# Document Intake & Data Extraction: done-for-you AI automation by BufferSol

> A done-for-you document intake and data extraction automation is an AI agent that collects documents from inboxes, scanners, portals and phone photos, works out what each one is, and pulls the fields you need, such as quantities, weights, lot numbers, dates and signatures. It checks the data against your ERP or TMS records, posts clean results and sends unclear ones to a person. BufferSol builds and runs it for you, live in 3 to 6 weeks.

- Canonical: https://buffersoltech.com/done-for-you/automations/document-processing
- Industries: Logistics & Transportation (3PLs & warehousing)
- Provider: BufferSol Technologies (New York; serving the US, UK, Ireland, Canada and the EU)
- Timeline: live in 3 to 6 weeks
- Pricing: quoted after a short scoping call

## Bills of lading, packing slips and forms read straight into your systems

**Who it is for:** Operations teams at distributors, 3PLs, manufacturers and importers that handle hundreds of bills of lading, packing slips, certificates, customs forms and receiving paperwork each week.

### Signs you need it
- Someone types data from scanned or photographed paperwork into the ERP or WMS every day.
- Documents arrive in a mix of PDFs, Word files, spreadsheets and phone photos.
- Template-based OCR breaks whenever a supplier or carrier changes its layout.
- Handwritten notes on paperwork are missed until a dispute brings them up.
- Finding a document from last month means searching inboxes and shared drives.

## Business outcomes
- **Data in the system the same day.** Receipts, shipments and certificates are posted within minutes of the paperwork arriving instead of piling up for batch entry.
- **Fewer keying errors.** Extracted values are checked against the PO, shipment or item record, so mismatched quantities and weights are flagged before they cause disputes.
- **Every document findable.** Each file is classified, named and linked to its order, shipment or supplier record, so anyone can pull it up in seconds.

## How it works today
1. Documents land in several inboxes, a scanner folder and drivers' text messages.
2. A clerk opens each one, works out what it is and which order or shipment it belongs to.
3. They type quantities, weights, lot numbers and dates into the ERP, WMS or TMS.
4. They rename and save the file to a shared drive, if there is time.
5. Errors and missing documents surface weeks later, when a customer or auditor asks.

Hidden costs:
- Clerical hours spent reading and retyping the same fields from paper.
- Disputes and write-offs from transcription mistakes and missed handwritten exceptions.
- Audit and compliance risk when certificates or signed paperwork cannot be found.

## How it works done for you
1. The agent collects documents from email, scanner folders, SFTP, portals and a text or WhatsApp number for drivers and receivers.
2. It classifies each file, such as bill of lading, packing slip, certificate of analysis, commercial invoice or customs entry, and splits multi-document scans.
3. It extracts the fields you need, including handwritten notes, stamps and signatures, without relying on fixed templates.
4. It matches each document to the right PO, sales order, shipment or receipt and checks values against what was expected.
5. Clean documents are posted to the ERP, WMS or TMS with the file attached; mismatches and low-confidence fields go to a reviewer with the image and the reason.
6. Reviewers correct fields in one screen, and the corrections improve future extraction.
7. Every document, field, match and correction is logged and stored with a consistent name in SharePoint or your document system.

## What changes for the team
- **Data entry or receiving clerk.** Today: Reads paperwork and types fields into several systems. Done for you: Reviews flagged fields and resolves mismatches with suppliers or carriers.
- **Operations supervisor.** Today: Chases missing paperwork and fixes errors found downstream. Done for you: Sees which documents are missing or disputed per order and acts on the exceptions.
- **Compliance or quality lead.** Today: Searches drives and inboxes for certificates during audits. Done for you: Pulls any certificate or signed document from the linked record when asked.

## KPIs we measure
- **Document to system time:** From file arrival to posted data, baselined from a two-week sample of current paperwork.
- **Straight-through rate:** Share of documents posted with no human correction, tracked by document type and sender.
- **Field-level accuracy:** Weekly audit of a random sample of posted documents against the source image.
- **Disputes from data errors:** Quantity, weight or date disputes traced to entry mistakes, compared with the prior quarter.
- **Missing document count:** Orders or shipments without required paperwork after a set time, reported daily.

## Systems it connects to
NetSuite, SAP Business One, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Manhattan WMS, Descartes, McLeod LoadMaster, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Outlook, Box, Twilio

## Guardrails
- Low-confidence fields and any mismatch with the expected record always go to a person before posting.
- The agent writes only to the fields and records you approve, with role-based access in each system.
- Original files are kept unchanged and linked to every posted record.
- Each extraction keeps a field-level history of what was read, changed and by whom.
- Sensitive documents can be kept in your own cloud region and excluded from model training.

## What teams say about this work
- A master data manager at a materials manufacturer asked how others turn scanned PDF purchase orders into ERP transactions, and what goes wrong when mapping document fields to system fields. ([Precisely Community](https://community.precisely.com/discussion/automating-sales-order-creation))
- Handwritten delivery times and weights on paper BOLs and PODs are copied by hand, and the mistakes often show up weeks later as invoice disputes, while signed documents can go missing for weeks. ([Vector](https://www.withvector.com/blog/challenges-in-creating-a-paperless-supply-chain-and-how-to-overcome-them-according-to-experts/))
- Business buyers send documents in the email body or as PDF, Word or Excel attachments, so the receiving team has no single format to work from. ([Distribution Strategy Group](https://distributionstrategy.com/2016/10/the-electronic-postman-always-rings-much-more-than-twice/))
- Delivery photos sent by text or scattered across inboxes and chat threads are often misnamed and not tied to a load number, so they are hard to find when billing needs them. ([Truckpedia](https://truckpedia.io/resources/eliminate-missing-pods-trucking))

## Delivery: live in 3 to 6 weeks
1. Week 1: discovery, access and a baseline of today's numbers.
2. Weeks 2–3: build the agents and connect your systems, with your rules and approvals.
3. Weeks 3–5: test on your real history, then pilot on live work with your team reviewing.
4. Weeks 4–6: staged go-live, training, dashboards and handover.

## Executive Ask questions for this workflow
- Which shipments last week are still missing signed paperwork?
- Which suppliers send documents that most often need manual correction?
- Show me every certificate of analysis we received for lot numbers on this customer complaint.

## Frequently asked questions
### How long does setup take?
Most document intake projects go live in 3 to 6 weeks. We start with your highest-volume document types and senders, connect the inboxes and folders, and define what good data looks like for each. The agent then runs alongside your clerks until accuracy meets the bar you set, before it starts posting on its own.

### How much does it cost?
Pricing depends on document volume, the number of types and systems involved, and how much checking each document needs. We do not list a price on the page. It is quoted after a short scoping call where we review sample documents and your target systems, and you get a fixed scope before work starts.

### Is this just OCR?
No. OCR turns an image into text. The agent also works out what the document is, finds the fields regardless of layout, reads handwriting and stamps, matches the document to the right order or shipment, and checks the values make sense. Only then does it post, or ask a person when it is unsure.

### What if a supplier changes its form layout?
That is where template-based tools usually fail. Because the agent reads documents by meaning rather than fixed coordinates, most layout changes need no setup at all. If confidence drops for a sender, documents go to review and the corrections are used to recover quickly.

### Where are our documents stored?
In your own systems. Files stay in your mail tenant, SharePoint, Box or document management system, and extracted data is written to your ERP, WMS or TMS. We can run processing in a cloud region you choose, and your documents are not used to train shared models.