Why This Matters to Distributors: Order entry remains a manual process for many distributors, requiring employees to rekey purchase orders into ERP systems. As distributors seek productivity improvements and cost reductions, software providers are increasingly targeting order processing with artificial intelligence and automation tools.
WizCommerce has introduced a new artificial intelligence powered order entry tool designed to automate purchase order processing for distributors and wholesalers.
The San Francisco based software company said the product, called Ella, can process purchase orders, and generate ERP ready orders in less than two minutes by extracting order information, validating pricing and matching customer part numbers with distributor SKUs.
The launch reflects growing interest among distributors in using artificial intelligence to automate routine administrative tasks and improve operational efficiency.
According to WizCommerce, many distributors continue to process orders manually, with inside sales and customer service teams entering purchase order information into ERP systems after receiving orders through email, PDF documents, spreadsheets, fax transmissions, and other formats.
The company said Ella is designed to automate that process by extracting line-item data, quantities, and pricing information from incoming orders, validating pricing and identifying discrepancies before generating an order for ERP processing.
“Distributors have some of their best salespeople stuck doing manual order entry instead of selling,” CEO Div Makkar said in a statement.
WizCommerce estimates that manual order processing can take 20 minutes per order and cost between $10 and $12 per transaction. The company said a midmarket distributor may spend between $250,000 and $550,000 annually on order entry activities.
The software is intended to address familiar challenges associated with distributor order processing, including customer specific part numbers, multiple purchase orders submitted in a single communication and pricing discrepancies.
WizCommerce said early users have reported reductions in manual processing time. Among them is Howard Elliott, a supplier of home furnishings and décor products, which said it reduced order entry work from several hours per day to approximately 15 minutes daily. Other users cited by the company include Jaipur Living, BISCO Inc., Bassett Mirror Co., and Regina Andrew.
The introduction of Ella comes as distributors continue to evaluate artificial intelligence applications across sales, customer service, product information management, and back-office operations. Order processing has emerged as a shared area for automation because of the high transaction volumes and labor requirements associated with manually entering customer orders.
WizCommerce develops software for wholesalers and distributors focused on sales, product management, and operational workflows. The company said Ella is now available to distributors seeking to automate purchase order processing and reduce manual data entry.
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