Order entry automated before the colleague retires

One inside sales colleague entered all incoming orders into the ERP. That colleague retires at the end of 2026, and with him goes the knowledge of how an order is entered correctly: which customer means what, which exceptions there are, what you check first. The question: can order entry be automated, so that the position does not have to be filled again and that knowledge does not leave with him?

We started with the colleagues themselves: how an order is read, which exceptions there are, what is checked before entering it. That became the rule set of the automation. An order comes in, is read out and staged in the ERP; anything that is not unambiguous goes to a check step instead of blindly into the system. In iterations with inside sales the exceptions were covered one by one, until the automation could handle the entry on its own.

At the latest evaluation the automation proved able to take over order entry effectively: the work of one full-time colleague, without a new hire. The knowledge of inside sales now sits in rules that people can read and adjust.