Hold suppliers to the dates they give you
Cartograph asks for a date on every order the supplier hasn't confirmed, asks again before it's due, and follows up if nothing arrives, so a slip surfaces while there's still time to act
Late deliveries start as dates nobody checked. Measure against the date the supplier gave, and check it before it's due
Slips surface at the dock
Without a confirmed date and a check before it's due, a supplier's slip shows up when the truck doesn't, and your team learns about it with no time left to recover.
Measure against the first confirmed date
Track the share of order lines received by the date the supplier first confirmed, in your own ERP. Counting against the latest re-promise makes a supplier who moved the date twice look on time.
Scout Agent asks for every date, and asks again
Cartograph opens a task when an order still has no confirmed date, again before a confirmed date comes due, and when a delivery is due and nothing has arrived. Each slip stays on the task with the old date, the new one and the supplier's own words.
Every date comes from the supplier. Scout Agent asks for it, checks it again and chases what doesn't arrive
Confirm a purchase order
Gets a confirmed ship date on every open line, and puts it on the order.
See how it worksCheck an order is on track
Checks a confirmed order still holds before its date, while there is time to act.
See how it worksFind a late or missing shipment
Finds out where an overdue shipment is and when it will arrive.
See how it worksReview a supplier’s open orders
Checks every open line against the supplier’s own records.
See how it works[01]
Before the date, Scout Agent asks again
Before a confirmed order's expected date, a readiness signal opens a task, and Scout Agent asks the supplier whether the date still holds.
[02]
Scout Agent chases the missing shipment
When a delivery is due and nothing has arrived, a readiness signal opens a task, and Scout Agent asks the supplier whether the order shipped and for its tracking.
Your team sets the limits. Test Scout Agent first without a supplier seeing anything, then decide what Scout may do without asking
[01]
Always allow, Needs approval or Never
Set each action Scout Agent can take, separately for tasks Scout leads and tasks Scout assists.
Place this call?
CallingNora Whitfield · East Coast Castings
Call summaryLock in Thursday’s release and the courier for PO 24103.
Plan3 steps
Why you’re asked This contact has been reached a lot recently.
[02]
Scout asks first when your rules say so
Even when Scout Agent leads, an email or call waits for your team when it matches an approval rule or the contact has been reached a lot recently.
Scout Agent leads
Scout Agent resolves this task end-to-end on its own, including interacting with external parties. Scout Agent pulls you in for escalations or when your approval is required.
Scout Agent assists
Scout Agent assists with the resolution, including researching, planning, and drafting communications. You approve all key actions, and can suggest alternatives.
Just me
Scout Agent will not run on this task.
[03]
Who works each task
Each task type sets whether Scout Agent leads or assists, and your team can change the role on any task, down to Just me.
[04]
A no comes with a reason
Decline a draft with a reason, and Scout Agent uses it to find a different way through.
Learn the method in Cartograph Academy. Free lessons on the dates behind an on-time delivery number
Need date vs promise date: what to plan and score against
Keep need date, PO due date and promise date in separate fields, plan against the confirmed date, and score suppliers on their first promise.
Read lessonPurchase order acknowledgement: checklist and confirmed dates
Turn supplier order acknowledgements into confirmed ship dates on every PO line, handle changed dates and prices, and know when to chase.
Read lessonPurchase order tracking: four states and re-confirm cadence
Track every open PO line through four states, from acknowledgement to receipt, so a slipping delivery surfaces while there is still time to react.
Read lessonPast-due purchase orders: how to work the report
Rank past-due purchase orders by the build each line blocks, clean the report first, and run a daily rhythm that catches a slipping date early.
Read lessonFAQ
Yes. Keep measuring in your ERP or the reporting you already use. Cartograph changes the work behind the number: a confirmed date on each order, a second confirmation before it's due, and a follow-up on the due date when nothing has arrived.
By default, a readiness signal opens a task three days after an order is placed if it has no confirmed date, three days before the expected date to make sure the date still holds, and on the delivery date if nothing has arrived. The review of each supplier's open orders runs every Monday by default. Your team sets when each readiness signal opens a task, and which orders it skips.
When a confirmed date is coming up, Scout Agent asks whether each line still holds it. When a date has slipped, Scout Agent asks for the real new date and how firm it is, and a slip that now misses your need goes to expediting.
No. The task keeps every email and call transcript, and its closing summary names what slipped and to when. Once the new date is approved, it's updated on the order in your ERP.
No. Scout Agent emails and calls them, and suppliers reply to a real inbox. When Scout Agent sends a table or a form to fill in, the supplier opens it on a secure page, with nothing to install and no account to make.
Cartograph syncs with SAP S/4HANA, on public cloud, private cloud or on-premise, and with QuickBooks Desktop. If you run something else, tell us and we will look at adding it.
Talk to us about holding suppliers to their dates
We'll walk through how you measure on-time delivery today, your suppliers and the readiness signals you'd turn on first.