How Advanced Assembly Products, Inc. & Affiliates Automated Multi-Inbox Invoice Processing and Data Sync to Plex ERP

In the fast-paced manufacturing industry, Advanced Assembly Products, Inc. & Affiliates faced the tedious task of manually monitoring multiple email inboxes for incoming vendor invoices, extracting and validating data, and then accurately uploading these details into their Plex ERP system. This manual process was time-consuming, error-prone, and slowed down accounting operations. They needed a reliable automation solution that would ensure invoice data accuracy while maintaining security and integrating smoothly within their existing ERP environment.

Problem Statement

Advanced Assembly Products, Inc. & Affiliates required a fully automated workflow capable of continuously monitoring four separate email inboxes for vendor invoices, extracting critical data using AI and OCR technologies, then pushing that data into their Plex ERP system. A core challenge was ensuring this solution worked initially within Plex’s sandbox environment, without direct access to the live system, before safely deploying it to production. The automation needed to handle multiple invoice types, validate data thoroughly, and efficiently manage exceptions — all while securely storing invoice files and maintaining comprehensive processing logs.

Proposed Automation Solution

The proposed solution implemented an end-to-end automated workflow with the following key components:

• Continuous Multi-Inbox Monitoring
  Four designated Outlook inboxes are monitored 24/7. New incoming emails trigger the workflow automatically.

• AI-Based Invoice Detection and PDF Validation
  Emails are analyzed by AI to verify if they contain invoices. Only PDF attachments are processed; emails without PDFs are excluded.

• Advanced Invoice Data Extraction Using AI/OCR
  Critical invoice fields such as vendor name, invoice number, date, amount, quantity, PO number, and invoice period are extracted and formatted for accuracy.

• Process Type Identification Based on Vendor and PO Number
  Invoices are classified into three processes:

  1. PO-included invoices (70–80%)
  2. Non-PO invoices (10–15%)
  3. Freight vendor invoices (10–15%) from specific logistics companies

• Invoice File Management and Storage
  Each invoice file is renamed in the format: “INV MM-YYYY VendorName InvoiceNumber.pdf” and uploaded to a structured OneDrive folder system organized by year, manufacturing location, and fiscal period.

• Custom ERP Interaction with Plex

  • Process 1: Searches and updates existing invoices in Plex using the PO number and vendor name; performs validations including GL account matching and amount checks; attaches invoice PDFs upon success.
  • Process 2: Creates new Plex invoices for entries without PO numbers, tagging them for manual accounting review.
  • Process 3: Matches freight invoices against a yearly freight log, determines GL accounts based on freight codes, and creates corresponding Plex entries with status automatically updated upon freight validation.

• Comprehensive Automated Logging and Error Handling
  After each execution, an Excel log captures detailed processing data, including email metadata, extracted fields, process classification, Plex status, storage paths, exceptions, and validation outcomes. These logs are stored securely for audit purposes.

• Email Status Updates
  Processed emails are marked as “READ” and “COMPLETE” only if all workflow steps succeed. Otherwise, errors are logged and flagged for manual intervention.

This AI-powered, robust integration ensured compliance with the client’s requirement to validate the workflow within Plex’s test environment before live deployment, creating a seamless, scalable automation solution.

The Results

By automating the multi-inbox invoice monitoring and Plex data synchronization, Advanced Assembly Products, Inc. & Affiliates dramatically reduced manual data entry time and minimized errors. The workflow’s AI-driven classification and validation enhanced data accuracy and accountability. Integration with the Plex sandbox environment allowed secure testing and smooth deployment, ensuring no disruption to live operations. Overall, the automation increased processing speed, improved auditability, and empowered the accounting team to focus on higher-value tasks, driving operational excellence.