Operations & inventory
Emailed purchase order to confirmed sales order
A customer's PDF purchase order is read, checked against stock and their agreed prices, and entered as a sales order with a confirmation ready to send.
Starts when
A purchase order arrives by email.
What happens
- Read the customer, ship-to address, part numbers, quantities and requested dates
- Translate the customer's part numbers to yours
- Check stock, lead times and the customer's contract prices
- Draft the sales order and a confirmation that states any backorders
In more detail
An automation like this reads purchase orders that customers email as PDFs. It pulls out the customer, PO number, ship-to address, part numbers, quantities, prices and requested dates. It translates the customer's part numbers to the firm's own, then checks stock, lead times and the customer's agreed prices from the ERP or price list. It drafts a sales order and an order acknowledgement that states any backorders or price differences. Customer service sees the draft beside the original PDF, with every mismatch marked, and decides what to accept. A person enters or posts the order and sends the acknowledgement. Nothing goes to the ERP or the customer on its own. To work, the business needs a part-number cross-reference, current contract prices, and read access to inventory. Fenrir Labs could design it to run on the firm's own computer, which matters when orders include defense or export-controlled work.
You stay in control
Customer service reviews price and date discrepancies before the order is released.
Connects to
- Email
- ERP
- Inventory
- Price agreements
Questions we would ask you
- How many POs a day arrive by email, by EDI and by phone? How many distinct customer formats make up 80% of email volume?
- Do you keep a customer part-number cross-reference? Where?
- Where do contract prices live, and how often are they wrong on incoming POs?
- Which ERP and version, cloud or on-premise, and do you have API access (licence, admin)?
- What does an acknowledgement contain today, and who wrote the terms on it?
Discuss this further with the Live Agent
Sales & leads
Quote requests answered the same hour
A request for quotation is matched to your catalog, priced at the customer's tier with current availability, and returned as a formal quote.
Starts when
A quote request arrives by email or web form.
What happens
- Identify the items, including vague descriptions and competitor part numbers
- Suggest equivalents where you do not carry the exact item
- Price at the customer's tier and volume breaks
- Draft the quote with availability and validity dates
In more detail
An automation like this reads quote requests that arrive by email or web form, including vague descriptions and competitor part numbers. It finds matching items in the firm's catalog, suggests equivalents when the exact item is not stocked, and prices each line at the customer's tier and volume breaks using the firm's own price rules. It adds current availability and a validity date and drafts a formal quote. A salesperson reviews it, approves any substitutions, special prices or large totals, and sends it. Prices come from the firm's price tables, not from the AI. It works best for distributors and catalog manufacturers with a clean item master. Shops quoting machined parts from drawings are better served by dedicated quoting software. Fenrir Labs could design it to run on the firm's own computer so price lists stay in house.
You stay in control
Sales approves substitutions, special pricing and quotes above a set value.
Connects to
- Email
- Product catalog
- ERP
- CRM
Questions we would ask you
- How many quote requests a week, and what share are exact part numbers versus descriptions or competitor numbers?
- How long does a typical quote take today, and where does the time go?
- Where do price tiers, contract prices and quantity breaks live?
- Is there a competitor cross-reference, and who maintains it?
- Who may approve substitutions and below-floor prices?
Discuss this further with the Live Agent
Operations & inventory
Late-shipment watch on open purchase orders
Supplier confirmations and shipping notices are read as they arrive. You hear about a slipping delivery, and which customer orders it affects, the day it slips.
Starts when
A supplier email arrives, or a confirmation is overdue.
What happens
- Match each supplier message to its purchase order
- Update promised dates and quantities
- Chase suppliers who have not confirmed
- List the customer orders and production jobs affected by any delay
In more detail
An automation like this watches the purchasing inbox. It reads supplier confirmations, date changes, partial-shipment notices and tracking emails, matches each to the open purchase order, and compares the promised date and price with what the firm needs. When a delivery slips, it lists the customer orders and production jobs that depend on that material, using the ERP's open orders and job requirements. It also keeps a list of purchase orders nobody has confirmed and drafts polite chase emails. The buyer reviews every flag, updates dates in the ERP, sends the chases, and decides whether to expedite, re-source or warn customers. Nothing is sent or changed automatically. It needs a shared purchasing inbox, need-by dates on purchase orders, and an export of open orders. Fenrir Labs could design it to run on the firm's own computer.
