Customer Documents
The paperwork your customers ask for, sent from the records you already keep.
Customer Documents sends the ASNs, invoices, CoAs, SDSs, and tracking each customer asks for, from your system of record and in their format. Your shipping coordinator stops building document sets by hand at the end of every day.
What it does
Every customer wants its documents its own way. One wants an ASN in their format, another wants the invoice uploaded to their portal, and most want a CoA for each lot shipped, the current SDS revision, and a tracking number by end of day. Until a map gets built for that trading partner, someone builds each set by hand, pulling the shipment from the ERP, finding the lot's CoA, renaming the PDF, logging into the portal, and emailing the warehouse.
When a shipment, invoice, or lot release is recorded in your ERP, Customer Documents looks up which documents that customer requires and in what format. It assembles them from your ERP, QA, and shipping records, including the lot's CoA, the current SDS, the packing list, and the tracking number. It checks the set against the order and flags a wrong lot, quantity, or revision before routine sets go out by email, portal upload, or file drop. We build Customer Documents to order, prototyping it on your sample shipments first and then connecting it to your systems.
Your QA team still releases every CoA, and Customer Documents only sends what QA has released. Your shipping lead approves the first document set for each new customer and anything flagged as mismatched. You decide which customers and document types go out automatically and which always get a look.
What it handles
ASNs and packing lists
Advance ship notices and packing lists are built from the shipment record, in the layout and file type each customer requires. That can be a CSV, an XML file, or a PDF. Nobody types an ASN into a web form after the truck has already left the dock.
Invoices and portal uploads
Invoices generated in your ERP are formatted and uploaded to the customer's portal or sent to their AP inbox, with their PO number in the right field. If the portal rejects an upload, a person sees that one shipment.
CoAs and SDSs by lot
Each shipment carries the CoA for the exact lot shipped and the current SDS revision. Both come from your QA records. A CoA that QA hasn't released holds the set until your QA lead clears it.
Tracking and ship confirmations
The carrier and tracking number go out the moment the shipment is confirmed in your system. Customers get the update before they think to ask, so fewer where's-my-order emails reach your customer service rep. Each confirmation goes to the people that customer named.
Each customer's rules
File naming, which documents go in each set, who receives them, and when are all stored once per customer. When a customer changes its requirements, your team updates the rule in one place. The change applies from the next shipment on.
A log of every send
Every send is logged with what went out, to whom, and from which record. When a customer asks about a past shipment, your team can answer quickly from the log. The log also shows which sets were held and who approved them.
See it working
Who it's for
FAQ
Customer Documents questions
What's the difference between Customer Documents and Customer Request Desk?
Customer Documents sends what every shipment needs, such as the ASN, invoice, lot CoA, and tracking, without anyone asking. Customer Request Desk answers what a customer asks for in your shared inbox, like a CoA for an older lot or an order status. Many teams start with one and add the other.
Can it send documents in each customer's format?
Yes. It builds each customer's document set from your system of record in the format that customer requires, using the rules stored for that customer. Those rules cover file naming, which documents go in the set, who receives them, and when. Adding a new customer takes that customer's document spec and one sample set. The first set for a new customer waits for your shipping lead to approve it before it leaves.
Can it send a CoA before QA releases it?
No. Customer Documents only sends CoAs your QA team has released. A CoA that isn't released yet holds the whole set, and your QA or shipping lead sees it waiting beside the shipment it belongs to. Nothing in that set goes out until the CoA is released.
How does it make sure the right CoA and SDS go out with a shipment?
Customer Documents attaches the CoA for the exact lot shipped and the current SDS revision, pulled from your QA and shipping records. Before anything is sent, it checks the set against the order and flags a wrong lot, quantity, or revision. A flagged set waits for your QA or shipping lead instead of going out.
What happens when a customer's portal rejects an upload?
Invoices and packing lists are uploaded to the customer's portal as shipments are confirmed, with their PO number in the right field. Your team no longer logs in and uploads files one by one. A person sees only the uploads the portal rejected, so attention goes to the few that need it.
Which systems does Customer Documents pull from?
It reads shipments and invoices from your ERP, released CoAs and current SDSs from your QA records, and tracking from your shipping records. Those systems stay as they are, and your team keeps recording shipments the way it does today.
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