Order automation is the process of automatically capturing, validating and recording customer orders in company systems, eliminating manual data entry and reducing the time between receiving the order and starting processing.
In many B2B companies, an order's cycle begins with an email, a message or an Excel file sent by the customer. That request is then read by an employee, validated manually, entered into the ERP and confirmed to the customer. When done manually, this process takes between 15 and 45 minutes per order and is prone to entry errors that affect the whole chain.
What order automation is
Order automation uses data extraction technology (OCR, natural language processing) and ERP integration to:
- Read and interpret the customer's order, regardless of format (email, PDF, Excel, portal).
- Automatically extract the order lines: references, quantities, prices, requested dates.
- Validate against the product catalogue, available stock and the customer's commercial terms.
- Create the order in the ERP without manual intervention.
- Send confirmation to the customer with the order details and expected delivery date.
The problem with manual processing
| Indicator | Manual process | With automation |
|---|---|---|
| Time per order | 15 to 45 minutes | 1 to 3 minutes |
| Error rate | 3 to 8% (references, quantities) | Below 0.5% |
| Time to confirmation | 2 to 8 hours | Less than 5 minutes |
| Daily capacity | Limited by headcount | Scalable without limits |
Errors in order processing propagate through the chain: a wrong reference results in incorrect production, a swapped quantity leads to returns, a mis-entered price affects invoicing. The real cost of each error goes far beyond the immediate correction.
Automated flow, step by step
- Multichannel reception. The system receives orders by email, customer portal, EDI or Excel file. They all converge into the same flow.
- Data extraction. Document intelligence technology extracts references, quantities, dates and terms.
- Automatic validation. The system checks: does the customer exist in the ERP? Are the references valid? Is there stock? Do the prices match what was agreed?
- Exception handling. If something doesn't match (unknown reference, different price), the system flags only that line for human review. Valid lines move forward.
- Creation in the ERP. The order is automatically created with all validated data.
- Confirmation to the customer. A confirmation email is sent with the order summary, order number and estimated delivery date.
Measurable benefits
- 80 to 95% reduction in processing time per order.
- Elimination of entry errors (references, quantities, prices).
- Customer confirmation in minutes instead of hours.
- Scalability: process 10 or 200 orders a day with the same resources.
- Full traceability: every processing step is recorded.
Case in point: an industrial components company with 80 to 120 daily orders reduced processing time from 25 minutes to 2 minutes per order. The error rate dropped from 6% to under 0.3%, and the backlog of pending orders was eliminated.
Integration with existing ERPs
Order automation works with the ERPs most widely used in Portugal:
- SAP: integration via APIs or IDOC files.
- PHC: direct integration with the database or via web services.
- Sage: integration via REST API or import files.
- Cegid Primavera: integration via web services or XML files.
Automation does not replace the ERP. It works as an intelligence layer that feeds the ERP with clean, validated data, eliminating the need for manual entry.
Where to start
- Analyse the order reception channels. Identify the formats (email, portal, EDI) and volume per channel.
- Map the required validations. What business rules apply to each order.
- Start with the highest-volume channel. Typically, emails with a PDF or Excel attachment account for 60 to 80% of orders.
- Measure results and expand. After automating the main channel, expand to the rest.
At Engibots, we help B2B companies automate the order cycle, designing solutions integrated with the existing ERP and adapted to each company's specific business rules.