The scenario

Pat runs inside sales & sourcing at Apex Fastener & Fitting Co., an industrial distributor. A manufacturing customer sent an RFQ for a 15-line fastener kit — Apex sources it at cost, keeps the customer confidential, and quotes back on its own letterhead.

Step 1 of 14 — Buyer24 redacts the customer identity

Customer sends an RFQ — Buyer24 strips the customer identity automatically

Continental Engine Works emails Pat with a PDF spec. Pat just hits Forward — Buyer24 reads the PDF, detects the end-customer, and scrubs the identity before anything reaches a supplier. No manual redaction step.

① Customer's email — landed in Pat's inbox

Jordan Reyes

<jordan@continentalengine.com>

May 7, 2026, 9:44 AM

to pat@apexfastener.com

subject RFQ — Q2 shutdown fastener kit (15 lines)

Hi Pat,

We're prepping for our Q2 plant shutdown at Continental Engine Works in Fort Worth and need a fastener + fittings kit locked in before the crew starts. Please quote the attached list — stainless hex hardware for the engine line plus brass fittings for the lube circuit.

Net 30 terms. Ship-to:
Continental Engine Works
4400 Tanglewood Pkwy
Fort Worth, TX 76140

On-site by June 5, please.

Thanks,
Jordan Reyes
Maintenance Procurement
Continental Engine Works

continental-engine-q2-rfq.pdf180 KB · PDF

② Buyer24's auto-redaction — runs the moment Pat forwards

Buyer24 · intake processingAuto-redaction applied

Forwarded by pat@apexfastener.com

Original from jordan@continentalengine.com

Attachment continental-engine-q2-rfq.pdf (184 KB)

Customer identity detected

Company Continental Engine Works
Contact Jordan Reyes
Email jordan@continentalengine.com

Redacted before supplier dispatch

Customer company	Continental Engine Works	→	[REDACTED]
Customer contact	Jordan Reyes	→	[REDACTED]
Customer email	jordan@continentalengine.com	→	[REDACTED]
Ship-to line 1	Continental Engine Works	→	Customer plant
Ship-to line 2	4400 Tanglewood Pkwy	→	[address withheld until award]
Customer PDF	continental-engine-q2-rfq.pdf	→	not forwarded to suppliers — line items extracted into the email body instead

Carried through to suppliers

All 15 line items and specifications (parsed from the PDF)
Ship-to ZIP (76140) — suppliers need it for freight estimates
Target on-site date — June 5
Payment terms — Net 30 from Apex

Clean supplier brief ready · Apex is the buyer of record · customer never reaches the supplier pool

Behind the scenes

Pat does not manually redact anything. He hits Forward on the customer's email. Buyer24 receives the original on the rfq@buyer24.ai side, reads the attached PDF, detects the end-customer identity, and strips it before any supplier brief is drafted.
Customer's PDF stays on the Buyer24 side. The PDF Continental sent Pat is parsed for line items but is never forwarded to a supplier — supplier-facing emails carry the line items inline, so there's no chance the customer's letterhead leaks.
What stays vs. what gets redacted. Line-item specs, quantities, target date, ZIP code, and Apex's own payment terms pass through. The customer's company, contact, email, and street address are masked.
Replies route back to Pat. Every supplier reply goes to Pat — Apex is the buyer of record. Pat turns supplier quotes into a customer-facing proposal at the end of the flow.

Buyer24 acts as Apex's sourcing arm — the customer never sees Buyer24 or any supplier.