The manual work between your systems. Sorted.
SORTD helps specialist UK wholesalers and distributors cut the repetitive work between inboxes, documents, spreadsheets and ERP. We map the workflow, connect what makes sense and automate with the right checks in place.
- 01Discover
- 02Assess
- 03Prototype
- 04Validate
- 05Implement
[01]Recognition
The hard part isn't the work. It's everything around it.
Distribution runs on documents, inboxes and systems that were never designed to work together. People fill the gaps by re-keying, checking and chasing. These are the signs.
- 01Manual data entry
“We re-key information that already exists somewhere else.”
Orders and updates arrive by email or spreadsheet and are typed into the ERP by hand, line by line.
- 02Disconnected systems
“Our systems hold the data. Moving it between them is manual.”
Information travels between inbox, spreadsheets and ERP through copying, exports and manual updates.
- 03Inconsistent documents
“Every customer sends their orders differently.”
PDFs, spreadsheets and email bodies arrive in their own layouts, quoting customer codes instead of your SKUs.
- 04Bottlenecked approvals
“Approvals sit in someone's inbox until they notice.”
Routine checks and exceptions are forwarded by hand, so decisions wait for whoever happens to see them.
- 05Late exceptions
“We find the problem after the order has gone in.”
Missing fields, mismatched product codes and wrong units surface downstream instead of at the point of entry.
- 06Manual follow-ups
“Too much of the day goes on chasing missing details.”
Staff chase information, statuses and confirmations that a better-designed workflow would request once.
[02]Approach
Automating a broken workflow just makes mistakes faster.
So we work in a deliberate order: understand the workflow, define the rules and exceptions, check what your systems allow, and only then automate the steps that are ready.
- 01Start here
Understand
How the work really moves today, and where it stalls.
- 02
Validate
Reliable inputs, clear rules and the exceptions that need a person.
- 03
Connect
What your systems allow, verified before anything is built.
- 04
Automate
Repeatable steps handled, with review where it matters.
Most projects start at 04. We start at 01.
[03]Services
Where the manual work sits, and how we approach it.
Four connected areas of work. They're capabilities, not fixed packages: most engagements start by assessing a single workflow.
- 01
Sales & order operations
Less re-keying between inbox and ERP.
SORTD / Model 01Sales & order operationsThe repetitive work around sales administration. Our first focus is emailed purchase orders: structured intake, checks and human review. RFQ routing and draft acknowledgements are possible later extensions.
Where it applies
- Order-intake mapping
- Structured PO processing
- A human review step
- Drafts or exports, where feasible
- 02
Document & data workflows
Inconsistent documents, consistent data.
SORTD / Model 02Document & data workflowsPDFs, spreadsheets and emails turned into structured, checked data. Fixed rules come first; AI-assisted extraction is used only where it genuinely helps, and it never fills in missing values.
Where it applies
- Structured extraction
- SKU and code matching
- Gap and duplicate checks
- Approved exports
- 03
Systems & integrations
Connections that are verified, not assumed.
SORTD / Model 03Systems & integrationsConnecting authorised systems so validated information is entered once. Every ERP and OMS differs, so APIs, permissions and test access are checked before anything is promised.
Where it applies
- Inbox-to-workflow links
- ERP or OMS links, where feasible
- Structured imports and exports
- Less repeated entry
- 04
Exceptions & approvals
Monitored, recoverable and owned.
SORTD / Model 04Exceptions & approvalsKeeping automated work under control. Exceptions reach a named person, consequential steps wait for approval, and every run is logged, monitored and backed by a manual fallback.
Where it applies
- Exception routing and alerts
- Human approval steps
- Audit logs and run status
- Manual fallback
Emailed purchase orders are our first focus. The other applications are possible extensions, scoped case by case.
[04]How we work
From first conversation to controlled rollout, in five stages.
Each stage is a gate. Feasibility and your approval decide whether we move on, and not every engagement should reach production.
- Discover: Understand the work as it really happens. We look at the workflow with the people who run it: where information comes from, who handles it, what goes wrong and what that costs the business. Gate: Is there a repeated problem worth solving?
