Sales support should review orders when the customer, item, unit or agreement is uncertain, or when a request violates configured rules. AI can perform preparation and expose exceptions. This is not a promise that errors disappear. Define which orders may proceed and which require approval before going live.
Does a person need to approve every order?
Not necessarily, but never approving anything is not the default either. The decision depends on risk, completeness and delegated authority. Start with an approach your organization can support. Extend processing without review only after the relevant order types and controls have been validated.
Which exceptions require attention?
Unknown items, missing addresses, ambiguous packaging, conflicting delivery dates and unusual prices need explicit decisions. Review the original email and attachment alongside the result. A populated field can still be wrong.
| Situation | Insufficient approach | Defined control |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown item | Pick the closest name | Review the proposed match |
| Ambiguous unit | Post the quantity literally | Confirm packaging |
| Missing address | Guess an address | Find a reliable source or ask |
| Price exception | Copy the amount unseen | Check the customer agreement |
| ERP error | Count sending as success | Verify posting and error handling |
Why is human review not an AI failure?
The aim is to use human judgment at the right moment. Microsoft describes document automation combining extraction with manual review. ABBYY documents review for uncertain fields and rule problems. These support general design principles, not a comparative ENTR performance claim. Microsoft document automation. ABBYY manual review.
What should remain traceable?
Require access to the source request, selected data, controls, edits and the ERP result. Decide who can change records and when changes require renewed approval. Ask the supplier to demonstrate how your implementation records this.
How should you measure quality?
Track entry time, review time and correction separately. Recognition accuracy alone does not show how many order lines were posted correctly. Look for exceptions that were missed as well. The Smurfit Westrock case describes processing into a custom ERP; use it to ask about the full chain rather than extraction alone.
What remains the sales support role?
Your team and process owners decide which exceptions need customer contact and which can be resolved internally. Review becomes focused work. Understand why item matching needs context before deciding which requests may proceed without approval.
