01
Case at a glance
| Customer | Industrial parts distributor with a 14-person order desk |
|---|---|
| Process | Purchase order entry · the same order types before and after |
| Applied | OD-2 order desk software · ERP connector |
| Measured | 6 weeks before and 6 weeks after · about 2,400 orders in each period |
02
Every order was typed in line by line
Orders arrived by email as PDFs and spreadsheets. Staff typed each line into the ERP by hand, so an order took 18 minutes on average and Monday orders often waited until Tuesday.
Mistyped part numbers came back as wrong shipments, and nobody could see which orders were still waiting.
03
One inbox, and orders read from the attachment
We set up OD-2, which collects every order email in one shared inbox and reads part numbers and quantities from PDF and spreadsheet attachments.
Staff check the lines against the customer's price list on one screen and send the order to the ERP with one click. Lines that don't match are highlighted for a person to fix.
Each order shows who has it and how long it has waited, so the team lead can move work between people.
04
What changed
Faster order entry
Average entry time fell from 18 to 7 minutes per order, measured on the same order types.
Fewer typing errors
Part-number errors found at packing fell from 31 to 6 over the same six-week periods.
Same-day entry
In every week after the change, all orders received before 15:00 were entered the same day.
Measured at the order desk
18
average entry time per order before (6 weeks, about 2,400 orders)
7
average entry time per order after (6 weeks, about 2,400 orders)
61%
shorter entry time on the same order types
05
Used at this desk
OD-2 order desk software
A shared inbox that reads order lines from PDF and spreadsheet attachments and checks them against price lists.
ERP connector
Sends checked orders to the ERP as sales orders, with no retyping.
Rollout service
We map your order formats, set up the inbox, and train the desk in two half-day sessions.
06
Questions about this case
Do we have to replace our ERP?
No. OD-2 sits in front of your ERP and sends orders into it. Your ERP stays as it is.
Will our desk get the same result?
It depends on your order formats and volume. We read a month of your past orders first and tell you what share OD-2 can read.