Customer order changes are applied in SAP and confirmed the same day

Each emailed change to an open order is checked against what the plant has made, applied in SAP S/4HANA and confirmed to the customer. Changes that carry a cost wait for your team.

Used day to day by
  • Order desk
  • Sales coordinators

How it runs with AI

The AI reads each change email, finds the sales order in SAP S/4HANA and checks every change against what the plant has already made or shipped. It applies the clear changes, holds the rest with the reason and emails the customer a confirmation the same day. Your team spends its time on the changes that carry a cost.

How it is done today

Customers email changes to orders already in SAP: a smaller quantity, a later date, a new delivery address, a cancelled line. Someone on the order desk finds the sales order, asks the plant what has started and edits each line by hand. The confirmation goes out days later, and a missed change shows up when the wrong goods reach the customer.

Step by step

Where the work happens, what the AI does, and where it hands over to a person.

  1. Step 1, AI

    Picks up every change request that lands in the orders inbox

    Needs to know: Registered customer contacts

    In Outlook

  2. Step 2, AI

    Finds the sales order in SAP and checks each change against what the plant has made or shipped

    Needs to know: Rules for automatic changes

    In SAP S/4HANA

    Exception to step 2

    Sends the order desk any request it cannot match to an open order

  3. Step 3, AI

    Applies the clear changes in SAP and holds the rest, with the customer's email as the reference

    Needs to know: Sales coordinator per customer

    In SAP S/4HANA , Outlook

    Exception to step 3

    Holds lines already made or shipped, and tells the sales coordinator why

  4. Step 4, AI

    Emails the customer a confirmation of what changed and what is under review

    Needs to know: Approved reply wording

    In Outlook

  5. Step 5, Person

    Agrees with the customer what happens to goods already made, then releases the line

    In SAP S/4HANA

What stays with a person

  • Agrees with the customer what happens to goods already made, then releases the line

Apps in this example

  • Outlook
  • SAP S/4HANA

The same flow works with the apps you use.

This fits you if

  • Customers change more than 200 open orders a month
  • Changes arrive by email, often several in one message
  • Your sales orders and production status are recorded in SAP S/4HANA
  • Customers sometimes receive goods they had already changed or cancelled

What to watch for

  • Your team sets the rules for what the AI applies on its own, for example a later date or a smaller quantity on a line the plant has yet to start
  • Earlier dates, larger quantities, price changes and goods already made, packed or shipped go to the order desk with the reason
  • Charges for cancelled goods made to a customer's design stay with your sales team. The AI holds the line and explains what was made
  • The AI acts only on emails from contacts registered for that customer in SAP. Anything else goes to the order desk to check
  • Each change in SAP carries the customer's email as its reference, so anyone can see why a line changed

Read more

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