You stay in control
The buyer decides whether to expedite, re-source or notify customers.
Connects to
- Email
- ERP
- Production schedule
Questions we would ask you
- How many open PO lines at a time, and how many suppliers?
- What share of suppliers confirm by email, by EDI, by portal, or not at all?
- Do your POs carry need-by dates, and does the ERP keep pegging to sales orders and jobs?
- Who updates promised dates in the ERP today, and how far behind is it?
- How do you find out about a slip now: the supplier, the receiving dock, or the customer?
Discuss this further with the Live Agent
Documents & compliance
Material certificates matched to lots
Incoming certificates are read, checked against the specification on the purchase order and attached to the lot, so the paperwork for any shipment is one click away.
Starts when
A material certificate is received with a delivery.
What happens
- Read the heat or lot number, grade and test results
- Compare the results with the specification you ordered to
- Attach the certificate to the lot in inventory
- Assemble the certificate package when that lot ships to a customer
In more detail
An automation like this reads the material certificates that arrive with deliveries, such as mill test reports and certificates of conformance, whether scanned at receiving or emailed by the supplier. It pulls out the heat or lot number, grade, specification, chemistry and test results. It compares them with the purchase order requirements and the firm's own specification limits, and files the certificate against the right lot. When that lot ships, it gathers the certificates into one package. Quality reviews every certificate that fails, is missing values or cannot be read clearly, and only a person accepts material. The business needs heat or lot numbers recorded on receipt and a specification table kept by quality. Scanned certificates vary a lot, so accuracy has to be tested on the firm's own documents first. Fenrir Labs could design it to run on the firm's own computer.
You stay in control
Quality reviews any certificate that does not meet the specification.
Connects to
- Scanner
- ERP
- Quality records
- Document storage
Questions we would ask you
- How many certificates per week, from how many suppliers, and in what form (email PDF, paper, portal)?
- Do you record heat or lot numbers on receipt today? In the ERP or on paper?
- Do you have a specification table, or does quality check certs against the spec book by eye?
- Which customers require certificate packages with shipments, and in what format?
- Are you AS9100, ISO 9001, or under any customer quality flow-down? What retention do they require?
Discuss this further with the Live Agent
Finance & billing
Receivables follow-up with context
Overdue invoices are chased with messages that reflect the customer's history, open disputes and promised payment dates, and stubborn accounts are escalated.
Starts when
An invoice passes its due date.
What happens
- Check for open disputes, credits and prior promises to pay
- Draft a reminder suited to the customer and how late the invoice is
- Record replies and promised dates against the invoice
- Escalate accounts that break a promise or cross your credit limit
In more detail
An automation like this reads the receivables aging each morning and, for each overdue invoice, gathers the context: open disputes, credits, past promises to pay, payment history and recent emails with the customer's accounts-payable team. It drafts a reminder that fits how late the invoice is and what has already been said, attaching the invoice and proof of delivery where useful. Disputed invoices are left out of the chase and routed to whoever owns the dispute. Replies are read and promised dates are logged, and accounts that break a promise or go over their credit limit are flagged. The AR clerk sends routine reminders after review, and the controller approves credit holds and anything going to key accounts. Nothing is sent automatically. It needs an AR export, the AR mailbox, and a written collection policy. Fenrir Labs could design it to run on the firm's own computer.
You stay in control
The controller approves credit holds and messages to key accounts.
Connects to
Questions we would ask you
- How many open invoices and active customers? How many past due on a typical day?
- Who chases today, how often, and by email, phone or portal?
- Where are disputes and promises recorded, if anywhere?
- Which customers require portal invoicing?
- What is your written collection policy, and who approves credit holds?
Discuss this further with the Live Agent
Documents & compliance
Shipping documents generated with the order
Bills of lading, packing lists, labels and export paperwork are produced from the order and the packed contents, in each carrier's and customer's format.
Starts when
An order is packed.
