I have a daily task I want to automate using Power Automate (which is the tool we have access to in our company). Automating it would be beneficial to minimize human errors and because it's not a task anyone wants to perform manually. However, I'm a bit uncertain about setting it up due to the various components it involves. I'm still new to automation, and I find that planning the correct process is the hardest part.
This is how the process currently works:
I receive a PDF file, which is a purchase order containing many items. Each of these items has information that needs to be transferred into another system. This involves creating a new line in the system and then inputting the information. Based on information in the PDF (such as a unique ID number), the price is determined and entered in the relevant field. Then, an Excel file is created with all the information organized in a specific format, as it needs to be printed out.
The challenge is that the PDF isn’t structured in a way that easily allows data extraction. The data is in a consistent place, but not in fields that can be read automatically without some JSON processing. For example, the word "Quantity" appears in one spot, but the actual number (the quantity itself) is located midway down the second line along with other information.
Additionally, the program that needs this data is only available on the PC.
Ideally, I’d like to partially or fully automate this process.
How would you go about achieving this?
My initial thoughts:
1. Upload the file to a specific location.
2. Automatically fill in the information (I’m unsure how to do this).
3. Generate the Excel file and save it as a separate document.