- Assess: Check what's possible before promising it. Input formats, existing tools, ERP or OMS edition, APIs, permissions and test access are checked, along with what your current software already does. Gate: A feasible path, with its limits written down.
- Prototype: Build it where nothing real can break. A tightly scoped workflow is built in a safe environment, using synthetic or authorised test data, with review steps in place from the start. Gate: It works on test data, without live access.
- Validate: Test the awkward cases, not just the happy path. Edge cases, exceptions, duplicates, error recovery and human review are tested against acceptance criteria agreed with you. Gate: Agreed criteria met, and signed off by you.
- Implement: Introduce it carefully, then support it. Where feasible and approved, the workflow goes live under controlled conditions, with documentation, training, monitoring and a manual fallback. Support is scoped in advance. Gate: Live only with your approval, and a way back to manual.
[05]What changes
Same team, same systems. Less of the work in between.
Illustrative before-and-after states for a well-scoped workflow. They describe what the design aims for, not results we have measured.
- Manual entry
- Before: Information is copied between documents and systems.
- After: Structured data is prepared for checking and approval.
- Documents
- Before: Each customer's format is interpreted by hand.
- After: Supported formats follow defined extraction and checks.
- Handoffs
- Before: Data moves through spreadsheets and forwarded emails.
- After: Validated information moves through controlled steps.
- Approvals
- Before: Requests and exceptions disappear into inbox threads.
- After: Review items are visible and assigned to the right person.
- Exceptions
- Before: Errors surface late, with unclear ownership.
- After: Missing or inconsistent data is flagged at the point of entry.
- Monitoring
- Before: Someone checks by hand whether a process ran.
- After: Status, failures and exceptions can be monitored.
[06]Who it's for
Built for distributors doing more manual handling than they should need.
A good fit if
- You're a UK wholesaler or distributor with repetitive admin around orders, documents or data entry.
- Information moves between inboxes, spreadsheets, PDFs and your ERP or OMS, mostly by hand.
- Someone clearly owns the process, and you're willing to look at how it works today.
- You can grant appropriate access for testable automation, starting in a test environment.
Probably not a fit if
- You want automation without first checking whether the process itself works.
- You expect AI to make unsupervised commercial decisions, or guaranteed compatibility with any ERP.
- You need an ERP replacement, extensive custom ERP development or 24/7 support.
- Your ERP or an existing tool already handles the workflow well. Then it may not need us.
[07]Principles
Five principles we don't trade off.
- 01
Understand, then automate.
We learn how the process really works before adding any technical complexity.
- 02
Flag it, never invent it.
Missing or inconsistent data is surfaced for a person to resolve, not filled in with a guess.
- 03
People make the big calls.
Prices, commitments and anything with a financial or contractual effect need the right approval.
- 04
Start with what's there.
We check what your existing systems can do before suggesting new software or integrations.
- 05
Visible and recoverable.
Monitoring, documentation, error handling and a manual fallback are part of the job, not extras.
[08]FAQ
Questions, answered plainly.
Something else on your mind? Bring it to the call.
Repetitive work around orders, documents and data moving between systems. Our first focus is emailed purchase orders. RFQs, delivery-document checks and order acknowledgements are areas we may extend into once that work is proven.
No. We work with the systems you already have. If your ERP or an existing tool already handles a workflow well, we'll tell you, rather than build something around it.
Possibly, but we check before we promise. Whether you run Business Central, Sage, Cin7, Unleashed or something else, the edition, APIs or import routes, permissions and test access are verified for your setup first. Where a safe connection isn't possible, a validated export may still help.
No. Fixed rules handle checks such as required fields, duplicates and SKU matching. AI may help read inconsistent documents, but it doesn't invent missing values, set prices or post orders. Anything with a commercial consequence goes to a person first.
We look at how often the work happens, how consistent the inputs are, what errors cost and what your systems allow. Sometimes the answer is a better process or an existing feature, not automation.
Exceptions and failures are flagged to a named person, logged and recoverable. Every workflow we design keeps a manual fallback, so the business can carry on if a step fails.
[09]Next step
Let's find the work worth automating.
Start with a conversation about the repetitive work in your operation: where it sits, what it costs and what your systems allow. You'll leave with a clearer view of what's worth doing, whether or not we work together.