# Operational start: in one day an important process is automated, with a procedure that stays in the company and can be used at once. It starts from a job that today steals time: preparing a quote, gathering the documents for a customer, comparing three suppliers, sorting the week's mail. At the end of the day an automatic procedure remains, which the company will be able to use on its own. The files stay in the company. Custom integrations with existing software are excluded. It is not a course and it is not software to install: it is the automation of a whole process with artificial intelligence. ## What Operational start is. A course leaves notions. A setup alone leaves a tool nobody uses. Operational start closes both gaps on the same day: the assistant is in the company's name, the procedure is written, sample data already run, then real files take over. Files stay in the company. Artik Lab does not take them away. No connection to the ERP is installed. One job at a time, taken all the way through. ## When it is done. Someone in the company owns the procedure. The procedure is written. The following week they use it. A metric is stated before the day, even a rough one: time for a draft to reread, not a send on its own. ## When a job is finished A job is finished when four things are true together: a person in the company has the mandate to use the procedure; the procedure is written in the company's language; the measure was agreed before the day; in the following week the procedure was used on the real files. ## How it takes place. 1. **The need**: The process to lighten is described: who runs it today, how often per month, where time is lost. Knowing which tool to buy is not required. What goes in: who does the job today, how many times a month, where time is lost · What stays: the description of the job · Who decides: whoever does it today and leadership · How long it takes: a first conversation 2. **The check**: The procedure must be stable and describable, the data must exist and be exportable, an internal person must have the mandate to adopt it, and unresolved confidentiality constraints must not remain. Blocks are found here, before the proposal. What goes in: the description and a sample file · What stays: a written opinion: it fits in a day or it does not, and what will not be done · Who decides: Artik Lab · How long it takes: before proposing the day 3. **The proposal**: It states the activity, what the day contains, which licences the company must hold in its own name, which folders to prepare. Artik Lab does not resell licences and does not stand behind them. What goes in: the opinion · What stays: the proposal: which job, what the day contains, which subscription to activate, which folders to prepare · Who decides: the company · How long it takes: the time to read it 4. **The environment**: It arrives already set, with sample data. It can be opened and tried before the meeting. What goes in: the folders prepared · What stays: the procedure already set up, with samples, to try before the meeting · Who decides: the person with the mandate · How long it takes: before the day 5. **The first test**: One day on site: from samples to real files. At the end of the day a real result remains, not an exercise. If the process must change, that is consulting, not an extension of the day. What goes in: the real files · What stays: a real result and the written procedure · Who decides: the person with the mandate, with Artik Lab in the room · How long it takes: one day on site ## Some automation examples Eleven repetitive jobs that fit in a day. Each example states today's situation, what remains at the end of the day, where the person stops and when it is not suitable. The sector is an example, not a condition: the document changes, not the method. ### Quotes and price lists from mail and files A request arrives by email, often with scattered PDFs. An updated quote or price list is needed, with the product sheets attached, and whoever sells wastes time copying from three folders. - In brief: What goes in: request emails and PDFs, price list, sheets. What stays: the draft quote on the company's template, with the list of what is missing. Who checks: whoever sells, on price, discount and sending. - At the end of the day there remains: A procedure that, from the email and the PDFs, assembles the draft quote or price list on the company's template and flags what is missing. Whoever sells rereads the draft. - Where the person stops: price and discount; yes or no to the request; sending to the customer. - Files needed: request emails and PDFs; internal price list; product sheets; quote template. - Where it often happens: food processing; contract manufacturing in mechanics; construction and plant engineering. - When it is not suitable: If the quote is a take-off from a drawing or a negotiation: that is the trade, not this service. - On the form: tick «Quotes, price lists and sheets to assemble from mail and PDFs, for whoever sells to reread.». - URL: https://ar-tik.com/en/operational-start/quotes-from-mail.html ### The document pack that is asked for every time A customer, an auditor, a contracting authority or a shipper asks for «the papers». Today the pack is rebuilt from scratch every time, fishing from certified email (PEC), folders and portals from which a PDF is downloaded. - In brief: What goes in: the customer's or the tender's request, the list of pieces, scattered folders. What stays: checklist for the pack and folders put in order, with what to download and what to ask for in the house. Who checks: whoever hands over the pack. - At the end of the day there remains: A checklist for the pack, the folders put in order and a procedure that gathers the documents already in the house, flags those that are expired or missing and prepares the file to hand over. - Where the person stops: final check of