Find the supplier commitment before the delay spreads
Purchase-order follow-up is a working-capital and service-risk workflow. Buyers need to connect open POs, promised ship dates, partial receipts, approver notes, supplier emails, ERP status, and late-delivery risk before a stockout or project delay forces escalation.
RSM's middle-market AI survey gives useful adoption context for companies that need AI to improve operating cadence, not just write emails. Start with a PO class where follow-up is repetitive and visible, such as late supplier confirmations, partial shipments, or aging exceptions.
Use Copilot for supplier context, custom AI for exception movement
Copilot can summarize supplier email threads, draft status requests, and prepare buyer notes from Microsoft 365 context. Microsoft's Copilot guidance is relevant because the reviewer works inside permissioned communications and documents.
Custom AI is justified when the workflow must monitor PO aging, reconcile supplier commitments against ERP data, create exception queues, send approved follow-ups, and update status. NIST should guide reviewer thresholds and escalation, while CISA data controls matter when supplier, pricing, inventory, and purchasing records move between systems.
Measure follow-up drag and late-risk visibility
Deloitte's current AI research frames production value as the hard part. For PO follow-up, value means buyers see exceptions earlier and spend less time rereading threads.
Track supplier response time, late PO rate, buyer follow-up hours, exception aging, ERP status accuracy, and stockout or project-delay exposure. Keep Copilot when the need is a better supplier-note assistant. Build the custom workflow when approved follow-ups, ERP reconciliation, and exception ownership need to run every day.
