The next generation of order and shipping management lies in highly specialized AI agents teamed with automations purpose-built to handle discrete tasks with precision supporting procurement teams.

With the plethora of splashy and awesome AI demos getting released seemingly every week, it can be tempting to think that AI can solve just about anything right now—including the complexities of order management.

And maybe one day it will be able to!

But for today (and at least for the next few weeks! 😉), using generic, unspecialized AI tools for order tracking is a recipe for inefficiency and frustration.

That's because order tracking involves, amongst many other things, a highly nuanced view of matching unstructured data to existing orders, checking in with the correct suppliers, and ensuring updates to orders and items get correctly applied to your existing data.

So, what's the path forward? How can your team use AI to reduce your procurement workload?

Automation vs. AI Agents: What’s the Difference?

Automations

Automations are highly specialized workflows designed to perform specific tasks. These workflows can integrate data from various sources, trigger specific actions, and follow deterministic rules to get the job done. They might not have the same level of autonomy or flexibility as AI agents, but they excel in delivering consistent, accurate results within a clearly defined scope.

AI Agents

When we talk about AI agents, we’re referring to software tools that use LLMs and other AI models to autonomously make decisions and execute tasks. For example, an AI agent might analyze an email, extract data, and then *decide* what follow-up actions to take. These agents can be general-purpose, meaning they’re capable of addressing a wide variety of use cases, or tailored to specific industries and problems.

Why Generic AI Tools Fall Short in Order Management

Order tracking is a nuanced and complex process that involves interpreting initial data (e.g., POs, order confirmations) and continuously updating it with new information as it comes in (e.g., follow-up emails, shipping updates, tracking links).

Here’s why generic AI tools may struggle:

1. Lack of Context. They often lack the deep contextual understanding needed to interpret the nuances of order data. For example, parsing an order confirmation email requires understanding specific formats, terminology, and even supplier idiosyncrasies.

2. Error Propagation. This lack of context can lead to misunderstanding or misinterpretation of data leading to incorrect data entry. Strict, specific validation rules are needed to minimize these risks.

How Specialized Workflows Create the Ultimate Assistant

By combining a series of highly specialized automations with specialized AI tooling, we’ve built a system functions like a next-generation personal assistant—one that’s specifically designed for order monitoring and management. Here’s how:

1. Parsing Initial Data. Our systems are designed to extract key information from POs, order confirmations, and other initial documents with pinpoint accuracy. They can handle a variety of formats, languages, and supplier-specific quirks.

2. Continuous Updates. As new data arrives (e.g., follow-up emails, tracking updates), our system matches it to the correct order and updates the existing data accordingly. This ensures that every order reflects the latest status.

3. Proactive Tracking. Our automations go beyond reacting to emails. They can send supplier check-in emails, follow tracking links, and proactively update order data without requiring manual intervention.

4. Error Reduction. By focusing on discrete tasks with clear rules, our system minimizes errors. For example, instead of relying on an generic AI agent to decide if and why an email is relevant, we use automations and prompts with well-defined logic to make that determination.

5. Scalable and Modular. Adding new functionality is as simple as creating a new task. Want to track a new type of document or integrate a new supplier? No problem. Our modular approach ensures that new features can be added seamlessly.

The End Goal: A Powerful Assistant, Built on Precision

The beauty of specialized tools that combines automation and AI is that it works together to create a system that feels like an assistant—one that understands your orders, stays on top of updates, and ensures that nothing falls through the cracks. Unlike generic AI agents, which often feel like jack-of-all-trades but master of none, our system is a master of order tracking and management.