Shortlist parts and suppliers from your own sources, name the distribution path behind each candidate, and hold every alternate part for the named buyer who decides whether it is ordered.
Ingest the demand line, the bill of materials and the approved-supplier list from supported ERP, PLM or MRP sources.
02
Normalise each line to a full manufacturer part number, and hold anything that resolves to more than one part.
Reason
03
Shortlist candidates from the sources your desk configured, and from no other customer's buying data.
04
Name the distribution path behind each candidate — manufacturer, authorised supplier, or outside that hierarchy.
05
Mark the point where a path leaves authorised distribution, and state what the buyer would be taking on.
Decide
06
Screen each supplier and each part against the forced-labour and restricted-source lists on file.
07
Stop the line on a hit and route it to the named owner, who is the one who reports it.
Out
08
Retain the sources read, the path stated, the screening result and the buyer's decision on the requisition.
09
Execute write actions only inside the approval boundaries agreed during implementation.
→Product statement
The agent shortlists and names the path; a named buyer decides whether an alternate part is ordered — and once a buy leaves authorised distribution, authenticity is the buyer's to answer for.
Example workflow
One demand line, shortlist to order
AgentHuman
1Demand receivedERP requisition, MRP shortage, BOM change or a buyer's request
2Sources assembledApproved-supplier list, authorised-distribution records, lifecycle notices and stock, each with its as-of date
3Shortlist draftedCandidate parts, the distribution path behind each, screening result and confidence
4Controls appliedApproved-source checks, distribution-path checks, the configured screening lists and confidence threshold
No human action required
Stages 1 to 4 run unaided, and nothing is ordered at any of them — the agent is shortlisting, and the buyer's lane opens at the confidence gate.
5DecisionBranches at the confidence threshold
High confidence
Goes to the named buyer to approve.
Low confidence
Adds a component-engineering read first.
Buyer approval
The shortlist is held with its sources, the path behind each candidate and the confidence.
Approve · Amend · Send to engineering review
Approved — released to order▼
6ERP and PLM updatedOnly where write access and approval policy allow it
7Outcome evaluatedAmendment distance, path outcomes, screening stops and nonconformances found after the order
Amendments
Each buyer amendment is counted in the evaluation.
What should not run autonomously
Human approval stays in control
Outside the boundary — human approval required8 items
Releasing a purchase order to a supplier.
Approving an alternate part for a build.
Concluding that a part is authentic.
Releasing anything a screening hit stopped.
Automation boundaryAgent acts unaided
✓Shortlist candidate parts and suppliers from your configured sources.
✓Name the distribution path behind each candidate.
✓Assemble the evidence pack a buyer reads before deciding.
✓Stop on a screening hit, and hold the line for the named owner.
Any write happens inside the boundaries agreed at implementation, never ahead of the buyer.
Accepting a path outside authorised distribution.
Certifying substance or minerals compliance.
Determining country of origin or duty treatment.
Changes to approved sources or screening rules.
Example output
One candidate part, annotated
Everything the agent puts forward is attached to the record it was drawn from.
Sourcing output · single candidateIllustrative example
Requirement
Candidate part
Lifecycle status
Distribution path
Confidence
Authenticity risk
Shortage on a live build
Same manufacturer, alternate package, engineering review open
Active, not obsolete
Authorised distributor
91%
Stays with the authorised path
As receivedRead from the approved-supplier list and the distribution records — the agent has not seen the part.
Break the amendment rate down by commodity before you trust it. The lines carrying it are the ones a buyer would have asked to see first — obsolete parts, and suppliers new to the approved list.
Slice performance — reported separately, not only in aggregateIllustrative example
Slice
Failure rate
Lift
Lift vs. threshold
Status
Alternate parts for obsolete lines
7.3%
3.4×
Review
Suppliers new to the approved list
4.5%
2.1×
Review
Allocated and long-lead commodities
3.4%
1.6×
Watch
Repeat buys on an authorised path
1.9%
0.9×
Normal
Bar: amendment-rate lift vs. the repeat-buy baseline · scale 0–4.0× · tick marks the 2.0× review threshold2 of 4 slices over threshold
Evidence-linked improvement
The loop shuts when the case is written
The loop closes on a case the next release must pass, not on an explanation. That suite is what the next part put forward to a buyer is measured against.
Improvement cycle · five stagesSwitchback — the path turns at Improve and returns at Learn
01Detect
Amendment rate rises in one commodity slice.
