Business Process Automation

Power Automate is great for simple workflows: when an email with an attachment arrives, save it to SharePoint and send a notification. It has a visual designer, hundreds of connectors and a non-programmer can configure it.

The problem comes when you need decisions based on context. An invoice arrives - is it correct? Does the amount match the order? Is the supplier reliable? Power Automate can compare two numbers, but it does not understand document content and cannot decide in ambiguous situations.

This is where AI steps in. Tools like SmartDocto extract data from invoices, validate them against the ERP and flag discrepancies. AI agents query the ERP for order status and decide whether to route the invoice for approval or return it to the supplier.

In practice, we combine both technologies. Power Automate manages the workflow (who approves what), AI handles the decisions (is it correct?). Example: invoice received by email (Power Automate) → data extraction and validation (AI/SmartDocto) → approval and posting (Power Automate + ERP). For a deeper look at how AI is changing automation, see our AI automation guide.

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is the electronic exchange of business documents between companies. Instead of emails with PDFs, your ERP receives orders, invoices and delivery notes in a structured format that is processed automatically.

We support EDIFACT, GS1 XML, ISDOC and proprietary XML formats from individual suppliers. Connection is made via VAN (Value Added Network), AS2, SFTP or direct API. Example: Lagardère, where we mapped the data flow and wrote a playbook for onboarding suppliers to EDI.

A typical EDI project includes document mapping (ORDERS, ORDRSP, DESADV, INVOIC), validation rules and transfer monitoring. For manufacturing companies, we also connect to planning systems and warehouses so that orders are automatically reflected in the production plan. We typically deliver EDI together with broader ERP integration work.

Approving orders, invoices and leave requests is one of the processes where companies lose the most time. A document sits in someone's inbox, nobody knows who is holding it up and escalation happens over the phone. Yet automating approval workflows is one of the fastest changes with measurable results.

We set up rules directly in the ERP or via Power Automate: a purchase order above the limit automatically routes to the manager for approval. Invoices are matched against delivery notes and purchase orders (three-way matching). Leave requests are approved with one tap in a mobile app. The approver gets a notification, sees the context and decides in seconds.

At any moment you know where a document is, who is holding it and for how long. If approval takes longer than the defined limit, the system escalates automatically. Faster order throughput and fewer phone calls.

Automation does not have to start with a big project. The best results come from companies that start with one process, measure the outcome and expand to other areas based on data.

Before every implementation we run a process audit: we map the current state, measure time spent on manual tasks and estimate savings. This way you know the ROI before making the investment. A typical first step is automating document intake via SmartDocto or setting up an approval workflow in Power Automate.

We discuss your project and scope in an initial consultation. If you need a new ERP or migration of an existing one alongside automation, see our ERP integration or cloud migration services.