Manufacturer Automates Supply Chain Coordination Across 80 Suppliers
A mid-size manufacturer replaced manual email and spreadsheet-based supplier coordination with Oido AI agents — cutting procurement cycle time by 55% and eliminating stockouts.
The manufacturer managed 80+ suppliers across 12 countries using email, spreadsheets, and phone calls. Each purchase order required manual follow-ups, lead time validation, and cross-referencing against production schedules. Delays in supplier communication caused recurring stockouts that cost an estimated €40K per month in lost production.
We deployed an Oido agent that manages the full procurement cycle: generating POs from production schedules, sending them via each supplier's preferred channel (email, Telegram, or API), tracking confirmations, flagging delays, and rescheduling production when necessary. A second agent monitors inbound shipments and updates the inventory system.
The Problem
The manufacturer's procurement process was built around a single senior buyer who knew every supplier's quirks — who responds to email, who needs a phone call, who requires three reminders. When that buyer was on leave, the entire supply chain slowed down.
Each purchase order followed the same painful path: generate PO from the ERP, email it to the supplier, wait for confirmation, follow up if not confirmed within 48 hours, manually check lead time against production schedule, and reschedule production if the lead time was too long. With 80+ suppliers and hundreds of components, this consumed 40+ hours per week.
The failure rate was the real problem. Suppliers not confirming orders, lead times slipping unnoticed, and production runs starting without critical components caused an average of 2 stockout events per month.
The Solution
We built two agents that together cover the full procurement lifecycle.
Agent 1: Procurement Orchestrator
This agent runs on a daily schedule:
- Pulls the production schedule from the ERP via a custom MCP server
- Calculates material requirements and generates POs for any items below safety stock
- Routes each PO to the supplier via their preferred channel (email for most, Telegram for Asia-based suppliers, API for three large suppliers with EDI)
- Tracks confirmations — if no confirmation within 24 hours, sends a polite follow-up
- Flags any supplier that hasn't confirmed within 48 hours for human review
Agent 2: Logistics Monitor
This agent tracks inbound shipments:
- Monitors shipping confirmations from suppliers
- Cross-references estimated arrival dates against the production schedule
- If a shipment is late, recalculates the production impact and alerts the production manager via Telegram
- If a critical component is at risk of delay, recommends rescheduling
Channel Strategy
Each supplier has a profile in the database specifying their preferred channel and language. The agent adapts its communication per supplier — email with formal language for European suppliers, Telegram with concise updates for Asian partners.
The Results
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Procurement cycle time | 8 days | 3.5 days |
| Supplier confirmation rate | 65% | 98% |
| Monthly stockout incidents | 2.1 | 0 |
| Procurement hours per week | 40+ | 8 (exception handling only) |
| Annual stockout cost | ~€480K | ~€0 |
The manufacturer is now expanding the system to handle RFQ processing and contract renewal management, targeting an additional 20% procurement cost reduction.