AI order automation
CiaoBob's AI order automation is an offering that takes on the incoming order cycle: it reads orders arriving by email and Excel in ever-changing formats, extracts the line items — customer, codes, quantities — normalizes them to your format and preps the entry in your ERP, leaving confirmation to a person. It removes manual retyping and transcription errors, without changing the ERP you already use.
01 What is AI order automation?
It is an offering that automates the repetitive part of order handling: it monitors the inbox where orders arrive, recognizes which messages and attachments contain an order, extracts the line items and normalizes them to your format, then preps the line to enter in your ERP. Nothing is recorded until a person confirms it.
It handles the fact that every customer writes differently — some include codes, some only a description, some attach a file, some write in the email body — mapping it all to the same schema. When a value is ambiguous or missing, it does not guess: it flags it and leaves the decision to the operator.
02 What does it actually do?
The offering covers the path from incoming email to a ready line in your ERP, leaving verification and confirmation to the sales desk. The main features:
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Order reading | Recognizes orders in the inbox and reads emails and Excel/CSV attachments |
| Line-item extraction | Pulls customer, product codes and quantities and normalizes them to your format |
| Exception flagging | Flags urgent, missing or inconsistent data instead of guessing |
| ERP prep | Preps the order line ready to confirm, without recording it on its own |
| Integration | Connects to your ERP via APIs or file import, without changing software |
03 Who is it for (and when is it not needed)?
It suits those who receive many orders in different formats and retype them by hand today: wholesale, distribution, manufacturing, food companies. It is one of the areas with the most immediate return, where the same order is read, interpreted and retyped several times, risking errors on codes and quantities.
It is not needed where orders are few or all different with no recurring rules: there automation costs more than it saves. And it does not decide what to ship or at what price: that stays with people. The diagnosis says whether it is worth it in your case.
04 How do you activate it?
You start with a free diagnosis: we analyze your order inbox, the formats you receive and your ERP, and tell you whether and how it is worth it. From there we define the scope, connect the automation to the inbox and the ERP, and verify it on a set of real orders before it goes live, keeping human confirmation.
The integration adapts to the ERP you use, via APIs where they exist or file import where they do not. No price list: the estimate comes from the diagnosis, with no commitment.
Are orders entered without human control?
No. The automation preps the order line, but nothing is recorded until a person confirms. It removes the retyping, not the decision: confirmation always stays with the sales desk.
Does it work with customers who write orders in different ways?
Yes. It maps each customer's format onto your schema: it recognizes customer, codes and quantities even when they change position or wording, both in the email body and in Excel/CSV attachments. Ambiguous data is flagged instead of guessed.
Do I have to change my ERP?
No. The automation integrates with the ERP you already use, via APIs where they exist or structured file import where they do not. It adapts to your software, not the other way around.