Architecture guide
For CPG teams evaluating how a PO workspace fits alongside ERP, WMS, EDI, and the tools they already use.
An Intelligent PO does not ask every system to become something it is not. It connects their context around the order your team must execute.
The stack
Issues the PO, requirements, portals, appointments, remittance, and deductions. KeHE, UNFI, Target, Walmart each have their own portal and compliance rules.
Transports structured transactions: 850 (PO), 855 (acknowledgement), 856 (ASN), 810 (invoice), 812 (credit memo). SPS Commerce and others carry the data but do not interpret it.
Holds financial records, items, customers, invoices, and accounting truth. QuickBooks, NetSuite, and similar systems are the ledger, not the operational record.
Executes inventory, picking, packing, shipping, and warehouse evidence. The warehouse knows what shipped. It does not know why a deduction happened downstream.
Carry exceptions, decisions, attachments, follow-ups, and human context. Critical operational information lives in Slack threads and email chains no other system can see.
The Intelligent PO™
Connects the operational story, requirements, evidence, attention, and next actions around each retailer-issued PO. It does not replace any system above. It makes the connections between them visible and actionable.
Hover over any system to see what it does. EasyOps is the connective layer.
Data flow
EDI / ERP
Shipments
WMS
Retailer rules
Deduction evidence
EasyOps
The Intelligent PO™
Based on the EasyOps operating model. Each source retains its role. EasyOps connects the operational story.
System boundaries
Every system in the stack does its job well. The problem is that operational questions span the gaps between them.
What it knows
What it can’t see
What it knows
What it can’t see
What it knows
What it can’t see
What it knows
What it can’t see
What it knows
What it can’t see
What actually breaks
Each scenario is drawn from real KeHE deduction types. Click any card to see the gap.
What each system shows
EDI says shipped. WMS says picked. The receiving count disagrees.
The gap
No system automatically connects the pick confirmation, the ASN, and the DC count. Without that link, the shortage deduction (IA) posts uncontested.
Click to see the gap →
What each system shows
The scheduling system shows a missed appointment. The email chain shows the buyer rescheduled.
The gap
The fee fires automatically. The exonerating evidence lives in an email thread no portal can see.
Click to see the gap →
What each system shows
The 3PL pick confirmation and BOL both show full quantity. KeHE's fill rate score reflects a DC miscount.
The gap
The 3% SLF fee triggers automatically. Your evidence is in a different system. If no one connects them within 180 days, the fee becomes permanent.
Click to see the gap →
What each system shows
K-Solve shows the CN line. The retailer billing terms live in a contract your Category Manager negotiated.
The gap
CN pass-throughs are contractual by default. A billing anomaly sits in the noise until someone reconciles across systems.
Click to see the gap →
Scenario walkthrough
Follow one deduction across every system in the stack. The deduction: IA, $1,240 invoice adjustment on PO-88214.
K-Solve shows the deduction: IA prefix, $1,240, referencing PO-88214. Backup PDF shows INVOICE QTY 48, RECEIVE QTY 36, VARIANCE 12.
SPS Commerce confirms the 856 (ASN) transmitted on time listing 48 cases. The 855 was sent within 24 hours.
Pick confirmation shows 48 cases pulled. BOL signed by carrier shows 48 loaded. POD shows 48 delivered to the DC dock.
Slack thread: carrier reported a 30-min dock delay. Email from DC receiving: "pallet was pinwheeled, recount required."
QuickBooks shows invoice for 48 cases at $25.83/case = $1,240. Remittance short by $1,240. No credit memo created.
The Intelligent PO™
All five sources connected to PO-88214. ASN on time, carrier BOL confirms 48, DC counted 36, UDR window open 6 more days. Evidence packet ready. Verdict: strongly disputable.
“I haven’t seen anyone taking this kind of proactive approach.”
“Many people touch the PO little by little, but no single person has a good bird’s eye view of it.”
The operating model
The platform where your systems, teams, and operations work as one. Surface current status and risk. Coordinate the next action. Preserve the complete wholesale source of truth.
Orders, emails, documents, shipments, deductions, and decisions in one place.
Flags price, timing, routing, and compliance mismatches before fulfillment.
Audit record and source of truth without manual uploads or entry.
Drafts disputes, submits where possible, tracks every dispute through resolution.
Evaluation checklist
Use these questions with any vendor, including EasyOps. The answers will reveal whether a solution connects your existing stack or creates another silo.
A PO is the natural unit of wholesale work. If the product organizes around tasks or accounts instead, you will spend time re-mapping context every time a deduction arrives.
Your EDI, ERP, WMS, email, and portals already work. The right solution adds the connective layer, not another system that demands migration.
Alerts without context create more work. The system should surface the PO, evidence, governing rule, and deadline together.
When someone asks "why did we do that?", the answer should be one click away. Untraceable decisions become liabilities during audits.
Recovery is a trailing indicator. Prevention catches routing errors, documentation gaps, and timing issues before they produce deductions.
Deductions span departments. If ops, finance, broker, and 3PL can not see the same PO context, decisions are made with partial information.
