AI System for Comparing Supplier Confirmations with Purchase Orders

The problem

When purchase orders, confirmations, prices and delivery details are held in different sources, their fields must be matched manually before a list of line-item differences and a response draft can be prepared.

The procurement specialist must compare every suggestion in the list of line-item differences and response draft with the source record; missing or conflicting evidence must not replace the final decision.

If an approved partial-delivery arrangement or currency rule is not referred for separate review, a price or delivery difference may be accepted without notice; the record must not proceed without a human decision.

What we set out to improve

• Time taken for the draft list of line-item differences and response to reach the procurement specialist for review with its supporting evidence
• Outcomes of records referred for human review because an approved partial-delivery arrangement or currency rule exists
• Number of suggestions corrected after identifying the risk of accepting a price or delivery difference without notice

How the system works

1. 01 Retrieve the purchase order, confirmation, price and delivery details from authorised sources using the record identifier
2. 02 Link source, date and version details to the shared work record
3. 03 Validate fields and units
4. 04 Prepare the list of line-item differences and response draft with its supporting evidence
5. 05 Check for the exception: an approved partial-delivery arrangement or currency rule exists
6. 06 The procurement specialist accepts, amends or rejects the draft
7. 07 Write the approved decision and its source to the audit log

Methods we used

• A source-referenced shared data schema for the purchase order, confirmation, price and delivery details
• A decision structure that separates deterministic rules from AI suggestions
• A review screen showing the list of line-item differences and response draft alongside the underlying evidence
• A mandatory human review queue when an approved partial-delivery arrangement or currency rule exists
• An event identifier that prevents duplicate processing

Where people stay involved

Data and security

Only the fields required for this decision should be processed from the purchase order, confirmation, price and delivery details. Access to source systems should be authorised separately from the procurement specialist role; personal, commercial and technical secrets should not be passed into the model context unnecessarily. Reads, suggestions and human decisions should be logged separately.

Who this suits

Frequently asked questions