When a purchase order is issued in the ERP, the supplier gets an email with a one-click form to confirm the delivery date or propose a new one. Confirmed dates are written back to the PO line, and silent suppliers get reminders.
Typical results
≈5 hrs/wk
Buyer time no longer spent chasing suppliers
2 days
Before an unanswered supplier gets a reminder
1 click
For a supplier to confirm or propose a date
Figures reflect typical results for this kind of automation.
The challenge
Purchase orders go out from the ERP, but most suppliers never confirm the delivery date. Buyers spend hours each week chasing answers by phone and email, planners schedule work orders around dates nobody has agreed to, and late material usually shows up only when the receiving dock is already waiting for it.
Before and after
POs with a confirmed delivery date
2.3×Buyer hours per week chasing suppliers
−83%Late deliveries discovered at receiving per month
−60%The automation
When a purchase order is issued in the ERP, the supplier receives an email with the PO lines and a one-click form to confirm the requested delivery date or propose a new one. The answer is written back to the PO line, and a proposed date later than requested is flagged for the buyer. Suppliers who have not replied within 2 working days get a reminder, and every Monday the buyer receives a list of POs that are still unconfirmed.
How it works
- 01
PO issued in the ERP
A new purchase order in the ERP sends the supplier an email with the PO lines and the requested delivery dates.
- 02
One-click confirmation
The supplier opens a short form and either confirms each date or proposes a new one, with no login needed.
- 03
Date written to the PO line
The answer is written back to the PO line in the ERP, and a date later than requested is flagged for the buyer.
- 04
Reminder after 2 working days
Suppliers who have not replied within 2 working days get a reminder email with the same form.
- 05
Monday unconfirmed list
Every Monday the buyer receives a list of open POs that still have no confirmed date, sorted by requested date.
Starts from
- New PO in the ERP
Delivers
- Confirmed date on PO line
- Reminder after 2 days
- Weekly unconfirmed PO list
The impact
About 90% of purchase orders carry a confirmed date within a week, up from around 40%. Buyers spend roughly 5 fewer hours a week chasing suppliers, and planners see a late date days ahead instead of discovering it at the receiving dock.
Questions about this automation
Does the supplier need an account or a portal login?
No. The email carries a secure link to a short form for that purchase order only, so the supplier clicks, confirms or changes the dates and submits. The form works on a phone, and suppliers who prefer to answer by email can still do so, which the buyer handles as before.
Which ERPs does this work with?
Any ERP that can expose new purchase orders and accept an update to the PO line, through an API, a database connection or a scheduled export and import. Simple automations like this are usually live within days once the PO data and the email template are agreed.
What happens when a supplier proposes a later date?
The new date is still written to the PO line so planning sees the real picture, and the buyer gets a flagged notice with the original and proposed dates side by side. The buyer can accept it, call the supplier or move the order to another source.