You sell through retailers, dealers and distributors, and each group buys from you differently. Large retailers send orders by EDI and expect confirmations, shipment notices, labels and invoices that meet their requirements exactly. Dealers often order by email or phone and wait for a PDF invoice. Distributors sit somewhere in between, some on EDI and some not.
Your order desk absorbs the difference. Customer service works emailed POs into the ERP by hand, chases confirmations and answers “where’s my order?” from several systems. A wrong quantity or a missed ship date reaches the customer, and with retailers it can also mean a compliance penalty. On the selling side, your supply chain is your customer experience.