Definition
Agentic AI layer for ERPSoftware connected to an existing ERP that carries out a task up to the point of approval: it reads an incoming document, works out what it means from the ERP’s data and prepares the transaction. A person approves it, and the ERP stays the system of record.
The term, word by word
- Agentic. It completes a task instead of answering a question: it works through the steps, checks its own result and hands back a finished draft. A chatbot tells you what a product code means; an agent puts the right product on the quote line.
- AI layer. A system connected to the ERP, not a module inside it. The ERP stays the system of record, and the access the layer needs is agreed before setup.
- For ERP. It works from the ERP’s products, customers and prices, and its output is an ERP document: a quote or sales order.
How does an AI layer for ERP differ from built-in AI, chatbots, RPA and OCR?
Chatbots, RPA and OCR each cover one step and leave the rest to your team. An agentic AI layer takes the customer’s request, exactly as the customer wrote it, all the way to a quote or order ready for approval, in whichever ERP you run.
| Approach | What it does | What it leaves to your team |
|---|---|---|
| AI built into the ERP | Features the ERP vendor ships inside its own product | Everything outside that vendor’s feature set |
| Chatbot or chat assistant | Answers questions and drafts text on request | The task itself: finding the products, pricing them, keying them in |
| RPA (robotic process automation) | Repeats fixed clicks and rules | Every request that does not follow the expected format |
| OCR-only document capture | Turns a document into text or fields | Deciding which catalogue product each line means |
| Agentic AI layer (ERP Agent) | Completes the task from the request as written, using the ERP’s products, customers and prices | Checking the marked lines and approving |
What does an agentic AI layer do in wholesale distribution?
Distributors run on requests written in the customer’s words: “spiro 250 3m”, a competitor’s code, an Excel list with sizes missing. A rep turns each line into a product code, checks the price and keys it into the ERP. According to our case study, a sales rep spends on average 4–7 minutes per line when creating quotes and orders by hand. The layer takes that work on.
The first agentic AI layer for wholesale distribution ERP systems. That is ERP Agent: agents that prepare quotes and sales orders on top of the ERP you already run. It is live with steel, HVAC and fastener distributors.
ERP Agent in numbers
- 95%
- average automation across our customers
- Over 95%
- accuracy in quote-line automation at LVI-WaBeK
Example: one enquiry through an agentic AI layer
A contractor emails an HVAC wholesaler. The agent identifies the customer, matches each line, pushes down dampers without the EI60 rating, recognises the customer’s own code and brings in customer pricing.
Email: “Please quote, delivery to site next week”
- 20 spiro 250 3m galv
- 4 fire damper 250 EI60
- 2 AB-4471 like last time
- 1 silencer 250 600
| Customer wrote | Qty | Proposed product | Score | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| spiro 250 3m galv | 20 | SR-250-3000 Spiral duct Ø250 mm, galvanised, 3 m | 97 | Ready |
| fire damper 250 EI60 | 4 | FD-250-EI60 Fire damper Ø250 mm, EI60 | 92 | Ready |
| AB-4471 like last time | 2 | MS-250 Mounting set Ø250 mm | 90 | Ready: customer code, quoted before |
| silencer 250 600 | 1 | SLU-250-600 Silencer Ø250 mm, 600 mm | 74 | Marked: two close candidates |
Illustrative example: the codes and scores show how the agent explains each line.
Who stays in control?
The layer prepares; people decide. Every line carries a match score from 0 to 100, and lines under 80 are marked for review. Open a line to read the agent’s reasoning or take an alternative product. The agent never sends anything to a customer on its own.
Why distributors add an AI layer instead of changing the ERP
- No ERP replacement project. ERP Agent works on top of the ERP, CRM or other system you already run, and approved quotes and orders land there.
- Built for the hardest step. Where CPQ and OCR-only tools stop, ERP Agent identifies the right product and price from the customer’s own words, part numbers and competitor codes (CPQ vs AI).
- More than ERP-embedded AI. Built-in AI works inside one vendor’s ERP. ERP Agent works with any ERP and is built for distributor quoting: match scores with reasoning, quote chat and requests matched across languages (all ERP integrations).
- It learns from your team. Each line your team sends teaches the agent your customers’ shorthand, so the knowledge stays in the company and new reps are productive sooner.
Which ERP systems does ERP Agent work with?
ERP Agent integrates with Business Central, SAP, NetSuite, Visma, IFS, Sage and any other ERP or CRM. We set up the connection for your company during onboarding, and you can start with a catalogue file the same week. Requests come in through your agent mailbox (Microsoft 365 / Outlook); your own AI agents can use the MCP server.
| System | Type | Reads | Writes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamics 365 Business Central | ERP integration | Items, customers, customer prices | Sales quotes and sales orders |
| SAP S/4HANA | ERP integration | Products, business partners, customer prices | Sales quotations and sales orders |
| SAP Business One | ERP integration | Items, business partners, price lists | Sales quotations and sales orders |
| NetSuite | ERP integration | Items, customers, customer prices | Estimates (quotes) and sales orders |
| Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain | ERP integration | Released products, customers, trade agreement prices | Sales quotations and sales orders |
| Visma | ERP integration | Items, customers, customer prices | Quotes and sales orders |
| IFS | ERP integration | Sales parts, customers, customer prices | Sales quotations and customer orders |
| Monitor ERP | ERP integration | Parts, customers, customer prices | Quotes and customer orders |
| Infor M3 | ERP integration | Items, customers, customer prices | Quotations and customer orders |
| Exact | ERP integration | Items, customers, sales prices | Quotations and sales orders |
| AFAS Profit | ERP integration | Items, debtors, price agreements | Quotes and sales orders |
| Odoo | ERP integration | Products, customers, pricelists | Quotations and sales orders |
| Sage | ERP integration | Items, customers, customer prices | Sales quotes and sales orders |
| Jeeves | ERP integration | Items, customers, customer prices | Quotes and sales orders; confirmed values on purchase orders |
| Lemonsoft | ERP integration | Items, customers, customer prices | Quotes |
| Microsoft 365 / Outlook | Email integration | Customer requests in the agent mailbox; email history for training | Nothing is sent to customers without your team |
| Catalogue file / SFTP | File | Product catalogue from a file, from the first week | The reviewed quote or order as a file, ready to import into your system |
| Any other ERP or CRM | ERP or CRM integration | Products, customers and prices, through the connection we set up for your company during onboarding | Quotes and sales orders |
Related terms
- System of record: the system whose records are authoritative; with an AI layer, the ERP.
- Customer part number: the customer’s own code for an item, like AB-4471 in the example.
- Cross-reference: a record linking one part number to another for the same or an equivalent item.
- MCP server for ERP: how AI agents get access to ERP data.
- Order entry and quote to order: processes a layer takes on in distribution.
