Automating Supplier Confirmations: How to Save 10 Hours a Week

“Hey Rahul, can you check if the supplier confirmed the shipping date on that PO?”
The question came at 4:30 PM, and Rahul sighed. He knew what this meant. Another half-hour of digging through email threads, updating spreadsheets, and following up with suppliers across time zones.

By the time he replied, it was already 5:20 PM.

This wasn’t a one-off task. It was routine.

For Rahul, a supply chain executive at a mid-sized electronics manufacturer, manually chasing supplier confirmations had become a time sink. Ten hours a week—nearly a full working day—was being lost to back-and-forth emails, missed updates, and the endless loop of “Just following up…” messages.

The Hidden Time Drain in Manual Supplier Confirmations

Rahul’s story isn’t unique.

Across industries—be it automotive, pharma, retail, or consumer goods—supply chain teams spend an alarming amount of time chasing supplier updates. Most companies still rely on manual methods:

• Excel sheets shared over email
• Outlook reminders to follow up on pending responses
• Long email chains with suppliers based in different geographies
• Teams manually checking and updating confirmation statuses on ERP systems

It’s not just time-consuming; it’s also error-prone. A missed confirmation can lead to late dispatches, missed production windows, or worst-case scenario—stockouts.

Let’s break it down.
If a team handles 50-100 purchase orders a week and even half require follow-up, that’s 25-50 touchpoints. Each one may take around 10-15 minutes including writing the email, waiting for responses, updating records, and nudging suppliers again. That’s over 6–12 hours a week per person.

Now multiply that by the size of your operations.

No wonder Rahul was burning out.

What if There Was a Smarter Way?

This is where the story takes a turn.

One Friday afternoon, during a routine review meeting, Rahul’s manager introduced something new: GoComet’s Automated Supplier Confirmation Workflow.

“We’ve onboarded GoComet to handle our container tracking and delay management. Turns out, they also have a supplier confirmation automation module. Let’s give it a try.”

Rahul was skeptical. He’d seen too many “productivity tools” add more chaos than they solved. But this time, it was different.

How GoComet’s Supplier Confirmation Workflow Works

Within a week, the team had integrated GoComet’s workflow into their existing procurement system.

Here’s how the magic unfolded:

1. Automated PO Sharing

The moment a purchase order was created in the ERP, GoComet automatically picked it up and sent it to the concerned supplier, complete with all the necessary details—product info, quantity, requested shipping date, and delivery location.

No more downloading PDFs and attaching them manually.

2. Supplier Portal with One-Click Confirmations

Suppliers received a unique link—no logins, no learning curve. With a single click, they could:

• Confirm the PO as is
• Suggest a new shipping date
• Add comments or raise exceptions
• Upload shipping documents if ready

All of this fed directly into GoComet’s dashboard, which synced back with Rahul’s ERP system.

3. Auto-Follow-Ups That Save Your Inbox

If the supplier didn’t respond within 24 hours, GoComet sent a gentle reminder. After 48 hours? Another nudge. Suppliers got timely alerts without Rahul lifting a finger.

And if there was still no response after 3 days? It escalated to Rahul and his manager.

No more setting Outlook flags. No more missed confirmations.

4. Dashboard and Analytics

At a glance, Rahul could now see:

• All pending, confirmed, and delayed POs
• Response time by supplier
• Top performers and bottlenecks
• Auto-generated exception reports for management

What took hours each week was now visible in real-time.

The Results: Saving 10 Hours a Week (and Rahul’s Sanity)

After the first month of using GoComet’s automated workflow, Rahul did a time audit.

He was saving nearly 10 hours every week. That’s 40 hours a month, or 500 hours a year—the equivalent of more than 12 full work weeks.

But it wasn’t just time. The accuracy improved, too. Supplier confirmations were now logged, timestamped, and traceable—no more “he said, she said” confusion. Delays were flagged in advance, allowing Rahul’s team to proactively adjust delivery schedules or sourcing plans.

Plus, supplier relationships improved. With a smoother process and less chaos, communication became more constructive.

“We didn’t realize how inefficient our system was until we automated it,” Rahul admitted. “Now, I don’t even remember the last time I manually followed up on a PO.”

Why This Matters Now More Than Ever

In today’s volatile global supply chain environment, agility and responsiveness are everything. The more time your team spends on manual grunt work, the less time they have to strategize, optimize, and respond to real disruptions.

Automation isn’t just about saving hours. It’s about freeing up mental bandwidth for high-impact work.

And with platforms like GoComet, automation isn’t complicated anymore.

You don’t need a massive IT overhaul. The system works on top of your existing workflows. It’s cloud-based, user-friendly, and easily scalable whether you’re handling 100 or 10,000 purchase orders a month.

Bonus Benefits with GoComet

Beyond the supplier confirmation automation, GoComet offers a suite of tools that help streamline your supply chain:

• Real-time container tracking across all carriers
• Predictive ETA powered by AI and satellite data
• Delay management dashboards
• Freight cost benchmarking and rate procurement modules
• Geofencing alerts for proactive exception handling

All of this is unified under a single platform, meaning fewer tabs, fewer tools, and fewer headaches.

The Bottom Line

Rahul’s story is just one of many.

As supply chains get more complex, the simplest improvements—like automating supplier confirmations—can create disproportionate impact. In Rahul’s case, it gave him back 10 hours a week, brought clarity to his operations, and even improved supplier performance.

So, if your inbox is filled with “any update on this PO?” emails, maybe it’s time to ask yourself:

What would your week look like if you never had to chase a supplier confirmation again?

With GoComet, that’s not just wishful thinking—it’s reality.

Ready to see it in action?
Book a free demo with GoComet today and discover how your team can save time, reduce errors, and gain full control over supplier collaboration.