Shipping-document and stock automation for distributors
Bills of lading, packing lists and stock counts arrive in different systems and disagree. We read the documents into your ERP and show where each stock gap began.
Where the numbers part ways
“Somebody types every packing list into the ERP.”
Each shipment's documents arrive by email as PDFs. A clerk re-keys the lines, and a typo becomes a stock error a month later.
“We find short shipments at the month-end count.”
A missing carton is noticed weeks after arrival, when the window to claim from the forwarder may have closed.
“Every partner portal shows a different status.”
The forwarder, the 3PL and the marketplace each hold their own stock and status. Nobody owns the figure everyone should use.
One shipment, from documents to stock
Step through an inbound shipment. Choose whether it arrives complete or short, and see where the gap is caught.
The shipment
| Line | Packing list | Order | Counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desk lamp, black | 600 | 600 | 600 |
| Desk lamp, white | 400 | 400 | 400 |
| Linen shade | 200 | 200 | 180 |
1,180 units post to stock. The 20 missing are held on the receipt, and a claim to the forwarder is drafted with the documents attached.
For your engineers
Document intake
Documents are read from the shared inbox or the forwarder's portal. Fields below a confidence threshold go to a person with the scan beside them.
Matching
Lines match to the purchase order by order number and SKU. The goods receipt is drafted and waits until the warehouse count agrees.
A ledger of movements
Stock is the sum of recorded movements, so every balance traces back to a document or a scan.
Connections
Your ERP and warehouse system through their APIs, import files or database views. Scanning apps keep working offline on sites with poor signal.
The practices this work draws on
- AI automation
Reading shipping documents and drafting the goods receipt.
- Data and integration
Matching orders, receipts and counts across your ERP and partners.
- Software engineering
Scanning apps for the warehouse floor and the delivery vans.
Related work
- Stock reconciliation for a distributor with three warehouses
A movement ledger, offline scanning and blind counts with approval thresholds, for a distributor whose monthly count never explained the write-offs.
Questions operations teams ask
Which ERPs do you connect to?
The one you run. Where it has an API we use it. Where it does not, we use its import files or database views, with your IT team's approval.
Do warehouse staff need new hardware?
Usually not. Scanning runs on Android phones or the handheld scanners you already own, and it keeps working offline until signal returns.
What if a supplier sends poor scans?
Fields the system cannot read with confidence go to a person, who sees the scan beside the field. Each correction is recorded, so you can see the error rate per supplier.
Trace one shipment with us
Send us the documents for one recent shipment. In the diagnostic we follow it from the inbox to the shelf and show where the time and the errors go.