Bramvia — Business Central Experts
Many customers still order by email, PDF or spreadsheet, and someone retypes it into the ERP. How AI reads the order, turns it into a sales order and flags what doesn't add up.
Short answer: AI reads the order your customer emails (in the body, a PDF or a spreadsheet), recognizes the customer, items and quantities even when they use their own part numbers, and creates the sales order with real prices and stock. Your team only reviews what doesn't add up. At 400 orders a month and about 8 minutes per typed order, that is over 40 hours a month back.
Next step: try below how a customer email becomes a sales order, with the warnings it would raise.
The problem: orders retyped by hand
Large customers can send orders by EDI, but most still email or attach a PDF or spreadsheet with their own part numbers. Someone opens it, looks up each item, types quantities and dates and checks prices. It is slow, delays picking and is where service errors start.
How AI does it
- Reads the email and attachments, in whatever format the customer uses.
- Recognizes the customer and maps their part numbers to yours.
- Creates the sales order with price lists, discounts and delivery dates.
- Checks stock and credit: flags missing items or customers over their limit.
- Holds the doubtful ones for review: an unknown item or an unusual price.
What a person still does
Reviews flagged orders and confirms to the customer. Normal orders go straight to picking. For high-volume customers, the next step is EDI with retail chains.
In Business Central
Business Central includes a sales order agent that reads customer emails and prepares quotes and orders, complemented by your own rules for part numbers and formats. Everything stays in the ERP: the order, reserved stock and customer history.
A worked example
| Before | With AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Emailed orders a month | 400 | 400 |
| Minutes per order | 8 (typing and checking) | 1.5 (reviewing flags) |
| Hours a month | 53 | 10 |
| Time freed | 43 hours a month |
And the benefit that isn't in the table: orders land in minutes, not at the end of the day, so they are picked and shipped sooner. Fewer "where is my order?" calls and fewer part-number mistakes.
How to start
- Pick the 10 customers who email the most orders.
- Map their part numbers to yours.
- Automate them for a month and measure how many orders go through untouched.
- Expand to the rest.
FAQ
What if customers write orders any old way? AI handles free text, tables and attachments. What it can't read, it flags for review instead of guessing.
Does it replace EDI? No. EDI is still best for large customers; this covers everyone else.
How much time does it save? It depends on volume and how many orders go through untouched. Run your numbers in the AI hours calculator.
Related: accounts payable automation and credit control.
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