How AI Is Revolutionizing Specification Comparison in Sales, Project Management, and Production
Value Creation Time Instead of Format Stress – How AI Is Revolutionizing Specification Comparison in Sales, Project Management, and Production
Summary (TL;DR):
- Problem: High administrative effort in manually comparing specifications (URS, technical requirements)
- Solution: AI tools enable automated, semantically intelligent document comparison
- Benefit: Lower error rate, time savings, faster processes, more efficient handovers between departments
- Application: Use in sales, project management, and production – with measurable productivity gains across the entire value chain
- Blue Ocean Shift: Employees gain freedom for creative, strategic tasks – so-called “Blue Ocean Jobs”
Introduction: Administrative burden or productive value creation?
In technical sales, I’ve repeatedly encountered situations labeled as “strategically relevant,” but that felt more like administrative busywork: manually reading and comparing specifications, especially User Requirement Specifications (URS). Hours were spent juggling PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, and Word documents—without winning new customers, developing project ideas, or planning production capacities. Even worse: these processes are error-prone, expensive, and create an unhealthy dependency on a few knowledge holders.
Core Problems in Specification Comparison
- Time loss: Long processing times due to manual reading, comparison, and interpretation
- Cost factor: Highly qualified staff spend valuable time on routine tasks
- Error-proneness: Incorrect offers, renegotiations, project delays, production errors
- Silo knowledge: Dependence on individuals with deep specification knowledge
- Inefficient formats: Lack of standardization, media breaks, and data silos
AI Solution: Automated, Semantic Comparison of URS and Technical Specifications
Modern AI tools don’t just capture requirements as text—they understand them semantically. This means: whether it’s “must be fulfilled” or “supplier ensures,” the AI detects the same meaning. Requirements from PDFs, Excel, or Word can be automatically compared with internal technical specifications—even when phrased differently. This significantly reduces misunderstandings between sales, project management, and production.
Overview of AI Solutions:
| Tool | Provider | Strengths & Functions | Features & Formats |
|---|---|---|---|
| ReqMan | engineering methods AG | Analyzes 1,500 requirements in 42 seconds, collaboration tools, status tracking | Used by Körber; REST API; IBM DOORS interfaces |
| semantha | thingsTHINKING GmbH | Semantic analysis, hotspot detection, context-aware comparisons, export to Excel/PDF | Supports PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, ReqIF, XML, ZIP |
| AI Agent | Elunic AG | Automated quote creation, standards check, risk alerts | Customized platform, ERP/PLM integration |
| WinDCS | WinWire Technologies | Scalable LLM comparison, semantic similarity detection, cross-device | Used in life sciences (e.g., Veeva Vault, RIM) |
| Accuris Smart Compare | Accuris / Engineering Workbench | Document DNA analysis, visual differences, synchronized navigation | Side-by-side comparison, part of AI-based platform |
| AI Builder GPT Prompt | Microsoft / Power Platform | Automated extraction of key-value pairs and tables, adaptable to PDF, Word, Excel | No model training needed, ~92.65% accuracy in tests |
| Generative AI for Spec Creation | Various providers | Specification automation, error prevention, quality assurance | Variant suggestions, traceability, collaboration |
| Cursor (AI Code Assistant) | Cursor | Context-based chat for documents, semantic search across files | Originally for code, applicable to technical documents |
Business Benefits Across the Entire Value Chain:
- Faster project evaluation & quotation phase
- More efficient handovers between sales, PM & production
- Reduced error rates & workflow risks
- Less dependence on individuals
- Faster onboarding of new team members
- Direct integration with existing tools (ERP, DOORS, etc.)
Study Data Confirm the Need:
- Up to 3% manual corrections in ERP processes cost large companies hundreds of thousands per month
- Change costs rise exponentially over the project lifecycle
- 30% underestimation of effort according to empirical studies
- Key issues in requirements engineering: incompleteness, inconsistency, lack of traceability
New Tasks Enabled by AI
When AI takes over specification comparison, new opportunities arise across all areas for productive activities:
- Sales: Customer communication, lead qualification, offer development
- Project Management: Coordination, risk management, interface control
- Production: Faster implementation, clarity in requirements, quality assurance
Conclusion: Reclaiming Productive Time
With AI, administrative overhead turns back into real value creation. The tools provide tangible, immediately usable relief—and create room for what truly drives businesses forward: understanding customers, managing projects, executing products. At the same time, task focus shifts to so-called “Blue Ocean Jobs”—new, highly value-creating activities previously blocked by administrative burdens. These include identifying further automation potential, creatively redesigning processes, and actively driving innovation at the intersection of technology, customer needs, and internal efficiency. The time for manual comparisons is over. Now it’s time for consistently productive, forward-looking value creation.
Anforderungsmanagement automatisiert ReqMan ® –
ReqMan Referenzen ® – Angebotserstellung in Rekordzeit
Lastenheft Prüfung mit KI – Lastenhefte schnell und präzise analysieren
Specification Reader | Rep Order Management
Drafted using AI tools, then finalized with human oversight
