Abstract: A system and method for automated data processing whereby data is extracted from an e-mail message and passed to an external data processing system, e.g. for processing purchase orders. The purchaser can thereby communicate directly with a vendor's order processing system to initiate fulfillment of the purchase order without the need for human intervention. The method includes receiving an e-mail message having a body of text. Character strings of the body of text are compared to a database of valid key names to find a match. When a match is found, data associated with the character string in the body of text, as determined by convention, is stored in association with a respective key name. The data are purchaser-supplied values that are then transmitted to an external, e.g. order processing, system. A data processing system and a computer program product for extracting data from an e-mail message are also provided.