Automation: Effortless Record Keeping

GOAL

Improve efficiency
Eliminate manual searching
Automate an entire process

TOOLS USED

Outlook
Excel
PowerAutomate

RESULT

Significant time savings. The ability to quickly reference the logbook of reference numbers, subject lines of automated responses, and their respective dates has enhanced our efficiency in resolving disputes on behalf of our clients.

Overview

Submitting contracts to Sysco’s DPM (Distributed Price Management) team triggers an automated email response from the distributor, acknowledging receipt of the contract and providing a reference number. Often, this reference number is useful when disputing price discrepancies with the distributor on behalf of our clients.

During these disputes, if we are told pricing was not loaded because the contract was not submitted, the reference number from the automated e-mail comes into use. These instances when the reference number and backup is needed by our auditing team, happen months after the fact.

Previously our team would spend time digging through old e-mails trying to find the automated response from Sysco and the reference number. To address this issue, I embarked on an initiative aimed at streamlining the process of storing and accessing these reference numbers and e-mails.

Example of an automated e-mail from Sysco

Walkthrough

This was completed by creating a PowerAutomate flow which moves these automated response e-mails from our inbox into an appropriately named folder, marks the message as read, then logs the subject line, reference number, and date of receipt into an Excel spreadsheet. The e-mail is never seen by us, is archived into a separate folder and the information is added to the spreadsheet log. When needed, we are now able to reference this spreadsheet to find the necessary information quickly and be able to find the e-mail quickly by searching for the subject line within the folder the e-mails are put into.

Screenshot of the PowerAutomate flow design

Result

After implementing this new process and automation, we were able to save valuable time by being able to easily reference the logbook of reference numbers, the subject line of the automated response, and the date it was sent to us.

Since implementing this streamlined process and automation, we have experienced significant time savings. Our ability to quickly reference the logbook of reference numbers, subject lines of automated responses, and their respective dates has enhanced our efficiency in resolving disputes on behalf of our clients. By leveraging this innovative solution, we have improved our service delivery and strengthened our ability to navigate complex pricing negotiations with Sysco.

Subject line and reference number extracted and logged to shared spreadsheet

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