From invoice to production without retyping.
The problem
Every order started as an invoice. From there, someone had to read it, copy the details into the production workflow, and then work out the hardware specification the job needed. It worked, but it depended on people doing the same careful retyping, every single time.
Information was stuck between documents and the production floor. Each handover was a chance for delay or error, and the team spent time moving data instead of making products. When the right person was busy, orders simply waited.
What we changed
- Automatic extraction of order information from incoming invoices
- Direct updates into the production workflow, so jobs appear where the team already works
- Automatic preparation of hardware specifications for each order
- Checks and alerts, so the team is told when something needs a human look
The result
The system has run continuously for about ten months with minimal manual intervention. Orders move from invoice to production without being retyped, and the team's time goes into the work itself.
The lesson: the biggest gains often come from the boring handovers between steps, not from the steps themselves.