A supplier sends a delivery note to the shared operations inbox. One person opens it, another downloads it, and by Friday nobody knows which copy is in the project folder. This is a good candidate for a small Power Automate flow: put incoming PDFs in one controlled SharePoint library and leave the decision about what to do with each file to the operations team.
Hypothetical example: a Johor distributor asks two regular suppliers to send delivery notes to a dedicated mailbox with “Delivery Note” in the subject. Its pilot saves matching PDFs in an internal Pending Review folder. Staff still check the purchase order and quantities before accepting the delivery. The flow saves the file; it does not approve a transaction or certify that an attachment is safe.
1. Check the accounts and the destination
Start with a dedicated Exchange Online shared mailbox and an existing SharePoint document library. Create the intake folder before building the flow. The work account behind the Office 365 Outlook connection should have a licensed Exchange Online mailbox and Full Access to the shared mailbox. Ask the Exchange administrator to verify delegation. Send As alone does not provide read access, and the shared mailbox is not the account you sign in with.
The SharePoint connection identity needs permission to create files at the destination. Give reviewers only the access their jobs require and check who already inherits access to the folder. Keep supplier paperwork out of a broadly shared site or external guest library. In Power Automate, confirm the maker can create flows in the selected environment and that the organisation’s data policies allow the two connectors to be used together.
Microsoft classifies Office 365 Outlook and SharePoint as standard connectors. An eligible Microsoft 365 or Office 365 entitlement can cover this standard connector cloud flow; have the administrator verify the flow owner’s assigned entitlement and limits. No Copilot add-on is needed for this design. A separate mailbox licence can be needed for larger capacity or some advanced features; review those requirements independently.
2. Build a narrow intake flow
- In Power Automate, select Create → Automated cloud flow. Choose the Office 365 Outlook trigger When a new email arrives in a shared mailbox (V2). Enter the shared mailbox address and select Inbox. Set Only with Attachments and Include Attachments to Yes for this small pilot. Use the subject filter for the agreed phrase.
- Add Apply to each over the trigger’s attachment collection. Inside it, add a condition to keep attachments whose name ends in
.pdfafter converting it to lowercase. Skip inline attachments where the trigger exposes the inline flag. Treat the extension as a routing rule; keep normal mail and file protections enabled. - In the matching branch, add SharePoint Create file. Select the site and the existing intake folder. For file content, use the current attachment’s content bytes, not the message body or attachment ID. For the pilot, prefix the attachment name with a generated identifier such as
guid(), then a hyphen, to reduce collisions between suppliers using names such asdelivery-note.pdf. Reject or route names that SharePoint does not accept for manual review.
A generated prefix separates same-named files but also lets a replay create another copy. If duplicates would cause downstream work, add a durable intake record keyed by a stable message and attachment identifier, and enforce uniqueness before enabling that downstream action. Keep the first version simple: reviewers work from the folder and no automatic approval follows a file upload.
3. Test the exceptions before relying on it
Send synthetic test messages: one valid PDF, two PDFs with the same filename in separate messages, a message with a signature image, and an unrelated subject. Check run history and open the saved PDFs to verify they are readable. Have an authorised reviewer confirm access, and use an ordinary account without library permissions to check that files are not visible more widely than intended.
Microsoft documents that the shared mailbox trigger skips messages larger than the lower of the Exchange administrator’s limit and 50 MB, and may skip protected messages or invalid attachments. The Outlook connector also warns that fetching attachment content in the trigger can time out during bursts. Treat the pilot as intake assistance. Keep a manual reconciliation route and agree who checks for failed runs or messages with no matching file. If volume increases, test retrieving content in a separate Get Attachment (V2) action with the shared mailbox context.
Assign a backup maintainer and document the connections and permissions that need to be checked when someone changes role. Run the pilot with one inbox and one library before expanding it. To discuss an intake workflow that fits your team’s approval and access rules, contact AXO Technologies.
Sources and dates
Published 6 November 2026. Official documentation accessed 6 November 2026.
- Microsoft Learn: Office 365 Outlook connector — trigger inputs and limits.
- Microsoft Learn: SharePoint connector — Create file and connector classification.
- Microsoft Learn: about shared mailboxes — delegation and licensing.
- Microsoft Learn: Power Automate licensing FAQ — owner context and standard connector entitlements.