Anonymous case study
Supplier invoice data was copied manually from email into the finance system.
Average manual handling time per invoice fell from 12 to 5 minutes, with exceptions collected in a dedicated review queue.
- Sector
- Distribution and logistics
- Company size
- Mid-sized company with several departments
Finance and documentsMeasured outcomes
Reduction in manual data-entry time per document
Measured over 10 weeks for recurring supplier invoices, compared with a previous average of 12 minutes.Results belong to one specific anonymous project and are not a guarantee for another implementation.
Core challenge
Supplier invoice data was copied manually from email into the finance system.
Starting point
The team checked supplier details, amounts, and line items from PDF and scanned documents before entering them into the system.
The approach we built
Document intake, field extraction, business-rule validation, and transfer of approved data were combined in one controlled workflow.
Implementation and control
Implementation ran for 10 weeks, starting with the most common document formats and adding a review queue for low-confidence fields.
Observed outcome
Average manual handling time per invoice fell from 12 to 5 minutes, with exceptions collected in a dedicated review queue.
What we learned
Variation in document formats required reliable confidence thresholds and fast human review rather than indiscriminate full automation.
How the document workflow was structured
Each document was first identified by file type and supplier context. Extracted fields then passed required-data, amount-matching, and duplicate checks.
- Collect email attachments at one intake point
- Structure supplier details, dates, amounts, and line items
- Move duplicates and amount mismatches into a review queue
- Transfer approved data to the finance system
The role of human review
When the workflow detected an unreadable field, new document format, unusual amount, or mismatched supplier detail, processing stopped and the record was presented to a finance specialist.
Your process
Repeat the discipline, not somebody else’s number.
We do not promise to repeat the same result. We assess the process, its starting point, and the measurement method before defining the right first step.
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