Beesley & Fildes has launched Otis — a fully autonomous AI agent that searches live stock, builds quotations, manages trade accounts and handles complaints around the clock.
Said to be “already converting at more than twice the industry baseline,” Otis has been developed in partnership with Optiflow Technologies and now live on the company’s ecommerce platform at beesleyandfildes.co.uk.
The North West builders’ merchant was originally founded in 1820 and, for more than two centuries, its trade expertise has been available during branch hours, on the end of a phone, from someone who knows the products. Now, that expertise is available every hour of every day — without a single call going unanswered.
However, the business is keen to stress that “Otis is not a chatbot.” It reasons across multiple steps to complete commercial tasks end to end — searching live inventory, generating multi-line quotations, processing trade account enquiries, managing complaints and integrating directly into the merchant’s CRM.
The result is said to be a platform that drives sales growth around the clock, converting website traffic into qualified leads and quotations at every hour of the day, including the hours no branch is open.
Commercial Director James Beesley said: “The merchant sector is evolving rapidly, and customers increasingly expect instant access to information, pricing and support at any time of day. Otis has been developed to support both our customers and our internal teams by improving response times, simplifying product discovery and helping customers complete projects more efficiently.
“This is not about replacing people. It is about enhancing customer service, supporting sales growth and using technology intelligently within a builders’ merchant environment.”
The platform has been trained specifically around builders’ merchant workflows and product categories, including timber, landscaping, bricks, aggregates, plumbing and building materials. Every customer interaction is captured and fed directly into the merchant’s CRM, ensuring no lead or complaint falls through the cracks.
Otis went live through a “deliberately controlled soft launch”. Within two weeks however, it was “already converting at more than twice the industry baseline — real customers, real quotations, real sales.” The platform is now fully live across the Beesley & Fildes ecommerce operation.
Chris Fagan, CEO of Optiflow Technologies, commented: “The builders’ merchant sector is one of the last industries where the majority of sales still depend on someone picking up the phone. Every missed call, every overnight email, every customer who couldn’t get a price and went elsewhere — that’s revenue walking out the door.
“Otis closes that gap. Every enquiry answered, every quote delivered, every sales opportunity captured, at any hour, without adding headcount.”
Chris added: “At Beesley and Fildes, it was already converting at more than twice the industry baseline within two weeks of going live — real customers, real quotes, real sales. For merchants who are serious about growth, that’s not a nice-to-have. It’s a competitive necessity.”
Optiflow Technologies is currently working with a select group of merchant partners and is actively expanding across the sector. Future development will extend the platform’s capabilities across procurement, customer operations and sales analytics — giving merchants a single intelligent layer across their entire business, not just their website.
Merchants interested in early access are encouraged to make contact directly at optiflowtechnologies.io
Otis is integrated directly into the Beesley & Fildes platform, meaning that customers can:
Search products using natural conversation and live inventory data
Calculate material quantities for construction projects — patios, driveways, walls, extensions
Generate multi-line quotations autonomously, without waiting for a callback
Receive tailored product recommendations and cross-sell suggestions based on their project
Access trade account information, order history and pricing instantly
Raise and track complaints with a consistent, professional response every time
Get support outside standard trading hours — including evenings, weekends and bank holidays
Optiflow Technologies is an agentic SaaS platform serving multiple sectors. Its AI agents enable businesses to automate sales, customer service and account management — integrating directly with existing CRM and ecommerce infrastructure to close the gap between customer expectation and digital capability.
The builders’ merchant and trade supply sector is one of a number of industries in which Optiflow is actively deploying its technology.