the file; requesting the missing documents; handover or upload. - Files needed: PDFs already downloaded: DURC (social-security compliance certificate), company registry extracts, insurance policies, certificates; list of what is usually asked for; covering-letter template. - Where it often happens: construction and plant engineering; wine and export; mechanics for tenders and supplies. - When it is not suitable: The technician's signature, documents that exist only inside closed portals, uploading to tender platforms or legally compliant archiving. - On the form: tick «The document pack that clients, tenders, auditors or shippers ask for every time.». ### Comparing three supplier quotes Three PDFs or three emails in different formats, one of them incomplete. A table with price, times, yields and conditions is needed before whoever negotiates sits at the table. - In brief: What goes in: three disordered quotes, company criteria. What stays: comparison table ready for whoever negotiates. Who checks: whoever decides the supplier. - At the end of the day there remains: A fixed comparison grid of the company and a procedure that maps every quote onto the grid, highlights the differences and the missing items and prepares the questions to put to the suppliers. - Where the person stops: negotiation and choice of supplier; order in the company's software; search for new suppliers. - Files needed: quotes received as PDF or email; comparison grid or table already in use; purchase history, if it exists. - Where it often happens: food and packaging purchasing; mechanics and treatments; construction subcontracting. - When it is not suitable: If the choice depends on an open negotiation or if purchasing already goes through a platform with its own evaluation process. - On the form: tick «Compare three supplier quotes and have a table before whoever negotiates.». ### Ordinary mail and certified email (PEC) for the week Orders, requests for sheets, reminders, non-conformities and communications from authorities arrive in the inbox. A clear list is needed: what to do, what to forward to the professional firm, what to archive, which deadline. - In brief: What goes in: the week's inbox, sorting rules. What stays: what to do, what to forward, what to archive — without sending on its own. Who checks: whoever handles the mail. - At the end of the day there remains: Written sorting criteria on the company's type of mail, a forwarding template and a procedure that, from an export of the inbox, produces the weekly list with the deadlines. - Where the person stops: reply and sending; decisions on deadlines; everything that concerns people, payroll or accidents. - Files needed: export of the inbox as EML or PDF; list of senders and recurring topics; template for forwarding to the professional firm or the department. - Where it often happens: all sectors; tender certified email (PEC); companies with a mandatory digital domicile. - When it is not suitable: If it is necessary to enter the inbox without exporting, or if automatic sending of replies is asked for. - On the form: tick «Sort certified and ordinary mail for the week.». ### Sheets, certificates and packing lists to attach The part, the batch or the plant is already decided. What is missing is the file that accompanies the shipment: technical sheet, certificate, packing list, approval, each in a different folder. - In brief: What goes in: technical sheets and certificates as PDF, packing-list template, order already decided. What stays: the file ready for every order or shipment, with the order of attachments and the gaps flagged. Who checks: whoever checks the file before departure. - At the end of the day there remains: A procedure that says where the PDFs are, in what order they are attached and what to flag if a piece is missing, with the file ready for every order or shipment. - Where the person stops: check of the file before departure; testing and measurements; signing of certificates. - Files needed: technical sheets and certificates as PDF; packing-list template; order or confirmation already decided. - Where it often happens: mechanics with certified shipments; food with sheets and documentary HACCP; wine with packing list and origin. - When it is not suitable: Testing, measurements, in-line HACCP and drawings stay out: here the file is prepared, nothing is certified. - On the form: tick «Attach sheets, certificates and packing lists to a shipment or an order already decided.». ### A report from the Excel file already exported from the company's software The owner or the salesperson asks how customers, jobs or sales are going. The data are already in the company's software, but they come out as Excel and the report is rebuilt by hand every month. - In brief: What goes in: Excel or CSV export from the company's software, report template. What stays: lists and summary regenerated on every new export, with the written rules. Who checks: whoever reads the report and decides. - At the end of the day there remains: Written rules, for example from how many months a customer has been idle or how the mix is calculated, and a procedure that, from a new export, regenerates the lists and the summary for whoever must read it. - Where the person stops: reading and commercial decisions; contact with customers; correction of data in the company's software. - Files needed: Excel or CSV export from the company's software; template of the report prepared today; list of leadership's recurring questions. - Where it often happens: sales and commercial; jobs in mechanics; actuals from delivery notes. - When it is not suitable: If no export exists or if a forecast is asked for: here what exists is put in order, nothing is predicted. - On the form: tick «A report from an Excel export for the owner or the sales lead.». ### Minutes and action list from meeting notes After a meeting or a site