Order processing: from 10 minutes to 27 seconds per order

The problem: hundreds of orders, dozens of formats

In wholesale, orders arrive by email, via portals, over EDI, and sometimes still as a PDF attachment of a handwritten form. Every channel has its own conventions, every customer its own references, and the team processing the orders has to collapse all of that into one sales order in the ERP.

For the customer we started with, that meant four FTE processing about 400 orders a day between them, averaging ten minutes per order. On peak days orders piled up, causing delivery delays and complaints. Hiring more people wasn't realistic, the labor market doesn't allow it, and the work requires product knowledge you don't build in a week.

What the AI coworker does

The AI coworker listens on the incoming mailboxes, recognizes orders (even when they sit between questions, complaints or internal correspondence), extracts the lines, validates against customer agreements and stock, and creates the sales order in the ERP. On doubt (an unknown item code, a price deviation, a reference it can't find) the system escalates with context to the right colleague.

Three principles drive the design:

• The AI coworker starts by watching, not acting. In the first weeks, every proposal is reviewed by someone on the team.
• Escalations come with all the relevant information, including a proposal. The person decides, the AI coworker executes and learns.
• Boundaries are explicit. Orders above a certain amount, new customers or special pricing agreements are sent for review by default, even when the system is confident.

The numbers after three months

After roughly 3.5 months in production the AI coworker had processed 5,397 orders. Average handling time: 27 seconds per order. Exception rate: below five percent. Human intervention: under ten percent of volume. The team didn't shrink; it was freed up for customer contact and account management, the work where the margin sits.

Why it worked

Three factors made the difference. One: native integration with Exact and Odoo. No middleware, no CSV export, no separate application. The AI coworker has the same access as a colleague and leaves the same auditable trail. Two: a small, experienced team on our side that went from kick-off to go-live in six weeks, not six months. Three: the colleague who used to handle orders stayed owner of the process. She saw every escalation, gave feedback, and built trust. Three months in, the same team asked if we could pick up invoice processing next.

What you need to do this

No new applications. No six-month discovery. A working integration with your ERP, a clear scope (one process, one customer segment), and a colleague who takes ownership. The rest we build together.