OCR
Quote OCR: comparing what is genuinely comparable
Supplier quote OCR applies optical character recognition to an offer received: number, validity period, priced line items, options, ancillary charges. The Capture agent returns each line item separately, in the unit it was priced in, so two offers can then be brought onto the same grid. Extract, then normalise.
The problem
Two quotes never compare line by line, unless somebody has straightened the units first
Three suppliers answer the same request. The first prices per linear metre, the second as a lump sum with a breakdown of the global lump-sum price (DGPF, décomposition du prix global et forfaitaire) in an appendix, the third per unit with a “recommended” option that only appears on page 4. All three totals are on the table, and none of them means anything next to the others. The principle is the one set out by the overview page on document extraction: read first, straighten afterwards.
Because the gap between two offers rarely hides in the headline price. It sits in the one-off handling charge, in the minimum order value that makes the unit price theoretical, in the recommended variant that turns out to be compulsory in practice, in the fifteen-day validity that expires before the award, in the payment term shorter than the one in your framework contract. Bringing three quotes onto the same grid takes half a day per tender: which is why it is almost never done.
What we extract from a quote
The fields below are expected by default, on a quote laid out however each supplier chooses. Each value stays tied to the exact place where it was read, appendices included.
- Header and validity
- An expired offer is no longer an offer: the validity period decides what still binds the supplier at the moment of the award.
- Priced line items
- Each line item is returned separately, in the unit it was priced in, with no aggregation and no convenient rounding.
- Options, variants and lump sums
- The lump-sum price breakdown (DGPF) is the only way to compare a lump sum with unit prices. Where it exists, it is extracted line item by line item.
- Discounts and charges
- The amounts the total does not show, and which are enough to change the ranking of a tender.
- Commercial terms
- A unit price attached to a minimum order of two pallets is not the same price, and a longer lead time has a cost.
Sixteen fields, five of which never appear in the total. Comparing three offers on their headline value amounts to comparing three different scopes; comparing them line item by line item, in the same unit, is another matter.
The check that follows
Units and scopes normalised
Linear metre, unit, lump sum, lot: line items are brought back to a common base, with the conversion shown so it can be argued with.
Hidden costs detected
Handling charges, an option that became compulsory, minimum order value, carriage not included: whatever is outside the total is raised separately.
Comparison on full cost
The price retained is the one you will actually pay on the expected volume, charges and discounts included, not the price on the first line.
Variance against the purchase request
What was priced is checked against what was asked for: missing line item, added line item, quantity changed without explanation.
That levelling exercise belongs to a dedicated agent, which puts the proposals onto one grid and shows its conversions. Extraction on its own is paid per page, by monthly package. The rest is sized with you, on a quotation.
Capture
Gather and consolidate all your procurement data.
Collection by dedicated mailbox, upload, SFTP, scan, API or ERP export. Reads every format (native PDF, scan, photo, spreadsheet, structured feed), then extracts line by line: supplier, references, quantities, unit prices, discounts, taxes, terms.
The end of re-entry. A procurement history you can finally query.
What Capture detects
- Long documents and multi-page tables
- Unknown layouts
- Several languages and currencies
- Poor scans and handwriting
The plan covers extraction. Setting the offers against each other and checking your negotiated terms are the next step and are sized with you, because they have to be connected to your purchase requests and your decision rules.
See pricingNothing is lost. Everything can be checked, everything can be proven.
- The contract clause and the invoice line, highlighted side by side.
- Every extracted value stays linked to the exact place in the document where it was read.
- The same case produces the same decision, today as in six months: the rules are applied deterministically.
- No discrepancy is set aside in silence. Anything that matches no rule is raised, with its reason.
- The agent records what it did, in the order it did it: who, what, how much, when.
Frequently asked questions
Can a lump-sum quote be compared with a unit-price quote?
Only if the lump sum is broken down. The lump-sum price breakdown (DGPF), where it is provided, is extracted line item by line item: that is what makes the two offers comparable. Failing that, the scope difference is flagged rather than hidden.
Are options extracted separately from the base price?
Yes. An option left inside the total inflates an offer for no visible reason. Options and variants are returned as distinct line items, with their compulsory or optional status exactly as written on the document.
Which documents does Zylio handle?
Invoices, contracts and amendments, price lists and rate schedules, quotes, purchase orders, goods receipts, credit notes, statements, as native PDF, scan, photo or structured format, in several languages and currencies.
Does the data need to be perfectly clean?
No. The Capture agent is designed for heterogeneous documents and incomplete reference data; structuring is part of the deliverable.
Measurable impact in every environment
More than 5 million procurement documents analysed
Between 1 and 7% of margin recovered
on the scope analysed
From 15 to 45% of time given back to teams, per FTE
depending on the scope and on data maturity
Zylio fits into your existing ecosystem.
The ERP runs the process. Zylio handles the exception and recovers the value that escapes it: invoices without a purchase order, line-by-line price discrepancies, duplicates and overbilling, off-contract spend.
Your data under high security.
Zylio meets the most demanding standards, and nothing is committed without your approval.
- Certifications
- Hosting
- Encryption
- Access
Carry on through the OCR hub
- The purchase order that will followThe commitment that must carry the chosen line item, at the chosen price.
- The contract price scheduleThe framework a one-off offer ought to obey already.
- Offers in several languages and currenciesDate formats, separators, currency symbols: all normalised on output.
- Supplier invoice OCREvery line extracted, every price checked: extraction is the first step, not the result.
See what this looks like on your own data
Twenty minutes, on a spend category of your choosing. We show you what the agents detect, with the evidence behind it.
- No commitment, on your own data
- Result in 3 weeks
- 20 minutes, no sales pitch
- Your data stays hosted in France
- No change of tool or process