Exceptions are handled by hand
Orders, invoices and requests that fall outside the standard path wait for someone to investigate. Each one involves several systems.
AGENTFORCE FOR OPERATIONS
Operations run on exceptions, approvals and queries that cross team boundaries. We help you decide which of that work agents should handle, which controls must stay with people and how the gain will be evidenced.
The problem
Most operational delay is not in the work itself. It is in the waiting between steps.
Approvals stall
Requests sit in inboxes with no clear owner or deadline. Nobody can see where a decision is held up.
Systems do not connect
Teams copy information between applications to keep work moving. Errors and rework follow.
Controls slow everything down
Compliance checks are manual and applied late. Leaders have to choose between speed and assurance.
Blueprint
A shared picture for operations, finance, technology and risk. It makes clear what agents may do and what they may only recommend.
05
Experience
Where employees, suppliers and customers meet the agent.
- Slack channels
- Employee portal
- Supplier portal
04
Agents
The agents that take on defined operational work.
- Order exceptions
- Approvals routing
- Supplier queries
- Employee helpdesk
03
Trust and guardrails
The controls that keep agents inside policy.
- Delegated authority
- Segregation of duties
- Policy checks
- Audit trail
02
Data: Data 360
One governed view across orders, suppliers and people.
- Order records
- Supplier profiles
- Policy documents
- Process metrics
01
Systems of record
The sources the agents reach, connected through MuleSoft.
- Finance and resource planning
- Supply chain
- People systems
- Salesforce records
Use cases
We look for work that is frequent, rule-based and slowed by handoffs. These six are common starting points.
Order exceptions
The agent investigates a held order, identifies the cause and proposes a fix. An operations lead approves anything that changes price, credit or commitment dates.
Approvals routing
The agent checks a request against policy, gathers the supporting facts and routes it to the right approver. The decision always rests with the approver.
Supplier queries
The agent answers supplier questions on orders, invoices and payment status from the records. Disputes pass to the procurement team.
Compliance checks
The agent tests transactions against policy as they happen and flags the ones that fail. A compliance officer reviews and decides each flagged item.
Employee helpdesk
The agent answers routine questions on policy, access and equipment, and raises requests on behalf of employees. Sensitive matters go straight to a person.
Reporting
The agent prepares regular operational summaries and explains movements in plain language, alongside Tableau dashboards. Managers interpret and act.
Workflow
One example of an agent removing the waiting time around an operational exception.
- 01
Order on hold
An order fails a credit or stock check.
- 02
Order context
Data 360 gathers order, account and stock records.
- 03
Operations agent
Finds the cause and proposes a resolution within policy.
- 04
Operations lead
Approves the change to terms or dates.
- 05
Order released
The order proceeds and the customer is informed.
Illustrative views
Sample screens with sample values. They show how an operations leader could follow speed and control side by side.
Operations agent performance
Sample quarter
Exceptions cleared by agent
52%
Approval cycle time
1.4 days
Policy checks passed
97%
Helpdesk queries resolved
68%
Exceptions cleared within one working day
- Order exceptions71
- Approvals routing64
- Supplier queries58
- Employee helpdesk47
Order exception
Slack channel
System. Order placed on hold. Requested quantity exceeds available stock at the primary warehouse.
Operations agent
I have checked the alternatives. The second warehouse can cover the shortfall, with a later arrival for part of the order. A split shipment keeps the first commitment date.
Operations agent
A split shipment changes the agreed terms, so it needs approval. I have attached the order, the stock position and the cost difference.
Operations lead
Approved. Go ahead with the split and let the customer know the revised date for the remainder.
Operations agent
Done. The order is released, the customer has been notified and the record shows who approved the change.
- Identified hold reason
- Checked alternative stock
- Requested approval
- Released order
Both views are illustrative. Values are samples, not client results.
Outcomes
Speed and control are measured together. Baselines and targets are agreed with you, not assumed.
Targets are set with each client against their own baseline.
Exception cycle time
How long an operational exception takes from detection to resolution.
Approval turnaround
The time a request spends waiting for a decision.
Straight-through rate
The share of transactions completed without manual intervention.
Control compliance
How consistently transactions meet policy, with evidence available for audit.
Cost per transaction
The effort and cost required to process a unit of operational work.
Time to first agent in production
How long it takes to move from decision to a governed agent handling real work.
Approach
We advise, govern and assure. Your teams and your chosen partners carry out the work.
01
Discover
We trace where work waits: exceptions, approvals and queries, and the systems and controls involved in each.
Outputs
- Process and handoff review
- Agent readiness assessment
- Opportunity longlist
02
Define
We prioritise the use cases by frequency, value and control risk, and set out the business case.
Outputs
- Prioritised use cases
- Business case
- Success measures
03
Design
We define delegated authority for agents, the control framework and the ownership model across functions.
Outputs
- Operating model
- Control and authority framework
- Phased roadmap
04
Direct
We provide independent programme assurance while your teams and partners carry out the work, and we track value against the case.
Outputs
- Programme assurance reviews
- Risk and control reporting
- Value realisation tracking
Start with a conversation. We will tell you plainly whether there is a case.