Supplier Communications Agent
Monitors supplier communications, tracks PO status, and chases outstanding deliveries.
Handles supplier-facing procurement tasks across the purchase order lifecycle: triaging requisitions into POs or buying plans, chasing order confirmations and deliveries, matching inbound packing slips to PO lines, and keeping receipt records current in the ERP. Flags contract deviations on incoming confirmations and escalates unresolved exceptions to the responsible buyer.
- +25–40 pts
PO touchless rate
A quarter to nearly half of POs that used to need chasing and updating now flow through on their own.
Contacts suppliers for confirmations and delivery updates
Sends email chasers to supplier contacts when order confirmations or delivery updates are overdue, reads replies, and posts updated PO statuses back to the ERP.
Flags contract deviations on incoming confirmations
Checks each supplier confirmation against contract terms held in the ERP or contract repository and escalates non-compliant responses to the responsible buyer.
Matches packing slips to open PO lines
Reads inbound slips from email attachments, EDI feeds, or supplier portals, verifies quantities and part numbers against the corresponding PO, and writes confirmed receipt dates back to the ERP.
Splits partial deliveries and tracks the remainder
When a delivery covers only part of a PO line, splits the line into received and outstanding portions and queues a follow-up chase on the open balance.
Triages requisitions into POs or buying plans
Reviews each open purchase requisition against current stock levels, existing open POs, and consolidation opportunities across other requisitions, then either generates a PO directly in the ERP or escalates a buying plan to the responsible buyer.
- Trigger
Contacts suppliers for confirmations and delivery updates
Sends email chasers to supplier contacts when order confirmations or delivery updates are overdue, reads replies, and posts updated PO statuses back to the ERP.
- Step 1
Flags contract deviations on incoming confirmations
Checks each supplier confirmation against contract terms held in the ERP or contract repository and escalates non-compliant responses to the responsible buyer.
- Step 2
Matches packing slips to open PO lines
Reads inbound slips from email attachments, EDI feeds, or supplier portals, verifies quantities and part numbers against the corresponding PO, and writes confirmed receipt dates back to the ERP.
- Step 3
Splits partial deliveries and tracks the remainder
When a delivery covers only part of a PO line, splits the line into received and outstanding portions and queues a follow-up chase on the open balance.
- Resolution
Triages requisitions into POs or buying plans
Reviews each open purchase requisition against current stock levels, existing open POs, and consolidation opportunities across other requisitions, then either generates a PO directly in the ERP or escalates a buying plan to the responsible buyer.
Fewer POs slipping past due dates
so that delivery shortfalls are caught and chased before they delay production or create stockouts, reducing the cost of expediting and emergency sourcing.
Requisitions converted to POs without buyer keywork
so that buyers spend time on exceptions, negotiations, and supplier decisions rather than routine order creation and status follow-up.
Partial deliveries tracked and followed up automatically
so that open balances on split PO lines are not forgotten, working capital committed to outstanding orders is recovered on time, and receipt records in the ERP stay accurate.
- Read/write access to the ERP
- Connects to the ERP (e.g. Infor LN/M3/CloudSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365, IFS Cloud, or SAP S/4HANA) to read open POs, purchase requisitions, stock levels, and existing GR postings, and to write back receipt dates, split PO lines, updated delivery statuses, and generated POs. Without this connection the agent cannot track receipts, evaluate requisitions, or keep PO status current.
- Outbound and inbound email access
- Connects to the organisation's email platform (e.g. Microsoft Exchange / Outlook, Google Workspace Gmail) to send order confirmation requests and delivery chasers to suppliers and to read supplier replies. Without it the agent cannot perform any supplier-facing communication.
- Supplier master and contract data
- Reads supplier records and contract terms from the ERP or a dedicated contract repository (e.g. Infor LN supplier master, SAP Ariba contract store) to identify preferred suppliers per item, check confirmation lead times, and flag deviations from agreed terms. Missing contract data means the agent cannot detect non-compliant confirmations.
- Packing slip and document ingestion
- Receives inbound packing slips, typically via email attachment, EDI feed, or a supplier portal, so the agent can match slip contents against PO lines and verify quantities and part numbers. Without this feed, goods receipt tracking and partial delivery handling cannot function.