Purchase order automation that keeps bar stock, castings and outside processing on schedule
For manufacturers whose buyers live in spreadsheets, vendor emails and the MRP suggestions screen. Reorder points and job demand become draft vendor POs, supplier confirmations are checked against what you ordered, late shipments are chased before the job waits, and invoices are prepped for three-way match. A buyer approves every PO.
- MRP suggestions turned into draft POs for approval
- Vendor confirmations checked for price and date changes
- Late material flagged against the job it will hold up
Why purchasing turns into firefighting
MRP suggests, a buyer retypes
The ERP knows a reorder point was crossed or a job needs 6061 bar, but turning that into a PO with the right supplier, price and cert requirement is still manual.
Confirmations change the deal quietly
The vendor's acknowledgment pushes the date two weeks and adds a surcharge. It's filed unread, and the problem surfaces when the material doesn't show up.
Late material is found at the machine
Nobody connects an overdue plating or heat treat PO to the job it's holding until the operator goes looking for parts.
What the purchasing automation does
From demand signal to paid invoice, with buyers and AP approving every commitment and every payment.
Draft POs from demand
MRP suggestions, reorder points and job material requirements become draft POs with preferred supplier, last price, lead time and required certs filled in.
Vendor confirmation check
Acknowledgments by email, portal or EDI 855 are compared with the PO for price, quantity, date and terms. Any change is flagged for the buyer.
Late-shipment chasing
Open lines past due, or due soon without a tracking number, get a chase email drafted to the supplier and a note on the affected job.
Job impact view
Each late line is tied to the work order or sales order it feeds, so the buyer chases the ones that will stop the floor first.
Cert and receiving check
Mill test reports and certs of conformance received with material are matched to the PO line and heat or lot number, with gaps flagged for receiving.
Three-way match prep
Supplier invoices are matched to the PO and receipt, with price and quantity variances flagged for AP before anything is paid.
Works with your ERP and supplier channels
NetSuite and Acumatica
Purchase orders, item receipts and vendor bills through their official APIs.
Epicor Kinetic, Prophet 21 and SAP Business One
PO suggestions, POs and receipts through each system's REST services or Service Layer.
JobBOSS², E2 Shop, Global Shop Solutions and Plex
Open POs and job material read through APIs where offered, or scheduled exports where not.
QuickBooks and supplier email
QuickBooks POs and bills through its API, and vendor email through Microsoft Graph or Gmail.
Vendor invoice processing
Invoice capture that feeds three-way match.
A vendor acknowledgment agent
Checks each acknowledgment against the PO line it answers.
Why buyers keep control
A buyer approves every PO
Drafts are prepared, not placed. No PO goes to a supplier and no invoice is paid without a person approving it.
Cert traceability for quality systems
AS9100 and many customer flowdowns require material traceability. Matching certs to heat or lot numbers at receiving keeps that record together.
Controlled drawings stay controlled
When a PO to an outside processor includes ITAR or CUI drawings, the automation routes it to a buyer instead of sending it through any unapproved system.
Supplier quirks get written down
The vendor who confirms by phone, the one who ships partials. We add those rules at each monthly review, and the code stays with you.
“He got me 9 sales in my first 7 days of launching our campaign, which exceeded my expectations!”
Common questions
What is purchase order automation?
Software that turns MRP and reorder demand into draft vendor POs, checks supplier confirmations against them, chases late lines and prepares invoices for three-way match, with buyers approving each step.
Will it place POs with suppliers on its own?
No. It drafts them with supplier, price and dates filled in. A buyer approves and sends.
How does it know which late shipments matter most?
It links each open PO line to the work order or sales order it supplies and ranks by the date that job needs the material.
What if the vendor's confirmation shows a new price?
The change is flagged with the PO price, the confirmed price and the difference. The buyer decides whether to accept, negotiate or switch suppliers.
Can it chase outside processors like platers and heat treaters?
Yes. Outside processing POs are treated like any other line, with the extra step of tying them to the job operation that's waiting.
Does it handle blanket POs with suppliers?
Yes. Releases against supplier blankets are drafted from demand and checked against remaining quantity and the agreed price.
Find the late PO before the job stalls
Take the 2-minute AI audit to see where your purchasing loses the most time.
- Review six months of POs and late receipts
We find which suppliers, commodities and outside processes run late most often and what that cost in expedites and idle jobs.
- Set the buyer's rules
Preferred suppliers, price tolerance, minimum lead time, required certs per material. Your buyers decide the rules the drafts follow.
- Start with chasing and confirmation checks
These read and flag without committing money, so they go live first while buyers review every draft chase email.
- Add draft POs and match prep, tune monthly
Once flags are reliable, draft POs and three-way match prep follow. Every month we review supplier changes and missed flags.