[B2B sales & account operations]() / [Use cases]() / [PO changes]() [How it works]() [What you get]() [Scope]() [Start a review]() [B2B sales & account operations]()[Orders]() # Handle PO changes without creating duplicate orders. A revised or forwarded PO lands on the order it belongs to, with shipped lines protected and one person approving the change. [Start with an order desk review]() [How it works]() Revision to PO-641 SO-812 · day 5 - Forward of PO-641“Make it five cases”, from the buyer’s manager **+1 case**Revision - SO-812 lines 1 and 24 cases, shipped **$152**Protected - SO-812 line 31 case added · not in stock, on a supplier PO **$38**Pending - Order total$152 to $190 · approved by the order desk **$190**Amended No second order was created What happened to one forwarded revision: an amendment, and no second order. ## Sound familiar? - A buyer forwards a PO with “make it five,” and the desk can’t tell whether it’s a new order. - Duplicates surface when two trucks arrive, or two invoices. - A part-shipped order gets edited, and nobody can say who agreed to the change. One duplicate or silent edit can erase the minutes saved on a hundred clean orders, and the buyer ends up with two shipments or none. ## What changes. ShowTodayWith the engine Recognizing a change Whoever opens the email decides Every message labeled: new order, revision, duplicate or question Linking Matched by PO number, if the buyer reused it Matched by PO number, buyer, lines and quote, with the evidence shown Shipped lines Editable by anyone Protected: a change adds a line or a follow-up Approval Implied by the edit Recorded: who approved, when and what changed ## How it works. 5 steps, 4 stages. - AI**1** - Rules and automation**3** - Your team**1** - Approval 1. 1 Spot 1. AI ### Recognize a change Reads the message and labels it: new order, revision, duplicate forward or question. - Outlook 2. 2 Link 1. Rules and automation ### Link it to the order it belongs to Matches PO number, buyer, lines and quote. A forwarded copy links to the order and creates nothing. - Prophet 21 3. 3 Amend 1. Rules and automation ### Draft the amendment Shows what changes, which lines have shipped and the new total. Shipped lines stay untouched. - Prophet 21 2. Your team Approval ### Approve the change The order desk approves changes to open lines. A price or credit effect goes to its owner. 4. 4 Confirm 1. Rules and automation ### Amend once, then acknowledge The order is amended, and the buyer gets an acknowledgment that says what changed. - Prophet 21 - Outlook ## What you get. Real work, every week. Amendment 1 · SO-812 For the order desk Add one case. Nothing shipped changes. Buyer asked Four cases to five, on a forward of PO-641 Shipped Lines 1 and 2: 4 cases, protected Change New line 3: 1 case of LID-16F at $38 Total $152 to $190 Stock None on hand, on a supplier PO The change in one view, with shipped lines marked as protected. This is what the desk approves. One buyer, four messages Harbor Street Cafés Message Label What happened “Make it five” on a forward of PO-641 Revision Amendment drafted for SO-812 The same PO, sent again by accounts payable Duplicate Linked to SO-812, nothing created “Can you do Thursday instead?” Question To the desk, with SO-812 attached A new PO with different lines New order Entered as SO-819 How the system labeled one buyer’s messages, so duplicates never become orders. ## How you’ll know it’s working. 1. Duplicate orders The count that should be zero, checked against POs and invoices. 2. Changes made without retyping Amendments built from the message itself. 3. Time to an acknowledged change From the buyer’s message to an acknowledgment that says what changed. Baselines agreed before we build. ## Works with what you have. ERP, CRM & inbox - Outlook - Prophet 21 - Business Central Order & quote automation - Esker - Proton We configure first Check what your order tool does with changes first. Some order agents create orders but stop at changes, and specialist suites such as Esker list amendments as a feature. We build when Changes arrive as free-text replies and forwards, and your ERP has no duplicate protection of its own. ## What a first build includes. Built in your accounts, around your team. Scope, fee and baseline agreed before we start. 1. 1 Design 2. 2 Build 3. 3 Run it, or hand it over [Start with a review]() [Scope this build]() ### We build - A message classifier: new order, revision, duplicate or question - Linking rules across POs, quotes and orders - A protected-lines rule and an amendment draft - An approval step and an acknowledgment that says what changed ### We start from - Three months of order threads, including revisions - Your rules for what can change after release - ERP order and shipment status access ### From your team Owner Order desk lead Involves - Order desk - Customer service - Inside sales ## Questions teams ask. Can a buyer change an order that has already shipped? Not the shipped part. The change applies to open lines, or becomes a new line or a follow-up order. The desk decides which. What if a message is linked to the wrong order? Every match is shown with its evidence: PO number, buyer, lines and quote. A weak match goes to the desk instead of being guessed. Who owns it once it’s running? You do. It’s built in your accounts, documented, with training for the people who run it. Ownership usually sits with your order desk lead. We can keep running it with you, or step back. How do we start? Usually with an order desk review: two to four weeks, a fixed fee credited to the build, and a plan that’s yours. If the job is already clear, we can scope the build directly. ## Part of your order engine. One of 14 use cases, in 5 parts. [See the whole order engine]() 1. [New accounts **2**]() 2. [Quotes & pricing **3**]() 3. [Orders **3**]() 4. [Self-service & status **3**]() 5. [Account growth **3**]() In orders - [**PO intake**Turn emailed purchase orders into validated sales orders]() - **PO changes**You’re here - [**Retailer deductions**Recover retailer deductions that shouldn’t have been taken]() Works with - [**Order status**Answer status and lead-time questions before buyers call]() See it at work - [**In Harbor Street’s ninety days**Day 5: four cases became five]() ## Change an order without ordering twice. Start with an order desk review. [Start with an order desk review]() [**Talk it through first**15 minutes]() We reply within one business day. --- Source: [https://www.thekeating.co/use-cases/po-changes/]() [Contact Keating & Co](mailto:nelson@thekeating.co) · [Agent guidance](https://www.thekeating.co/llms.txt)