Manual data processing is still very much a part of many manufacturing environments. But it slows down operations, increases errors, and limits scalability.
Traditional OCR (optical character recognition), which converts printed and handwritten text into digital data, is a great example of a popular system that still depends on human oversight to function. This approach is heavily used in F&B (food and beverage) and CPG (consumer packaged goods) facilities to:
- Extract product codes and lot/batch numbers from packaging
- Find expiration dates and compliance labels
- Read invoices, shipping manifests, and purchase orders
- Parse information from other printed forms, such as certificates of analysis (COAs)
Although it’s powerful technology, the process calls for manual zoning using bounding boxes to identify where specific information lives on a document. A person must create and maintain these zone files, effectively training the OCR machine on what to extract and exactly where to look. This adds complexity and friction to workflows and increases the risk of errors when zones are misaligned or documents don’t follow a consistent format.
Every time a new supplier is onboarded, the entire process has to be completed again. It’s a never-ending cycle. As you scale, keeping up becomes difficult, if not impossible.
How AI Gets Rid of COA Delays
As artificial intelligence (AI) transitions quickly from a buzzword to a practical tool that F&B and CPG companies can use to verify and manage supplier data, it’s becoming the accelerator to modernize this legacy process.
It’s possible with intelligent document processing (IDP), a vertical-specific AI solution for brands to streamline COA processing. “OCR is an essential part of our IDP solution, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle,” explains Brandon Davidson, TraceGains product manager. “What sets our approach apart are the proprietary AI prompts behind it — AI understands the structure and context of each COA, so we can extract accurate data without relying on static templates or manual zoning.”
If AI can’t locate the data for some reason, then it’s simple for a user to quickly provide additional context to help the platform know what to look for — and it will remember that guidance moving forward.
What does this mean for F&B and CPG brands? COAs can be processed in seconds instead of minutes.
AI Transforms Document Workflows to Provide a Competitive Edge
Intelligent document processing offers big benefits for brands.
Improved Accuracy
In a proof of concept led by TraceGains using 1,000 randomized COAs, AI-driven processing delivered high accuracy, minimized errors, and reduced the need for manual intervention.
“Our IDP solution consistently outperformed traditional zoning by delivering more precise data extraction results,” explains Davidson.
As AI processes more document structures and incorporates user overrides, its accuracy continues to improve with each interaction.
Fewer Maintenance Requirements
When a supplier changes its documents — making the header bigger, modifying text alignment, changing fonts, or adjusting margins — this causes chaos in manual data-extraction workflows. Values are no longer within their bounding boxes, and critical fields can’t be identified.
But, with AI-driven IDP, there are no bounding boxes or import templates to worry about. AI can still find the data it needs without re-zoning. It adapts on the fly to different formats, can intelligently recognize suppliers and items, and handle multi-lot documentation.
Faster, Smarter Workflows for COA Processing
Here’s how IDP works when AI processes a COA:
- It extracts details and key attributes like supplier name, contact information, product name, PO number, lot number, manufacturing date, expiration date, etc.
- It determines which attributes — pH levels, moisture content, etc. — should be extracted for verification based on what it knows about your requirements to make sure quality and safety standards are met
- AI validates results for completeness and accuracy
- Users can review attributes, supplier details, and quality metrics as needed
- The COA is created and stored; the document automatically links to its corresponding digital record for easy reference
The ability to identify and analyze COA data in seconds — not minutes — isn’t just a leap in speed; it’s a way to create smarter workflows and bring the future of compliance into focus. “Legacy OCR made you do all the heavy lifting — drawing zones, maintaining templates, adjusting for every new supplier format. IDP flips that on its head,” says Davidson. “It adapts to the document, not the other way around.”
Learn more about AI-Driven Supplier Compliance at TraceGains.
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