visit, notes, photos and sometimes a recording remain. The minutes with the decisions and the things to do arrive late, or they do not arrive. - In brief: What goes in: notes, photos or transcript of the meeting, minutes template. What stays: the draft minutes with decisions, actions, owner and date. Who checks: whoever approves the minutes and sends them. - At the end of the day there remains: A company minutes template and a procedure that, from the notes or the transcript, prepares the draft with decisions, actions, owner and date, to be approved before it is circulated. - Where the person stops: approval of the minutes; final assignment of the actions; sending to the participants. - Files needed: notes, photos or transcript of the meeting; minutes template; list of participants. - Where it often happens: sites and inspections; production meetings; internal boards and committees. - When it is not suitable: Recordings without the consent of those present, or meetings in which people are discussed: that material is not copied into a folder. - On the form: tick «Turn the notes of a meeting or site visit into minutes and an action list.». ### Reply to complaints and non-conformities A customer's email arrives with photos, a lot or order number and a request. The reply has to be written well and quickly, and the non-conformity register is updated by hand. - In brief: What goes in: customer's email and attachments, reply template, non-conformity register. What stays: the draft reply and the line for the register, with the points to check. Who checks: whoever decides on the complaint and sends the reply. - At the end of the day there remains: A procedure that gathers the references (order, lot, documents), prepares the draft reply on the company's template and the line for the register, with the points to check highlighted. - Where the person stops: decision on the complaint: accept, reject, refund; analysis of the cause; sending of the reply. - Files needed: customer's email and attachments; reply template; non-conformity register in Excel. - Where it often happens: food and wine; mechanics and components; catalogue supplies. - When it is not suitable: If the reply is asked to go out on its own, or if the complaint concerns safety, health or disputes: there a person decides, at once. - On the form: tick «Draft the reply to a complaint or non-conformity, with the register updated.». ### Expiry schedule of documents and certificates DURC (social-security compliance certificate), insurance policies, certifications, licences, instrument calibrations: each with its own expiry, in PDFs scattered among folders and emails. The expiry is noticed when someone asks for the document. - In brief: What goes in: PDFs of documents with an expiry, list of what customers and auditors ask for. What stays: the table of expiries and the reminder of what expires in the month. Who checks: whoever renews the documents. - At the end of the day there remains: A table of expiries built from the PDFs, a procedure to update it when a new document arrives and a reminder of what expires in the month. - Where the person stops: renewal of the documents; request to authorities or suppliers; check of ambiguous dates. - Files needed: PDFs of documents with an expiry; list of what customers and auditors ask for; any table already in use. - Where it often happens: construction and plant engineering; road haulage and logistics; certified quality. - When it is not suitable: Documents that live only in closed portals, or expiries that depend on regulatory calculations: the table records them, it does not interpret them. - On the form: tick «Keep the expiry schedule of compliance certificates, insurance policies, certifications and licences, starting from the PDFs.». ### Sheets and price lists in another language for abroad The product sheet and the price list exist in Italian. The foreign customer wants them in their language, on the company template, and today they are translated in pieces with copy and paste. - In brief: What goes in: sheets and price lists in Italian, template in language, glossary. What stays: the draft in language on the chosen template, with the list of what must be reread. Who checks: whoever knows the language and the customer, on legal texts, prices and conditions. - At the end of the day there remains: A glossary of the company's terms, the procedure that produces the draft in language on the chosen template and the list of what must always be reread before sending. - Where the person stops: rereading by whoever knows the language and the customer; legal texts and labels; prices and conditions. - Files needed: sheets and price lists in Italian; template in language, even if imperfect; glossary or translations already approved. - Where it often happens: agrifood and wine; mechanics with foreign customers; components and catalogues. - When it is not suitable: Sworn translations, mandatory labelling and contractual texts: they stay with whoever is accountable for them. - On the form: tick «Prepare product sheets and price lists in another language on the company template, for someone to reread.». ### Consistency check among order, confirmation and delivery note (DDT) The customer's order, the order confirmation and the delivery note (DDT) should say the same thing. Codes, quantities and prices are checked by eye, and the differences are discovered at the invoice or at the complaint. - In brief: What goes in: customer's order, order confirmation, delivery note (DDT) as PDF. What stays: the list of differences, ordered by severity, before shipment or invoice. Who checks: whoever corrects in the company's software and decides what to ship. - At the end of the day there remains: A procedure that compares the three documents as PDF and produces the list of differences, ordered by severity, before shipment or invoice. - Where the