Table of Contents
A North American industrial components distributor relied on employees to manually enter shipment information from courier waybills into Dynamics 365.
Because each courier used a different document format, the process was slow, inconsistent, and prone to data-entry errors.
AlphaBOLD developed an AI-powered shipment intake solution within the distributor’s existing Dynamics 365 environment. The solution automatically extracts waybill information, validates relevant records, and populates the courier log within seconds.
Case Study Overview
- Industry: Industrial Distribution
- Region: North America
- Business Process: Shipment Intake and Courier Log Management
- Technologies: Dynamics 365, Power Apps Component Framework, Power Automate, AI Builder, and Microsoft Dataverse
- Primary Outcome: Shipment processing time reduced from minutes to seconds
The Challenge: Manual Waybill Processing Slowed Shipment Intake
The organization manages a high volume of inbound shipments from multiple logistics providers as part of its distribution operations.
Shipment intake relied on manual data entry from courier waybills across providers such as UPS, FedEx, Purolator, Loomis, and TForce. Each courier used different formats and layouts, creating friction in daily operations.
This resulted in:
- Time-intensive manual entry across multiple shipment fields
- Inconsistent data capture due to varying document formats
- Increased risk of human error in operational records
- Lack of a standardized intake process across teams
While Dynamics 365 was in place, the intake workflow itself had not been optimized for efficiency or scale.
The Solution
AlphaBOLD designed and deployed an AI-powered courier log feature directly within Dynamics 365 to automate shipment data capture.
The solution allows users to scan a waybill and automatically extract and populate all relevant shipment data in real time.
Core Components:
- Custom PCF control for in-application image capture
- Power Automate for workflow orchestration
- AI Builder using GPT-based prompts for structured data extraction
- Dataverse integration for real-time lookup resolution and validation
How It Works:
- A user scans a courier waybill within Dynamics 365
- The image is processed through an AI model
- Key shipment data is extracted and structured into JSON
- Fields are automatically populated in the courier log
- Dataverse performs real-time lookups to match and validate records
The process is completed within seconds, eliminating the need for manual data entry.
Business Impact:
- The implementation delivered immediate and measurable improvements:
- Reduced shipment data entry time from minutes to seconds
- Improved consistency across multiple courier formats
- Minimized manual errors in shipment records
- Standardized intake workflows across operational teams
- Increased efficiency without introducing new systems
Why This Matters:
For industrial distributors operating with high shipment volumes and strict quality standards, operational efficiency depends on accurate and timely data capture.
This solution demonstrates how AI can be embedded directly into existing systems like Dynamics 365 to streamline workflows without disrupting core operations.
AlphaBOLD’s Approach
AlphaBOLD assessed the existing shipment intake process, identified the required data and validation rules, and designed an automation that worked within the client’s current Microsoft environment.
The team developed the PCF control, configured the AI extraction process, built the Power Automate workflow, and integrated the solution with Dynamics 365 and Dataverse.
This approach allowed the organization to improve a high-volume operational process without replacing its core business application.
Looking to Automate Similar Workflows?
If manual data entry slows down your operations, there are opportunities to streamline and automate using AI within your existing systems.
Request a consultation to explore how AI can improve your workflows.