02Diagnose
Read back through the shortlists and the records behind each candidate until a single cause is left standing.
03Improve
The fix is versioned with the shortlists that motivated it.
04Verify
Nothing ships while an affected case is failing.
05Learn
The case is added for good, and the sourcing rules change.
Learn → DetectThe return edge. Detection is re-run against a suite that grew.
Typical build scope
Twelve workstreams across six weeks
The build scope read against the delivery timeline. Week structure follows the six-week plan — discovery, sources, sourcing workflow, evaluation, integration, then production validation and handover.
WorkstreamWeek 1Week 2Week 3Week 4Week 5Week 6
01Sourcing workflow discovery and boundary definition.
02ERP, PLM and supplier-data assessment.
03Approved-supplier, screening and path-rule mapping.
04Demand ingestion and part normalisation.
05Shortlisting logic and path binding.
06Confidence scoring and hit routing.
07Buyer approval workflow.
08ERP, PLM and MRP integration.
09Source-path regression cases.
10Guardrails and screening controls.
11Sourcing-trail instrumentation.
12Deployment, documentation and Agent Care handover.
12 workstreams · 6 weeks · bar shows the weeks a workstream is active — several run in parallelFinal scope and sequence confirmed in discovery
Engagement tiers
What each tier includes
Rows are the capabilities named in each tier's scope. Higher tiers include everything below them.
Capability✓ in scope · — not at this tierPilotOne commodity, one deskProductionProduction ERP and PLMAdvancedMultiple entities / regions
Introduced at Pilot
Shortlisting from your own sources✓✓✓
Buyer approval✓✓✓
Shortlist-quality baseline✓✓✓
Introduced at Production
Reporting by commodity—✓✓
Approval workflow in your systems—✓✓
Approved write-back—✓✓
ERP and PLM integration—✓✓
Introduced at Advanced
Multi-entity source and screen rules——✓
Multi-stage buying approvals——✓
High line volume——✓
Multi-entity sourcing controls——✓
Build priceFrom $5,000From $8,000Custom quote
Final build priceConfirmed after discovery based on integrations, workflow complexity, line volume, approval controls and deployment requirements.
Separate from buildBuild pricing is separate from recurring Agent Care, which covers managed monitoring, evaluations, incidents and verified improvements after launch.
What we need from you
What you bring, and what we build with it
Each input maps to a piece of build scope and a week in the delivery timeline.
You bringWe build with it
01Your approved-supplier list and source rules→Approved-source ingestion and path mappingWeek 1
02Representative sourcing decisions you have made→Shortlisting baseline, path binding and evidence assemblyWeek 2
03Your screening lists and who owns a hit→Approved-supplier, screening and path-rule mappingWeek 1
04Access to relevant APIs, feeds or exports→ERP, PLM and distribution-feed assessment, then integration setupWeek 2
05Parts you would not want ordered→Path cases and the evaluation suiteWeek 4
06What a shortlist may never certify→Confidence scoring, screening configuration, guardrails and approval controlsWeek 3
07Named buyers who accept a candidate→Buyer approval workflow, then pilot and production validationWeeks 5–6
Nothing else is requiredDeployment, documentation and Agent Care handover are ours.
Delivery timeline
Four phases across six weeks
Each phase occupies the weeks it needs, so the fifth week carries two kinds of work.
PhaseW1W2W3W4W5W6
DiscoveryW1
BuildW2 – W3
EvaluateW4 – W5
Pilot & LaunchW5 – W6
Week focusW1Sourcing workflow discovery, source mapping and the automation boundaryW2Source integration and the shortlisting baselineW3Shortlisting workflow, confidence logic and approval controlsW4Evaluation suite, screening configuration and failure-mode testingW5ERP and PLM integration, pilot lines and targeted correctionsW6One sourcing cycle worked under the buying desk, then handover
Reading the bandA bar sits over the weeks its work is named in and no others. The week 5 overlap is real work, not padding.
At the end of W6The cycle closes validation and Agent Care assumes monitoring.
DurationSix-week plan shown · typical delivery 4–6 weeks depending on scope confirmed in discovery.
Next step · Electronics AI agent
Build a sourcing agent around the buyer who already signs the order.
Show us your approved sources, your screening lists and who accepts an alternate part. You bring the source hierarchy you already buy to and the named buyer who signs. We map the sourcing workflow, set the automation boundary and leave the order where it sits.
