Overview
Purchase Orders (POs) are traditionally exchanged as PDF documents, which often results in manual data entry, processing delays, and an increased risk of human error. This blog presents an end-to-end solution that automates the ingestion and processing of Purchase Order PDFs within Salesforce Sales Cloud and seamlessly creates corresponding orders in Salesforce B2C Commerce Cloud.
The solution leverages Lightning Web Components (LWC), client-side PDF text extraction, Large Language Models (LLMs), and an Apex-based orchestration layer to transform unstructured PDF content into structured data and automate the complete order creation lifecycle in B2C Commerce.
By eliminating manual intervention, this approach significantly improves efficiency, accuracy, and scalability.
Business Objectives
The primary goals of this implementation were to:
- Enable users to upload Purchase Order PDFs directly within Salesforce Sales Cloud
- Automatically extract and structure Purchase Order data from unstructured documents
- Integrate with Salesforce B2C Commerce Cloud to create fully configured orders
- Ensure the solution is scalable, reliable, and maintainable
Solution Architecture
The solution follows a modular, asynchronous, and loosely coupled architecture composed of the following layers:
- Lightning Web Component (LWC) for PDF upload and user interaction
- Client-side PDF text extraction using JavaScript
- External LLM integration for intelligent data structuring
- Apex-based orchestration and validation layer
- REST API integration with Salesforce B2C Commerce Cloud
This design minimizes server-side processing, improves responsiveness, and aligns with Salesforce governor limits.
Lightning Web Component: PDF Upload
A custom Lightning Web Component was developed to allow users to upload Purchase Order PDFs directly from the Salesforce UI.
Key characteristics include:
- Client-side handling of PDF files without persisting them as ContentDocument or ContentVersion
- A simple and intuitive user experience
- Immediate initiation of downstream processing after file selection
By handling the file entirely in JavaScript, the solution avoids unnecessary storage overhead while maintaining flexibility and performance.
Client-Side PDF Text Extraction
Once the PDF is uploaded, a JavaScript-based PDF parsing library is used to extract the text content directly in the browser.
This approach:
- Converts unstructured PDF content into raw text
- Improves user responsiveness by avoiding round trips to the server
- Reduces Apex processing and governor limit consumption
The extracted text serves as the input for intelligent data extraction.
Leveraging LLMs for Intelligent Data Structuring
The raw text extracted from the PDF is sent to an external Large Language Model (LLM) via an API call. The LLM is prompted to identify and extract structured Purchase Order data, including:
- PO number and order date
- Supplier and buyer information
- Tax identifiers (for example, GST)
- Line items, quantities, and pricing
- Subtotals, taxes, and total amounts
The LLM returns a well-structured JSON payload, which dramatically simplifies downstream processing and reduces the complexity of traditional parsing logic.
Apex Orchestration and Data Validation
The structured JSON response from the LLM is passed to Apex, where it is deserialized into strongly typed wrapper classes.
This orchestration layer is responsible for:
- Validating and transforming extracted data
- Managing error handling and process status
- Coordinating the integration flow across systems
Using typed Apex classes improves maintainability, enforces data integrity, and reduces runtime errors.
Salesforce B2C Commerce Cloud Integration
Apex performs a sequence of REST API callouts to Salesforce B2C Commerce Cloud to create the order. The integration follows the standard B2C Commerce order lifecycle:
- Create a basket
- Add products to the basket
- Set shipping address
- Set billing address
- Apply the payment method
- Submit and create the order
To support callouts and long-running operations, Queueable Apex is used. This ensures the solution remains scalable, resilient, and compliant with Salesforce governor limits.
Order Creation Outcome
At the conclusion of the process:
- A fully configured order is created in Salesforce B2C Commerce Cloud
- Salesforce Sales Cloud functions as the orchestration and intelligence layer
- Users are no longer required to manually interpret or process Purchase Orders
- The entire workflow is triggered by a simple PDF upload
Key Benefits
- End-to-end automation of Purchase Order processing
- Significant reduction in manual effort and human error
- Intelligent data extraction using Large Language Models
- Seamless integration between Sales Cloud and B2C Commerce Cloud
- Scalable, asynchronous, and governor-limit-friendly design
Related Blogs
For related implementations in Salesforce and B2C Commerce, see:
- Inserting Orders in B2C Cloud Using Agentforce
- Resume Processing in Salesforce Using LWC, PDF Parsing, and LLMs
These blogs demonstrate similar techniques for automating data insertion and AI-driven processing in Salesforce.
Conclusion
This implementation demonstrates how modern Salesforce capabilities, combined with Large Language Models, can transform traditional document-driven business processes.
By leveraging:
- Lightning Web Components for user interaction
- JavaScript for client-side PDF text extraction
- LLMs for intelligent data structuring
- Apex as an orchestration layer
- Salesforce B2C Commerce APIs for order creation
organizations can achieve higher operational efficiency, improved data accuracy, and a streamlined user experience — all while reducing manual overhead and technical complexity.
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