What happens
- Gather weights, dimensions, freight class and hazard information
- Produce the packing list and bill of lading
- Prepare the commercial invoice and export declarations for international orders
- Request the carrier pickup and send tracking to the customer
In more detail
An automation like this builds shipping paperwork when an order is packed. It takes the packed contents, weights and dimensions from the pack station and the freight class, export codes and hazard data from the item master. It produces the packing list and bill of lading, prepares the commercial invoice and export data for international orders, requests the label or pickup, and drafts the tracking email. Shipping checks the first document of each new type and every hazardous or export shipment, and a trained person signs hazmat papers and approves export filings. The regulated fields come from the firm's own item data, never from AI. Shipping software such as ShipStation already handles labels and rates well, so a custom build fits mainly as glue: finding gaps in item data, export pre-checks and certificate packages. Fenrir Labs could help design that glue.
You stay in control
Shipping checks the first of each new document type and all hazardous or export shipments.
Connects to
- ERP
- Warehouse scales
- Carrier portals
- Email
Questions we would ask you
- How many shipments a day, split by parcel, LTL and international?
- Which carriers and which shipping software do you use now?
- How complete is your item master for weights, dimensions, freight class and export codes?
- Do you ship hazardous materials? Who is trained and signs the papers?
- Who handles export filings today: your staff or a forwarder? Any ITAR or controlled items?
Discuss this further with the Live Agent
Operations & inventory
Work orders from operator reports
An operator describes a machine problem by voice or photo. A work order is created with the machine's history, the likely parts and a slot in the maintenance plan.
Starts when
An operator reports a fault from the floor.
What happens
- Identify the machine and describe the fault in standard terms
- Attach past repairs for the same symptom
- Check spare parts stock for the likely fix
- Create the work order and propose when to do it around the production schedule
In more detail
An automation like this lets a machine operator report a problem by a short voice note or photo on a shop phone, after scanning a code on the machine. It transcribes the note, describes the fault in standard terms, pulls past repairs for the same machine and symptom, checks spare parts for the likely fix, and drafts a work order with a suggested time that fits the production schedule. The maintenance lead reviews it, sets priority, assigns the work and creates it in the maintenance system. Anything that sounds like a safety issue goes straight to the lead. The tool never marks lockout/tagout steps done or says a machine is safe. It needs labelled machines, a maintenance log or CMMS, and phones on the floor. Many CMMS products put their API on upper plans. Fenrir Labs could design the voice front end to run on the firm's own computer.
You stay in control
The maintenance lead sets priority and assigns the work.
Connects to
- Mobile phone
- Maintenance records
- Spare parts inventory
- Production schedule
Questions we would ask you
- How do operators report problems today, and how often are reports incomplete?
- Do you have a CMMS? Which plan? If not, where are repairs recorded?
- Are machines labelled with IDs, and is there a spare-parts list per machine?
- Is there Wi-Fi on the floor, and are phones allowed?
- Who sets maintenance priority, and how do they see the production schedule?
Discuss this further with the Live Agent
Customer service
Order status answered without interrupting the warehouse
Customers asking where their order is get an accurate answer from the order, pick status and carrier tracking, by email, phone menu or portal.
Starts when
A customer asks about an order.
What happens
- Identify the customer and the order they mean
- Check production, pick, ship and tracking status
- Reply with the current status and expected delivery
- Route delays and damage claims to customer service with the details gathered
In more detail
An automation like this reads customer questions about where their order is, starting with email. It works out which customer and which order they mean from a PO number, order number or part number, then checks the order's real status in the ERP: in production, picked, packed or shipped, plus the carrier's tracking. It drafts a short reply with the expected delivery date taken from the carrier or the schedule. Delays, damage, short shipments and anything unclear go to customer service with the facts already gathered, and no customer draft is made. Customer service reviews and sends replies. Nothing goes out automatically unless the owner later chooses that for simple cases. It needs tracking numbers and ship status recorded in the ERP during the day. If the firm ships mostly parcels, turning on its shipping software's tracking emails may solve much of this first. Fenrir Labs could design the rest.
You stay in control
You decide which answers go out directly; exceptions always reach a person.
Connects to
- Email
- ERP
- Carrier tracking
- Customer portal
Questions we would ask you
- How many status questions a day, and by which channel (email, phone, portal)?
- How long does a typical answer take, and who gets interrupted?
- Are tracking numbers recorded against orders in the ERP?
- How current is pick/pack/ship status during the day?
- For job shops: do you track which operation a job is on?
Discuss this further with the Live Agent
