AI Sales Order Automation for Unleashed Inventory Management Software

Why 'Automation' Means the Full Loop, Not Just the Entry Step

It is worth being precise about what 'sales order automation' covers, because the term is used inconsistently. Some tools automate one step of the process, usually the field extraction from a PDF, and call it order automation. The entry step (writing the extracted data to Unleashed) is still done manually.

Full automation covers the entire loop: taking in orders from every channel so none sits unread in an inbox, sorting each message so the right workflow runs, reading and checking the data, creating the Unleashed record, and replying to the buyer so they know their order was received and what happens next. Automating only part of the loop creates new handoffs between the automated step and the manual ones that follow.

Where Orders Come From: Email, WhatsApp, SMS, Voicemail and EDI

Most Unleashed operations receive purchase orders through more than one channel. Email is the most common: PDF attachments from trade buyers, and orders typed into the email body by smaller customers. WhatsApp is common with buyers who prefer to order from their phones. EDI is used by larger retail and wholesale buyers with standard electronic trading requirements.

Logistify takes email by forwarding to a Logistify address, along with WhatsApp, SMS, voicemail and EDI. Every channel feeds the same steps: sorting, reading, matching, checking, writing to Unleashed, and replying.

Classifying Orders vs. Quote Requests

For Unleashed operations that receive both purchase orders and quote requests through the same channels, sorting them is a meaningful step. A quote request entered as an order creates a sales order in Unleashed that reserves stock for a transaction the buyer hasn't committed to. A firm order treated as a quote delays fulfilment.

The message itself gives the signals: a formal purchase order number points to a firm order; wording like 'can you quote' or 'please advise availability' points to a quote request; a delivery date and delivery address lean towards a firm order, and the absence of both towards a quote. A message that could be either waits for a person rather than being guessed.

How Firm Orders Are Automated in Unleashed

Logistify reads each firm order, matches the customer, the delivery address and every line to your Unleashed records, using your product list and that customer's past orders, and creates the sales order through the Unleashed API.

The price on each line is the buyer's when the order states one; otherwise it's the customer's price tier in Unleashed. A price that doesn't add up is held for review rather than written to Unleashed.

Once the order is in Unleashed, Logistify replies to the buyer. The reply confirms the order and its lines, with the quantity available for each line. If only part of an order is available, it gives a date for the rest and asks whether to ship what's available now with the balance to follow.

How Quote Requests Are Automated in Unleashed

Unleashed's public API accepts new sales orders but treats sales quotes as read-only, so quotes can't be posted the way orders are. Logistify prepares each quote, with the customer, matched products, quantities and prices, as an Unleashed import file, and the sales quote is created in Unleashed from that file.

The reply to the buyer lists each requested product with its price and the quantity available. When the buyer accepts and sends a firm order, the quote is converted to a sales order through the normal Unleashed workflow.

When an Order Needs a Person

An order with an open question, such as a product it can't match, a price that doesn't add up or an unusual quantity, is held with the reason. Nothing from that order is written to Unleashed until a person resolves it, so there are no half-entered orders to clean up.

What Running at Volume Looks Like

At 80 to 200 inbound purchase orders a day, the bottleneck in a manual operation isn't any single step. It's the total time when every step is sequential and human: open the email or attachment, decide what it is, find the customer in Unleashed, look up each product, enter each line, check the price, save the order and write a reply. At 8 minutes an order and 150 orders a day, that's 20 hours of order entry.

With the loop automated, clean orders and quote requests go into Unleashed and get a reply without anyone retyping them. People spend their time only on the held ones, on the specific question each one raises.

What Logistify Doesn't Do

• It doesn't choose a warehouse by where the buyer is. Replies give the quantity available for each line, not stock by warehouse.
• It doesn't read faxed orders.