Industries · Manufacturing
AI automation for manufacturers — on top of the ERP you already run
Mid-sized manufacturers run on their ERP, but the work around it still runs on email, PDFs and spreadsheets. Our agents take over the repetitive parts, with a person approving every change.
The problem
Where manufacturing teams lose the most hours.
Three workflows come up in almost every discovery call with manufacturers.
Purchase invoices keyed by hand
Raw materials, components, freight and services each arrive as separate invoices in different layouts. AP staff match them to purchase orders and goods receipts line by line, and every price or quantity difference turns into an email thread.
Production and stock questions
"Can we ship this order Friday?" depends on stock, open production orders and incoming purchases. Planners and sales staff spend hours pulling reports and asking each other instead of answering the customer.
Slow supplier onboarding
New suppliers send tax certificates, bank letters, quality certifications and insurance documents by email. Checking them and creating the vendor record takes days, and expired certificates slip through.
The agents
Agents that solve it, on top of your ERP.
The same agents, configured with your item master, tolerances, plants and approval rules.
Invoice Processing Agent
Matches supplier invoices to POs and goods receipts, including partial deliveries and freight, and flags variances with reasons.
Explore the agent →ERP Knowledge Agent
Answers stock, production-order and delivery questions in plain English, with the ERP records attached.
Explore the agent →Customer Onboarding Agent
Configured for suppliers: collects and checks documents, verifies bank details and prepares the vendor master for approval.
Explore the agent →Workflow example
A purchase invoice, from inbox to posted.
Illustrative example, based on a typical workflow. Not a client result.
- Supplier invoicePDF arrives in the AP inbox.
- AgentExtracts lines, matches PO and receipts, checks tolerances.
- AP approvalClean matches approved in a batch; exceptions reviewed.
- ERP postingInvoice posted with an audit entry.
A component supplier sends a 22-line invoice covering two partial deliveries against one purchase order. The agent reads every line, finds both goods receipts, and matches 20 lines exactly. One line has a price 1.8% above the PO, inside the tolerance. Another line was invoiced but not yet received.
The AP clerk sees a single card: 21 lines ready, one line held with a suggested action to post the rest and query the supplier. One approval posts the invoice through the ERP's normal interface. The supplier query is drafted and waiting.
On the production side, a planner asks the ERP Knowledge Agent, "Which open sales orders are at risk this week because of missing components?" The agent compares order due dates with stock, open production orders and expected receipts, and lists the six orders at risk with the component that is short for each.
Pilot plan
How an invoice-matching pilot runs at a manufacturer.
A fixed-scope, fixed-price pilot on your real data, live in 4–6 weeks.
Weeks 1–2: connect
Read-only access to purchase orders, goods receipts and the vendor master. We collect a sample of recent invoices from your top suppliers, including freight and service invoices.
Week 3: configure
Tolerances, plants, cost centers and approval limits are set from your rules. The agent learns the layouts of your highest-volume suppliers.
Weeks 4–5: shadow run
The agent matches every new invoice in parallel with your AP team. We compare results daily and fix any differences before posting is switched on.
Week 6: approve and post
Posting through your ERP's own interface is switched on, with approval on every invoice. We hand over the measures, the logs and the code.
What we need from you: a named AP owner, read access to your ERP's purchasing data, a sample of recent invoices and an hour a week from someone who knows your matching rules.
Results
What we will measure.
We baseline these numbers in discovery and report them during the pilot, on your own data.
Where manufacturers usually start
Most manufacturers start with invoice processing, because the volume is high, the rules are clear and the result is easy to measure. A pilot runs read-only first: the agent matches invoices and the AP team compares its work with their own, before any posting is switched on.
The ERP Knowledge Agent is the natural second step, because the same connection to the ERP is already in place. See how the AI layer connects and how we keep production and cost data secure.
Next step
Not sure which workflow to start with?
The ERP AI Readiness Scorecard takes three minutes and recommends the three agents that fit your answers.
FAQ
Common questions.
Does this work with an older, customized manufacturing ERP?
Yes. We connect through APIs, database views, exports or controlled RPA, depending on what your ERP offers. Nothing is migrated.
Can the agents handle bills of materials and routings?
The ERP Knowledge Agent can read BOMs, routings and production orders to answer questions. Changes to them always need approval.
What about shop-floor data?
If machine or MES data is available in a database or API, the agent can include it in answers. We scope this in discovery.
How long before we see results?
A pilot on one workflow is live in 4–6 weeks, with results measured against the baseline we record in discovery.
Is our cost and pricing data safe?
Yes. You choose where the agents run, including fully on-premise, and access follows your existing ERP roles.
Works with leading ERPs, CRMs and helpdesks — cloud, hybrid or on-premise.
ERPCRMHelpdeskEmail inboxDocument storageDatabases & data warehousesCloud, hybrid or on-premiseSee an AI agent running on your ERP data in 4–6 weeks.
Fixed scope · fixed price. Human approval on every write. We reply within 1 US business day.