Supply Scout: AI-Powered Supplier Triaging System for Retail Businesses

Automate supplier application screening so procurement teams can focus on high-potential partnerships, not paperwork.

Retailers receive hundreds of supplier applications monthly but can only properly review a fraction, as a result, innovative products get ignored, suppliers wait weeks for responses, and procurement teams drown in supplier applications.

What Supply Scout Does

When a supplier submits an application via Google Form, Supply Scout automatically:

1. Scores quality (1-10) using AI analysis of product description, certifications, and business maturity

2. Assigns risk level (Green/Yellow/Red) based on category, compliance status, and completeness

3. Routes to the right buyer (Junior/Category/Senior) based on complexity and risk

4. Sends instant acknowledgment to suppliers with timeline expectations

5. Delivers buyer briefing with AI-generated strengths, concerns, competitive analysis, and recommendation

6. Logs to dashboard for team visibility and tracking

Result: 30-minute manual reviews become 2-minute prioritized decisions.

Who It's For:

• Procurement teams at retailers, distributors, or manufacturers

• Category buyers managing 50+ supplier inquiries monthly

• Sourcing managers tired of bottlenecked onboarding

Perfect If You:

• Can't respond to every supplier (leaving opportunities on the table)

• Need consistent evaluation across different buyers

• Want to improve supplier response times

• Require audit trails for compliance

Key Outcomes

⏱️ Time Savings

• Process 3x more applications with same team

• Eliminate 40+ hours/month of manual screening

• Instant supplier acknowledgment (vs days of silence)

🎯 Better Decisions

• Consistent, unbiased scoring across all applications

• Automatic compliance risk flagging

• Competitive positioning insights baked in

📈 Improved Workflow

• High-potential suppliers surface immediately

• Clear assignment logic (no more "whose job is this?")

• Real-time dashboard replaces scattered emails

Real-World Applications

1. High-Volume Screening - Retail chains processing hundreds of applications

2. Trade Show Follow-Up - Systematically evaluate leads from exhibitions

3. Category Expansion - Consistently assess new product categories

4. ESG Compliance - Fast-track diverse/local suppliers, flag missing certifications

5. Competitive Intelligence - Track emerging products and market gaps

Technical Details

Inputs: Google Form → Google Sheets (supplier name, product, certifications, description, etc.)

AI Engine: Claude/GPT analyzes applications against retail-specific criteria

Outputs:

• Structured scores and recommendations

• Automated email notifications

• Google Sheets dashboard with filtering/sorting

**
Customizable:** Risk thresholds, buyer assignment rules, email templates, scoring criteria