How do you automate supply chain and procurement workflows?

Supply chain automation orchestrates procurement, inventory, logistics, and supplier management. Procurement automation: requisition-to-PO workflow automates approval routing based on category, amount, and budget availability, vendor selection uses scoring algorithms (price, quality, delivery time, compliance), and PO generation populates from approved requisitions. Inventory management: automated reorder point calculation using demand forecasting (time series analysis with seasonal decomposition), safety stock optimization balancing carrying cost against stockout risk, and automated PO generation when inventory crosses reorder thresholds. Supplier management: automated RFQ distribution to qualified vendors, bid evaluation with weighted scoring, contract lifecycle management with renewal reminders and compliance tracking, and supplier performance dashboards aggregating delivery, quality, and cost metrics. Logistics automation: shipment tracking via carrier API integration (FedEx, UPS, DHL), automated exception handling (delayed shipment triggers customer notification and alternative routing), and customs documentation automation for international shipments. Integration: connect ERP (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite) with supplier portals, carrier systems, warehouse management, and financial systems. AI enhancement: demand forecasting using ML models (Prophet, ARIMA, neural networks), anomaly detection for fraudulent requisitions, and NLP for contract analysis and risk identification. Metrics: procurement cycle time, PO accuracy rate, inventory turnover, supplier on-time delivery rate, and cost savings from automation.