Supplier side · quality documents
Material certificate automation, from the mill’s PDF to your archive
Material certificate automation means software reads the mill certificates your suppliers send and files each one where it belongs. ERP Agent splits a multi-certificate PDF, typically EN 10204 3.1, reads each certificate’s number, heat number, product and purchase order, checks the heat against the goods received on that order and, once a person sends the batch, files each certificate in your archive as a PDF and XML pair.
What arrives with a steel delivery?
Mills and processors email certificates as PDFs, ahead of the goods or with them. One PDF can bundle a whole delivery, with the certificate number repeated on every page and headings in German and English (Schmelze, Charge, Abmessung). Collective certificates list one grade in several sizes; processors attach the mill’s certificate behind their own. Many arrive scanned.
Someone in purchasing or quality then splits the file, matches each certificate to its order and product, and files it. Customers building to EN 1090 or under the Pressure Equipment Directive later ask for the certificate of the heat (cast) they received. When every certificate sits on the right order from day one, your sales desk answers that request at once instead of searching inboxes and folders.
Which inspection documents do suppliers send?
EN 10204 defines four inspection document types for metallic products. A “mill certificate” or “MTC” is usually a 3.1; the US term is mill test report (MTR).
| Type | Document | Validated by | Contents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | Declaration of compliance with the order | The manufacturer | No test results |
| 2.2 | Test report | The manufacturer | Non-specific inspection, not necessarily of the delivered batch |
| 3.1 | Inspection certificate 3.1 | The manufacturer’s inspection representative, independent of production | Specific inspection of the products supplied |
| 3.2 | Inspection certificate 3.2 | That representative plus the purchaser’s representative or an inspector named by regulations | As 3.1, validated by both sides |
The heat number ties a 3.1 certificate to the material delivered, which is why the agent reads it and checks it. The term itself is explained under EN 10204 3.1 certificate.
How does mill test certificate software handle a certificate file?
The certificates arrive
Forward the supplier’s email to your ERP Agent supplier inbox, or upload the PDF. The agent tells certificates apart from order confirmations and shipment lists, and reads scans with OCR.
It splits the file
A new certificate starts where a fresh heat number or product block begins, not at a page counter or a repeated certificate number. A mill certificate behind a processor’s certificate stays with it. When a file’s boundaries are unclear, it stays whole with a note for the reviewer rather than being cut at a guess.
It reads each certificate
Certificate number, heat number, product code and description, grade, dimension, supplier and your purchase-order number. A collective certificate gives one row per line item.
It finds the purchase-order line
The agent fetches the purchase order from your ERP. An identical product code wins; otherwise only that order’s lines are candidates, with grade and dimension separating look-alikes such as the same elbow in 304L and in 316L. The result is your product code, not the mill’s.
It cross-checks the heat number
Where your ERP records heat numbers at goods receipt, a badge warns when a certificate’s heat is not among that order’s receipts, or sits on another line than the product matched. A line received in three lots carries three heats.
A person sends the batch
Reject the rows that do not belong; the rest need no approval one by one. Each remaining certificate goes to your archive as its own PDF and XML pair.
Why ERP Agent does more than OCR or document capture
Plain OCR turns a certificate into text, and template-based capture needs a layout defined for each mill before it can read one. Either way, matching each certificate to its purchase order and filing it is still work for your team.
ERP Agent reads the certificate as it is written, German or English headings, collective certificates and processor certificates included, with no template to set up per mill. Its output is the part that used to take the time: the right purchase-order line, your own product code, a heat number checked against goods receipt and a filed PDF and XML pair.
Example: one supplier PDF, four certificate rows
Seven pages for PO 24187: two mill certificates, one of them collective, and a processor’s certificate with the mill’s behind it.
Supplier email “Certificates PO 24187”, 1 PDF
- pp. 1-2 · Inspection certificate 3.1 no. 118-4471 · Rundstahl Ø40 1.4404 · Schmelze 784512
- pp. 3-4 · Certificate 3.1 no. 118-4472 · Flachstahl S355J2+N · Pos. 1 100x10, Charge 66120 · Pos. 2 80x8, Charge 66121
- p. 5 · Processor’s certificate 3.1 no. SB-2291 · sawn bar Ø60 S355J2 · heat 553071, batch B5530
- pp. 6-7 · The mill’s certificate for that bar
| Certificate row | Heat | PO line · your code | Heat check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 118-4471 | 784512 | Line 2 · RB40-4404 | Matches |
| 118-4472 pos. 1 | 66120 | Line 1 · FB100X10-S355 | Matches |
| 118-4472 pos. 2 | 66121 | Line 3 · FB80X8-S355 | Not received on this PO |
| SB-2291, pp. 5-7 | 553071 | Line 4 · RB60-S355-CUT | Blank: not received yet |
Illustrative example with invented numbers and product codes, not a customer document. By default, nothing reaches the archive until a person sends the batch.
What does the reviewer check before sending?
