Industrial buyers (ICP2) are closed today — do not approach them (page 15). But some will find you: a plant engineer replies to a forum post, a micro-optics maker emails the general address. You do not sell to them. You log them, so the pattern of demand becomes the evidence that tells the operator when to build the industrial path.
When an industrial inquiry arrives: thank them, say we are "not yet set up for in-plant deployment," ask which of the three gates below they need, and log it. Do not promise a timeline. Do not share product-defect detail. Do not start a pilot.
| Gate | What they need | Why it blocks |
|---|---|---|
| On-prem | The service runs inside their network; data never leaves the plant. | Most fabs cannot send images out at all. |
| Speed | A result inside their line's time budget. | We do not quote throughput; an in-line station needs a committed one. |
| Hardware | Ships with an acquisition station, not just an API. | They buy instruments, not endpoints. |
One row per inquiry, in the industrial-inquiry sheet (same store as the prospect log, separate tab):
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| date | 2026-10-14 |
| who (org + role, no PII beyond business contact) | ⟨fab⟩, process engineer |
| how they found us | forum reply / general inbox |
| gate(s) they named | on-prem + speed |
| their use in one line | inline defect height on ⟨part⟩ |
| status | logged — no approach |
Three or more rows naming the same gate is the signal the operator reviews: it is the demand evidence for building that path (e.g. shipping an on-prem container). You do not decide to build it; you make the case visible and hand it up.
Artifact when done: a current industrial-inquiry log; and, when any gate reaches three names, a one-line flag in the weekly report to the operator.
Buyer pages to pair with this page: industrial QA. Pipeline stages and KPIs: page 00.