulled out for the exact-match step.

Power & lighting

kVA on transformers; watts, lumens and color temperature in kelvin on fixtures; NEMA enclosure types such as 3R and 4X on panels and enclosures.

Against the way it’s done today.

Compared with an experienced rep matching by hand, and with pasting the list into a general-purpose AI chat.

GoodshedBy handGeneric AI chat
Reads electrical shorthand (#12, 4S, 3/4 EMT SS CONN)
Chooses only items that are in your catalog
Same words, same reading, every timeDepends on who’s at the counter
A gauge, amp, pole or trade-size conflict can’t resolve automatically
Remembers what your team chose for a customer’s wordingIn one rep’s head
“Or equal” never becomes a silent substitution
The reason for each match, in writing

Questions about matching and memory

Does Goodshed guess when a line is unclear?
No. If nothing in your catalog fits well enough, the line is Unresolved and says so. If several items fit, or the fit comes with a caveat, it goes to Review with the candidates attached. A line is only Resolved with High confidence and no conflict on a hard attribute.
Can the AI suggest a part that isn’t in our catalog?
No. It only ever chooses from the shortlist drawn from your catalog. If it names anything else, that answer is ignored and the line is not resolved.
What exactly does the memory remember?
The customer’s exact wording — uppercased, with extra spaces and trailing punctuation ignored — and the item your team chose for it, once for that customer and once for everyone. Anything looser would let one correction spill onto lines that only look alike. The line then tells you: “Your team chose 402117 for this exact wording before for this customer — 6 times.”
What if a rep teaches it the wrong item?
Choose the right item next time and the newest choice replaces the old one, with its count starting again. Only “Use this item” teaches the memory: marking a line “Needs review” doesn’t, so a doubted item is never learned.
Why doesn’t an exact part number always win?
It usually does, with no AI involved. But if your team has chosen something else for those exact words before — a house-stocked equivalent, say — that choice comes first. And an exact part-number match that disagrees on a hard attribute isn’t trusted on its own: the line goes through the shortlist and the checks like any other.
Does Goodshed check code compliance or whether parts are compatible?
No. The parser reads what was written and compares it with what your catalog says. It can surface a conflict — a #10 against a #12, a 20A against a 30A — and flag the line for review, but it makes no judgment about suitability, compatibility or code. That stays with your team.
How are competitor numbers and “or equal” handled?
A competitor’s number can bring your equivalent items onto the shortlist through search, but any line that allows an equal — “or equal”, “equiv”, “approved equal” — goes to a person to confirm. Nothing is substituted quietly.
Can we try it on our own past requests first?
Yes. Historical Tests run your past RFQs against the quotes your team actually sent, and those runs are kept out of the live desk. Historical Tests

The last quote your team retypes by hand.

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NextHistorical TestsRun past RFQs against the quotes your team actually sent.