Simpler order processing for wholesalers – without changing ERP systems
A good ERP system keeps products, customers and orders organised. Yet manual work may still be needed before an order reaches that system.
One customer sends a product order by email. Another uses a PDF attachment. Some include product codes, while others use abbreviations or names that do not match the product catalogue.
Someone then needs to read the order, identify the correct product, check quantities and transfer the information.
FRB Collect is designed to make this part of order processing easier.
Where does the manual work happen?
For a wholesaler, a single order can raise several questions:
- Which product code matches the name used by the customer?
- Does “10” mean ten individual items or ten packs?
- Is the quantity given in units, kilograms or metres?
- Does the PDF contain all the required information?
- Is this a new order or a question about a previous one?
Manual order entry involves more than copying text. The information also needs to be understood and checked.
An order automation tool needs to make that review easier. If time saved on data entry is spent correcting mistakes, the business has not necessarily improved its working day.
From email and PDF orders to structured line items
FRB Collect is Norwegian order processing software that helps businesses structure product orders from emails and documents.
The workflow is straightforward:
- The order is collected or uploaded. With a supported and authorised email connection, FRB can collect messages from the inbox. Documents can also be uploaded.
- Order details are structured. The system creates an order draft with line items and details for review.
- Products are compared with the catalogue. Product matching helps link the customer’s order to the company’s own products.
- The user reviews and approves. Unclear information and detected discrepancies need to be resolved before export.
- The order is exported. Approved orders can be downloaded as CSV, Excel or FRB XML.
We confirm which email connection can be used before getting started. This depends on the email provider and the required permissions, among other things.
Product matching needs the right units
Imagine a customer orders “12 work gloves”, while the product catalogue lists both individual pairs and boxes containing several pairs.
Finding a similar product name is not enough. Quantity, unit and pack size also need to be correct.
That is why product catalogue quality matters. Clear product codes, names and units provide a better foundation for processing orders.
FRB can also reuse name mappings that the company has confirmed and chosen to save. When a customer repeatedly uses the same alternative product name, that saved mapping can make future processing easier.
This does not replace review. Rule- and code-based order reading can also encounter unclear orders, missing details and document layouts that need correction.
CSV, Excel and XML: which suits your workflow?
Choose an export format based on what the business needs to do with the order next.
CSV can be suitable when a receiving system expects tables with specific columns.
Excel provides a readable order overview. FRB’s overview sheet groups line items under each order, making longer orders easier to review.
FRB XML provides order data in a structured XML format for further processing.
An ERP system supporting CSV or XML does not automatically mean it can import every file directly. Column names, fields, units and file structure need to match the receiving system.
Check a sample export early. FRB does not replace the company’s ERP, inventory or accounting system, and does not offer a ready-made direct integration with every ERP system.
Trial alongside your current order processing
A pilot does not have to mean changing the entire working day.
FRB can be trialled in shadow mode: the current workflow continues while an agreed selection of orders is also processed in FRB. Results are compared before the business decides whether to continue.
During this trial, the existing process should remain authoritative for fulfilment and order entry. Trial outputs must not be imported again in a way that creates duplicate orders.
Choose a sample that includes:
- short and long orders;
- orders in emails and PDFs;
- different product names and units of measurement;
- orders that usually need extra clarification.
This lets you assess how the service handles the variation you actually encounter.
Measure the whole task, including review and corrections
The key question is not how quickly an order draft appears. It is how much work remains before the order is ready to use.
Compare:
- total time spent on entry, review and corrections;
- whether the correct products, quantities and units are included;
- which discrepancies are detected and which the user identifies independently;
- whether the export works in the next stage of the workflow.
FRB Collect is in the pilot phase. We do not promise a specific time saving. The pilot is intended to establish whether the service offers value for your business.
If orders already flow automatically from your online shop or EDI to your ERP, the need may be smaller. If you still receive product orders by email that require manual entry, that is the part of your workflow worth examining.