Optical character recognition is technology that converts text visible in an image or scanned document into machine-readable characters. In procurement, it can assist invoice or document capture, but extracted values still require validation, mapping, and exception handling. OCR confidence is not equivalent to business approval, accuracy across every format, or confirmation that the underlying document is legitimate.
In plain English
It turns printed or scanned text into data that software can process.
Illustrative example
At Northstar Industrial Systems, an invoice image is converted into candidate supplier, date, amount, and line values, then validation rules and finance review handle uncertainties.
- Related terms
- Invoice capture; Document extraction; Exception handling; Human-governed AI
- Lifecycle stages
- Invoice
- Stakeholders
- Finance; Procurement; IT and Security