Automated PDF order processing: The key to wholesale supply chain efficiency

When you ship thousands of products to retail giants like Amazon and Target, your order processing can't afford slowdowns. While EDI has revolutionized communications with major retailers, many wholesale suppliers still receive PDF purchase orders that require special handling.

This disconnect creates a weak link in an otherwise automated supply chain. Here's why addressing PDF automation matters for your wholesale operation.

1. End manual data entry

Rare Beauty Brands spent up to 45 minutes on each PDF order before automation. Their team downloaded files, copied information field by field, and manually created orders in their ERP. PDF translation technology now captures this data automatically and feeds it directly into their systems. No more copying and pasting through tedious fields when every minute counts.

2. Cut processing time by 95%

The math is especially compelling for wholesalers. Automation can slash processing time by up to 95%—from almost an hour to just minutes. Multiply this by dozens of PDF orders weekly and you're looking at thousands of work hours reclaimed annually.

Your team gets this time back—time for focusing on customers, managing inventory, and pursuing growth opportunities instead of tedious data entry.

3. Prevent costly mistakes

Manual data entry creates room for error. A single mistyped product code, incorrect quantity, or wrong pricing can snowball into inventory discrepancies, shipping errors, and customer dissatisfaction.

Automation minimizes human error by accurately extracting data from PDFs, ensuring that what your customer ordered is exactly what gets processed, picked, and shipped. This precision builds trust with your wholesale buyers.

4. Unify your data sources

When PDF orders enter the same system as your EDI transactions, you gain complete visibility across all sales channels. Wholesalers have reported closing their books in days instead of weeks after implementing full automation. Every order, regardless of source, flows through a single pipeline that updates inventory and financial records instantly.

5. No more growing pains

As your wholesale business grows, order volume increases. Without automation, this growth typically requires bringing on staff to handle more processing.

PDF automation allows your business to handle increased order volumes efficiently, scaling operations without the need for proportional increases in labor or costs. Coast to Coast Fulfillment is a perfect example of how scaling operations doesn’t mean burdening your operating schedule.

6. Better for all partners

Not every customer will use EDI. Smaller retailers often lack the technical infrastructure, while many international partners prefer email with PDF attachments. Without automation, these orders become expensive exceptions to your workflow.

With it, they're just another revenue stream flowing through your system. Automated processing ensures these relationships remain profitable without creating second-class customers who drain your resources.

Complete the purchase order picture

EDI solved major retailer connectivity, but PDF automation addresses the rest of your order stream. Together, they eliminate manual intervention throughout your order-to-cash cycle.

For wholesale suppliers, each PDF order represents both revenue and potential cost. Without automation, it's a manual task demanding time better spent elsewhere. With automation, it's simply another order flowing through your optimized system—no special handling required.

‍Ready to close the PDF automation gap? Contact Tech85 to learn how our PDF translation technology works with your existing system to create complete order automation.