AI agent for procurement and purchase orders
An agent that turns purchase requests into supplier quotes, compares them, drafts the purchase order and follows up on delivery. Your buyer chooses the supplier, and a person approves every step that spends money.
- 5 new purchase requests collected from 2 sitesDone
- RFQs sent to 3 suppliers per itemDone
- Quote comparison ready for steel sheetAwaiting approval
- Supplier B has not confirmed last week's orderAsks a person
An example. Your agent is built around your own work.
How it works
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Take the request
Staff send a request by form, email or a chat message. The agent turns it into item, quantity, unit, need-by date and budget code, and asks the requester about anything missing.
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Check and compare
It matches items to your catalogue, checks the supplier against your approved list, the budget and any contract price. For new items it asks suppliers for quotes and lays them side by side against the specification.
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Approve and order
The request goes to the approver for that amount and category. After approval the agent drafts the purchase order in your ERP and sends it to the supplier once your buyer confirms it.
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Follow up
It chases the supplier about delivery dates, records the goods receipt, and when the invoice arrives it matches order, receipt and invoice. Differences go to your buyer.
New to AI agents? How they work, in plain words
Real examples, setup steps and tool connections for this agent
An example conversation
An example of how a conversation runs. The grey lines show what the agent does in your systems meanwhile.
- CustomerWe need 200 m of 16 mm copper pipe for the Al Quoz site, by the 24th. Budget code 4410.
- Looked up copper pipe 16 mm in the catalogue: 2 approved suppliers, contract price from Alvand Metals. Checked budget 4410: enough left for this request.
- AgentJust to confirm before I go further: 200 metres of 16 mm copper pipe, delivered to the Al Quoz site by the 24th, charged to 4410. Is that right?
- CustomerYes.
- Sent quote requests to both approved suppliers. Alvand Metals replied in 40 minutes. Second supplier has not replied.
- AgentAlvand quotes at the contract price with delivery on the 22nd. The other supplier has not answered, and I will ask again at 3 pm. I have prepared a draft purchase order for Alvand and sent it to Ms Karimi for approval.
- CustomerMs Karimi is out today. Can the deputy approve?
- AgentOnly if your approval rules allow it. The rule for this amount names Ms Karimi and Mr Haddad. I have sent it to Mr Haddad.
- Routed the request to Mr Haddad. After approval the draft order waits for your buyer to confirm before it is sent to the supplier.
How it is built
- How requests come in
- Requests arrive from a form, a shared mailbox or a chat channel such as Slack or Teams. The agent stores who asked, the cost centre and the need-by date with each request.
- Reading the request
- A language model turns free text into structured fields. Before anything is created, the requester confirms the item and quantity as the agent understood them, because requests by chat or email are often vague.
- Your systems hold the facts
- Catalogue items, approved suppliers, contract prices and budgets are read live from your ERP or procurement system. The agent compares each purchase order line with the contract price and stops on a mismatch. It does not use remembered prices.
- Thresholds live in the ERP
- Who approves what by amount and category is set in your ERP or procurement system, not in the agent's instructions. The agent has a role that cannot approve its own requests, so it cannot spend beyond the budget.
- A fixed list of actions
- The agent can create requisitions and draft purchase orders, email suppliers for quotes and delivery dates, record receipts and run the order-receipt-invoice match. It cannot approve a request, pick a supplier alone or create a new supplier record. Before a supplier is added, the agent checks the vendor list for an existing match so spend is not split.
- Portals and quotes
- If a supplier works only through a web portal with no API, the agent can use it in a browser with a login you provide. Quotes by email are read and compared against the specification you gave. Your buyer sees the comparison and decides.
- Logging and where it runs
- Every request, quote, approval and change is logged. Weekly reporting covers how much spend is backed by orders, approval time and off-contract purchases. It runs in the cloud or on your servers.
What you can connect to it
- Odoo
- Creates requests for quotation and purchase orders and checks vendors through its external API.
- NetSuite
- Reads vendors and creates purchase orders through its REST web services.
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
- Reads vendors and creates purchase orders as drafts through its API.
- SAP or Oracle
- Creates requisitions and checks suppliers and budgets through their APIs where your system exposes them.
- Coupa
- Reads requisitions, suppliers and purchase orders through its APIs, with approvals staying in Coupa.
- Slack or Microsoft Teams
- Takes requests from staff and sends approval requests to the named approvers.
- Gmail or Outlook
- Takes requests by email and sends quote requests and delivery follow-ups to suppliers.
- Supplier portals
- Checks prices and order status on supplier sites that offer no API, using a login you provide.
- Google Sheets or Excel
- Holds the catalogue, the quote comparison and the weekly spend report if you have no system for them.
Connects to your tools. You stay in control.
- Works with what you have
- Odoo, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, SAP, Oracle, Coupa, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Gmail, Outlook, supplier portals, Excel and Google Sheets.
- A person approves what matters
- Payments, orders, discounts or anything you choose wait for approval. Every action is logged.
- Can run on your own servers
- The agent, its data, its logs and even the language model (open models such as Llama, Qwen or Mistral) can run on your servers, so documents and customer data stay inside your network. How that works
What it does not do
- It does not approve purchases. People approve by amount and category, and the agent cannot approve its own requests.
- It does not choose a supplier on its own. Your buyer decides from the comparison it prepares.
- It does not create new supplier records or change bank details. Those go to a person.
- It does not send a purchase order that differs from the contract price or exceeds the budget.
- It does not negotiate terms. It can ask for a quote or a delivery date, and your buyer handles the discussion.
Questions
Can it work with supplier portals that have no API?
Yes. The agent can use a portal through a browser the way a person does, with a login you control and a limited account. It only does what you have listed.
Who chooses the supplier?
Your buyer. The agent prepares the comparison and the draft, and a person decides. Each quote is checked against your approved supplier list first.
How does an AI agent handle purchase orders?
It turns the request into structured fields, checks budget, supplier and contract price in your ERP, routes the request for approval, and drafts the purchase order. After approval, your buyer confirms and it goes out.
Can the agent overspend?
No. Budgets and approval thresholds live in your ERP, and the agent has a role that cannot approve its own requests. A purchase order that breaks the contract price or the budget is stopped.
Does it work with our ERP?
It works with ERPs that have an API, such as Odoo, NetSuite, Business Central, SAP and Oracle, or with exports and web screens when they do not. We check what yours offers in the first session.
What if a request is vague?
The agent asks the requester questions and shows its reading of the request for confirmation before it creates anything.
Can it match supplier invoices to purchase orders?
Yes. When the goods receipt and the invoice arrive, it runs a three-way match of order, receipt and invoice, and sends differences to a buyer.
How much does an agent like this cost?
It depends on the task and the systems it connects to. After a first call we give you a clear estimate of cost and time.
Want this agent built around your work?
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