Designing an agentic supplier onboarding and contract-generation tool for a global industrial automation leader
Time period taken
Add project timeline
Task done, hats I wore
Add your role & hats worn
Brief
The client needed to replace a slow, manual supplier-onboarding and contract process with an agentic system — one where AI agents handle data entry, verification, and first-draft contract generation, while people stay in control of every judgment call: risk sign-off, legal review, final signature.
Challenges
The hardest part wasn't the AI — it was making automation legible. Suppliers, internal reviewers, and legal stakeholders all needed to trust a system that was quietly doing work on their behalf, across a multi-role workflow with real compliance stakes. Dense onboarding data (tax IDs, certifications, banking details) had to be structured into something a human could scan and correct in seconds, not minutes.
Approach
I mapped the full flow end to end — from supplier invitation through smart data entry, automated verification, profile creation, and ongoing compliance monitoring — before designing a single screen. That flow work doubled as the alignment tool with engineering and the client: everyone could see exactly where an AI agent was acting versus where a human needed to step in.
For the contract side, I mapped a second swimlane spanning supplier → risk assessment & data validation → legal and stakeholder review, so the same "AI drafts, human decides" pattern held for contract generation as it did for onboarding.
Agentic supplier onboarding — flow overview
Step 1
Invitation
Supplier is invited to begin onboarding
Step 2
Smart data entry
AI agent guides data entry and flags missing or inconsistent fields
Step 3
Automated verification
Tax IDs, certifications and banking details are checked automatically
Step 4
Profile creation
A structured supplier profile is created for human review
Step 5
Ongoing compliance monitoring
Supplier status is monitored continuously after onboarding
Advantages
Fewer manual handoffs between supplier and reviewer
Consistent, structured data from day one
Contract generation — flow overview
Receiving request for contract
Supplier receives a request / notification
Clicks the CTA, starts creating the contract inside the document flow
Screen 1
Supplier registration & smart data entry
AI agent generates a questionnaire from the upstream data system
AI assists in adding or changing supplier details
AI flags errors and missing or required fields
Screen 2
Template choice
Selects contract type and location
Long/short, local/global contract, etc.
Chooses a template and customizes it
Screen 3
Generate draft
AI drafts the contract with visible reasoning
Screen 4
BU receives and analyzes AI-flagged risks
Agent generates a draft contract populated from the parent record
Supplier sees editable fields; changes are tracked
Save and submit for approval
Understands which issues are critical, moderate, or informational
Views supplier performance history and specific risk flags
Stakeholder & legal review, iterations
Stakeholders and legal review contracts and required changes
Comments and suggested changes go back to the supplier
Status: Draft, Under Review, Approved, Changes Requested
Internal review iterations
Internal approvals — finance, compliance, management
Approvers sign off or send feedback
Contract routed externally for negotiation if needed
AI tracks negotiation points and version changes
E-signature for all parties
Storage & post-signature management
Central dashboard for signed contracts
Reminders, filters, search
Solution
The shipped product surfaces AI confidence directly in the UI — when a new supplier record closely matches an existing profile, the system shows a match percentage and a side-by-side compare view instead of silently merging or silently creating a duplicate. Reviewers approve, edit, or reject in place. Contract generation follows the same logic: AI produces a first draft from the selected template, then routes it through risk flags and stakeholder sign-off with full visibility at every step.
Supplier Hub
Add New SupplierDashboard — Suppliers
Add New Supplier
Upload Documents
To add a new supplier, upload supplier documents like W9, banking details, etc.
Drag & Drop an Attachment
Browse FilesYou may upload: W9, Banking Details.
Step 1 — Upload supplier document
Similar profile(s) found
SuggestedWe found similar supplier profiles in our database. Compare and validate to avoid duplication.
Step 2 — Comparing existing profile
In case a matching profile is found
Our agent has identified this supplier within the company's database.
Confidence score
Compare details — 90% confidence match
Add New Supplier
Our agent has prefilled the form for you. Validate and edit if needed.
Supplier Name
TIN
Company Address Line 1
City
State / Province
Zip / Postal Code
Review details — agent-prefilled form
Impact
Impact metrics for this engagement are still being compiled — happy to walk through specifics in conversation.
Learning
Designing trust into an agentic interface is a different problem than designing a fast interface. Speed was easy; showing people why the system did what it did — without turning every screen into a wall of logs — took the most iteration.