Ready for the right next step.
The operating challenge
An independent distributor receives purchase orders as PDF attachments, spreadsheets, and email text. Customer service staff identify the account, translate customer product codes, check units and pricing, and re-enter the order into an ERP. A small ambiguity can hold up the entire order.
The bottleneck is the handoff between an unstructured request and a structured order. Document extraction alone cannot decide whether a pack size is correct, a price is authorized, or a customer-specific part number matches the catalogue.
A workflow with a clear next step
01 / Receive and identify
Capture the source message and attachments. Verify the mailbox event, hash files, and create one durable job for each order reference.
02 / Extract the request
Read customer details, requested dates, product references, quantities, units, and prices into a defined schema. Preserve the original page and field evidence.
03 / Validate against the business
Match the customer and product catalogue. Use code to check quantities, unit conversions, totals, credit restrictions, and the current approved price list.
04 / Resolve exceptions
Present unmatched products, price variances, missing fields, and conflicting units to a customer service reviewer. Never silently substitute products.
05 / Create a draft
Write the reviewed order into an ERP draft or supported import. Use a unique external reference to prevent repeat creation.
06 / Confirm and reconcile
Read back the draft, compare expected line counts and totals, and record the handoff. An operator releases the order under the normal commercial policy.
Architecture & controls
An approved shared mailbox → document extraction → deterministic validation service → Postgres execution and review records → a supported ERP API or import. Existing EDI or ERP-native automation should be assessed before custom development.
- Only staff can approve price overrides, product substitutions, credit decisions, and shipment release.
- Customer and product mappings are versioned. Each approved correction retains the source, actor, and timestamp.
- A changed source document invalidates the previous approval. The ERP is re-read before any write.
- Failed writes enter a retry queue with bounded attempts. A reconciliation check catches jobs that were accepted but not confirmed.
When things do not go to plan
An unreadable scan, ambiguous unit, or unknown account stays in the review queue with its source attached. A temporary ERP outage preserves the job. A duplicate email resolves to the existing order rather than creating a second one.
The automation boundary: This design prepares orders. It does not authorize credit, set prices, substitute products, or release shipments.
Evaluation, before expansion
Evaluate at least 100 representative historical orders, including mixed units, revised orders, multiline descriptions, unknown SKUs, tax differences, and duplicate messages. Review field-level errors with customer service. Start with draft-only operation and compare actual handling time with a measured baseline.
| Measure | What we measure | Proposed criterion |
|---|---|---|
| Handling time | Median minutes per eligible order | Target: 30% below the measured baseline |
| Critical field quality | Customer, SKU, quantity, unit, approved price | Agreed field-level threshold before release |
| Duplicate prevention | Replay the same order event | Gate: no duplicate ERP drafts in replay tests |
Targets are agreed with the process owner after measuring representative current work. A pilot also records error rates, review effort, operating cost, and exceptions. Released staff capacity is not automatically a cash saving.
Rollout & handover
Move through offline evaluation, shadow mode, and operator-assisted work before considering a limited automatic path. Each phase has a named owner, stop conditions, and a manual fallback. The approved scope determines the delivery schedule.
What the engagement would deliver
- Order-intake integration and field mapping
- Catalogue and pricing validation rules
- Exception review queue with source evidence
- ERP draft integration and replay controls
- Evaluation report, operating guide, and ownership handover
The final handover includes client-owned access, configuration or source, known limitations, evaluation cases, and recovery instructions. Third-party subscriptions and ongoing support are agreed separately.
Technical references
These sources inform design considerations. They do not validate a deployed Tern & Loom project or establish vendor partnership.
Microsoft Business Central: Sales Order Agent ↗
Research reviewed 20 October 2026.