How to add document OCR to DELMIAworks (IQMS)
Short answer
Add OCR to DELMIAworks by scanning or ingesting documents into a capture service that extracts fields, matches them to open POs and receipts, scores confidence, and sends exceptions to a reviewer. Approved results are posted through the ERP's import tools or API, with the image attached to the record.
Paper and PDFs persist in DELMIAworks plants: vendor invoices that must be matched to receipts, packing slips at the dock, mill certs and certificates of conformance, first article reports, and customer drawings. Each needs data lifted out and often filed against a PO, lot or item.
Generic OCR gets text off a page but does not know that a line on an invoice should match a PO line and a receipt, or that a heat number belongs on a lot record. The value is in the matching and the exception handling, not the character recognition.
This page separates the document types, shows where each lands in the ERP, and explains how to set thresholds so the OCR saves time without creating bad transactions.
What teams use it for
Vendor invoice capture and three-way match
Extract invoice header and lines, match to PO and receipt, and flag price or quantity variances for AP review before voucher entry.
Packing slip receiving
Read the supplier packing slip at the dock, pre-populate the receipt against the PO, and let the receiver confirm counts.
Certificates of conformance and mill certs
Capture heat or lot numbers, material spec and test values, and attach them to the received lot for traceability.
Customer drawing and spec intake
Index drawings by part number and revision from the title block, and attach them to the item or quote after engineering review.
Inspection and first article reports
Digitise handwritten or scanned inspection sheets into measurement records for the quality team to approve.
DELMIAworks (IQMS) integration surface
- Vendor AP and receiving import mechanisms (names vary by version) that accept structured invoice or receipt data without re-keying.
- The REST API, if licensed, for creating receipts or attachments and reading open PO and receipt data for matching.
- Oracle read-only views over open PO lines, receipts and vendor tables (PO_DETAIL, vendor master style tables, with names varying by release).
- ERP document attachment features for linking the source image or PDF to a PO, lot, item or work order.
- Lot and serial traceability records, where certificate data such as heat numbers should land.
How it works
- 1
Ingest documents
Accept files from scanner folders, a shared mailbox, a dock tablet camera and a drop folder. Normalise to PDF or image with consistent resolution.
- 2
Classify and split
Identify the document type and split multi-document scans. A cert needs different fields than an invoice.
- 3
Extract with a layout-aware model
Use OCR plus a vision or language model to produce structured fields and per-field confidence. Handle tables explicitly for line items.
- 4
Match against ERP data
Resolve vendor, PO number, item (including vendor part number cross reference) and receipt, and compute variances.
- 5
Apply thresholds and review
Auto-accept only above set confidence with exact matches; everything else goes to a review screen showing the image beside the fields.
- 6
Post and attach
Send accepted data through the import tool or API and attach the original so auditors can see source and result together.
Example flows
Invoice against receipt
Trigger: A vendor invoice PDF lands in the AP inbox.
- Document is classified as an invoice and fields are extracted.
- PO number is matched; lines compared with received quantities.
- One line price is above the PO price; the variance is flagged.
- AP reviewer approves or rejects the variance and the result is posted.
Result: Clean invoices pass quickly while price differences are caught before payment.
Mill cert attached to lot
Trigger: A receiver scans a cert at the dock.
- Heat number and material spec are extracted.
- The lot received against that PO is found.
- Values are checked against the item's required spec.
- Cert is attached to the lot and a quality hold is raised if values are outside spec.
Result: Traceability documents are linked at receipt, not hunted for during an audit.
Keeping data on-prem
Run the whole capture stack inside the plant: document intake, OCR, the extraction model and the review UI. Open-weight vision-language models and classic OCR engines both run on modest local GPUs or even CPU for low volume. The match step queries read-only Oracle views over the internal network, and posting uses the ERP's own import path. This keeps drawings, certificates and supplier pricing off third-party clouds, which matters for customers with NDAs and for aerospace or defense work where technical data has handling rules. Document the model, version and thresholds as part of your quality procedures if you operate under AS9100 or similar.
Security checklist
- Store images in encrypted storage with access limited by role and retain per your record policy.
- Never let extracted text trigger actions; treat all document content as untrusted data.
- Keep export-controlled drawings in a segregated queue with restricted reviewers.
- Log every extracted value, who corrected it and the final posted value.
- Version models and thresholds so results can be reproduced for an audit.
Ways to get it done
Dedicated AP automation or IDP product
Effort: Weeks to configure and map.
Good for invoice volume if it can post through the ERP import or API.
Build with open-source OCR and a local model
Effort: Four to ten weeks for several document types.
Flexible for certs, drawings and mixed document types, with full data control.
Partner such as Netray
Effort: Pilot on one document type, usually invoices or certs.
For on-prem capture tied to ERP matching and quality traceability, with review UI included.
Pitfalls
- !Auto-posting low-confidence line items, particularly quantities and unit of measure.
- !Ignoring unit of measure conversions between vendor and ERP.
- !Treating scanned handwriting like printed text and setting the same threshold.
- !Losing the link between source image and posted record.
- !Not measuring correction rate, so nobody knows whether the model is improving.
Frequently asked questions
Does DELMIAworks include OCR?
Check your version for document features, but most sites pair the ERP with a separate capture tool. The ERP provides attachments and import paths; capture and matching are the added layer.
What confidence threshold should we use?
Start strict, with human review of everything, then relax per field and vendor as the measured correction rate drops. Quantities and prices deserve higher thresholds than dates or addresses.
Can it read drawings?
It can read title blocks and notes reliably for indexing, but it does not replace engineering review of the drawing itself. Treat it as filing automation.
Where do certificates of conformance go?
Attach them to the received lot or PO receipt, and store extracted heat or lot values where your traceability process expects them. Confirm field placement with your quality lead.
Can this run with no cloud?
Yes. OCR, extraction and review all run locally with open-weight models, which suits regulated and NDA-bound work.
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