- The original beside the rows. The supplier’s page sits next to the rows the agent read; on PDFs with a text layer, the values it read are circled on the page.
- Why this product code. The agent’s reasoning sits beside each code; a second check flags a grade, dimension or standard that contradicts the PO line and lowers the confidence.
- Confidence per row, with low-confidence rows counted at the top, so the reviewer starts where attention is needed.
- Heat check per row. A match gets a small tick, a contradiction a warning; a row with nothing received yet stays blank, because certificates often arrive before the goods.
- Edit, add, reject. Correct any field, add a certificate row by hand, or reject one from another delivery. Sending saves your edits, then locks the document.
What does it connect to?
ERP Agent integrates with Business Central, SAP, NetSuite, Visma, IFS, Sage and any other ERP or CRM. Certificate handling uses two connections: your purchase orders and your document archive.
| Connection | Used for | How it connects |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase orders in your ERP | Finding the PO line and your product code; heat numbers booked at goods receipt, where recorded | The ERP connection we set up for your company during onboarding, in Business Central, SAP, Jeeves or any other ERP |
| Document archive | One PDF per certificate, plus XML with certificate number, heat number, your product code, supplier and PO number | Files over SFTP, in an XML layout agreed during setup |
ERP Agent is GDPR-compliant, and models run with zero data retention. See security and data handling.
Built around your purchasing and quality teams
- Works on top of your ERP. No replacement project: the agent reads purchase orders and goods receipts where they already are, and files into the archive you already use.
- Your quality team keeps the judgement. The agent does the splitting, reading and matching, so your quality team spends its time on chemical and mechanical values instead of paperwork.
- You decide what reaches the archive. By default, a person sends each batch, with every row, heat check and source page in view.
- Traceability you can answer. When a customer asks for the certificate of the heat they received, it is on the right order under your product code.
The same agent already runs quoting for distributors
- 95%
- average automation across our customers
- Over 95%
- accuracy in quote-line automation at LVI-WaBeK
- Live
- with steel, HVAC and fastener distributors
The best test is your own paperwork: bring a recent bundle from your most awkward mill to the call and see the rows it produces. The LVI-WaBeK story shows the quote side in practice.
Who it is for, and what sits next to it
Steel stockholders and metal service centres buying bar, tube, plate and sections on 3.1, fittings distributors selling the same fitting in several grades, and fastener distributors asked for certificates on bolts for pressure equipment.
The same supplier inbox checks supplier order confirmations against the PO. On the sales side, ERP Agent prepares quotes and sales orders for your ERP, CRM or other system: see quote automation and AI agents for wholesale distribution.
Frequently asked questions
What is material certificate automation?
Software that splits incoming certificate files, reads each certificate, links it to its purchase order and product, and files it. ERP Agent adds a heat-number cross-check against goods receipt; by default a person sends the batch before it reaches the archive.
How do I get a mill test certificate?
Ask for it on the purchase order: name the inspection document type, usually EN 10204 3.1, and state that it must cover the material delivered. The mill or stockholder then sends it with the goods or ahead of them, usually as a PDF by email.
How do you check a mill test certificate?
Check that it is the type you ordered (usually 3.1), that grade, standard and dimensions match the order, that the heat number matches the delivered material, and that chemical and mechanical values meet the grade. ERP Agent does the order, product and heat checks for you, so your quality team can focus on the values.
Can mill test certificate software read scanned certificates?
Yes. ERP Agent reads scanned PDFs with OCR, and every row then goes through the same checks: the purchase-order line, the heat numbers booked in at goods receipt and the reviewer’s look at the source page.
How does the heat-number cross-check work?
The agent compares each certificate’s heat with the heats your ERP has booked in on its purchase order at goods receipt. Case and separators are ignored: AB-12/345 and AB12345 count as the same heat. A heat found on another line of the order prompts a second look at the product code.
What if a certificate does not show our purchase-order number?
Mills and stockholders often print their own order reference instead. The agent checks PO numbers against your order-number format and sets aside values in another format, such as a certificate number or the supplier’s reference, rather than guessing a PO; that row then asks for the PO. A PO number typed with the upload always takes priority over what was read from the page.
Does it work with my ERP and document archive?
Yes. ERP Agent integrates with Business Central, SAP, NetSuite, Visma, IFS, Sage and any other ERP or CRM, and we set up the connection for your company during onboarding. Certificate handling reads purchase orders through that connection, and certificates reach your archive as PDF and XML files over SFTP. See the integrations overview.
Related
- EN 10204 3.1 certificate: what a mill test certificate means
- Supplier order confirmation automation, line by line against the PO
- Steel distribution quote automation for stockholders and metal service centres
- Fittings wholesaler quote automation for valves, flanges and pipe fittings
- ERP integrations for AI quote and order automation, on any ERP system
- CSV ERP integration for quote automation: start with a catalogue file
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Lauri Pelkonen
Founder & CEO
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