person stops: correction in the company's software; decision on what to ship; contact with the customer. - Files needed: customer's order as PDF or email; order confirmation; delivery note (DDT). - Where it often happens: distribution and catalogue supplies; contract manufacturing in mechanics; food with frequent orders. - When it is not suitable: If the documents cannot be exported as PDF, or if issuing the delivery note (DDT) is asked for: that stays in the company's software. - On the form: tick «Compare the customer order, the order confirmation and the delivery note and flag the differences before shipping.». ## What is included. What is a second day. After one day on site, the company keeps the assistant in its own name and the written procedure. Right away, someone can run it. The ERP is not touched. If the process must change, that is a second day, and it is called consulting. - Included in the day: Instructions, folder conventions, review criteria for the chosen procedure. - Becomes consulting: Rewriting the method on a different process. - Included in the day: Sample data and their replacement with the company's files. - Becomes consulting: Cleaning or reorganising the archive. - Included in the day: On-site session on real files. - Becomes consulting: Repeated days on other teams or other cases. - Included in the day: Usage documentation. - Becomes consulting: Integration with ERP, company mail or closed portals. - Included in the day: Correction of what the day delivered. - Becomes consulting: Extended training of the organisation. ## Who this day is for. **Who it is for.** A company with a job that repeats, a person who does it today and files that can be copied into a folder. **Who this service is not for.** Whoever is looking for a general course on artificial intelligence, or a system connected to the company's software: those are other services, and they sit on this same page. ## Prerequisites. - A subscription to the assistant in the company's name. The proven environment is stated in the proposal, not on the homepage. - An internal person with the mandate to adopt the procedure. - Data exportable in the stated formats, without entering company systems. ## When it is not suitable. - The procedure is not yet stable, or nobody in the company can describe it. - The volume is negligible: a few runs a year do not repay adoption. - The needed data do not exist or can be rebuilt only by hand. - An unresolved confidentiality or data-processing constraint remains. - A permanent integration with systems is needed: that is software development. - The process must change or the ERP must be touched: that is consulting. ## What it is not, said once. - It is not a course. Courses remain, and teach general capability. - It is not software to install. Technical development stays downstream, when a permanent integration is needed. - It is not a plugin to the ERP. The order click is not touched. - It does not replace the clerk, the salesperson, the estimator, the technician. - It is not an agent that ships on its own, negotiates, or signs. - It is not a take-off from drawings, PriMus, AutoCAD. - It is not an upload to public procurement portals. - It is not payroll. - It is not a multi-week path with integration. If that is needed, it is another Artik service, already on the site. - Incentives, grants or vouchers are not promised. ## Operational start does not replace anything already on the site. - [Courses](https://ar-tik.com/en/courses/index.md): Courses remain the path of general capability. Operational start is the specific procedure switched on. - [AI management consulting](https://ar-tik.com/en/ai-management-consulting.md): Consulting sits upstream, or is day 2 if the process is touched. - [Data analysis](https://ar-tik.com/en/agentic-data-analysis.md): Data analysis sits beside it, when the problem is the signal in the data. - [Software](https://ar-tik.com/en/technical-software-development.md): Software development sits downstream, when a permanent integration is needed. - [AI atlas](https://ar-tik.com/en/ai-applications-atlas.md): The Atlas helps recognise the process. - [FAQ](https://ar-tik.com/en/ai-business-faq.md): The FAQ helps choose among services. ## Three fields. A feasibility report. Then, if there is a fit, the day. The report is a door, not the product. The public website indicated is used. No mandatory company name, no tax number, no headcount. After the report: if there is a fit, a check and the day; if not, a course or consulting. ## FAQ ### Is this a course? No. A course leaves templates and criteria. Here what remains is a written procedure, already set up on the artificial intelligence in the company's name, with the files that stay in the company. ### Are custom integrations with existing software done? No. Custom integrations with existing software are excluded. If the systems already in the company need to be connected, that is consulting or software development: another job. ### Do the data leave the company? The files stay in the company. The assistant is in the company's name. Artik Lab does not take them away. ### Can five jobs be done together? No, one at a time. The day is there to leave a procedure in use, and one procedure in use is worth more than five unfinished drafts. ### Is the form opinion already the service? No. It is only to understand whether it is a fit. After: if it makes sense, a check and the day; if not, a course or consulting. ### What does it cost? The proposal arrives after the opinion. This page has no price list. ### How many activities can be done, one after another? It is decided with the company, according to need. One job at a time, taken all the way through. ### Can an incentive or a fund be used for this work? An eligibility check can be requested. The work must still stand without an incentive: no calls for proposals or amounts are promised.