By industry: Distribution and logistics
Distribution automation for stock, deliveries and cash.
Collections on a schedule, proof of delivery the same day, one stock count across every channel, and customers who hear before they ask.
- First workflow live
- Credit and payment follow-up, usually inside the first sprint
- Usually owned by
- Owners of distribution and trading businesses
- Built on
- QuickBooks, Xero, Tally
- Judged on
- Receivables ageing and Proof of delivery lag
In short
Distribution automation means payment reminders that run on the credit cycle and escalate by age, proof of delivery captured on a phone and attached to the order, one stock count pushed to every sales channel, and ETA messages sent from the dispatch event. SBD builds it around your accounting and inventory tools, starting with a $500 audit credited to the build.
Who this is for
Who brings us in, in distribution and logistics.
- Owners of distribution and trading businesses
- Warehouse and logistics managers
- Credit and collections teams
- Sales reps in the field who need to know stock
Is this you?
If three of these sound like your week, this page is about your business.
- Collections depend on someone remembering
- Proof of delivery arrives days later on paper
- Warehouse stock and the sales channel disagree
- The office spends the afternoon answering where is my order
- Field reps call to ask what is in stock
What it costs today
Where distribution and logistics loses the hours.
Collections depend on someone remembering
Reminders go out when finance has a spare afternoon, so the credit cycle stretches and cash tightens for no reason other than timing.
Proof of delivery comes back days later on paper
Signed notes return with the driver, get filed, and surface only when a customer disputes, by which point they are hard to find.
Stock and sales channels disagree
Goods move before the system knows, so orders are taken on stock already committed elsewhere, and a depot transfer is invisible until someone counts.
Where is my order eats the afternoon
Nothing tells the customer what is happening, so they call, and every call pulls someone off dispatch.
Pricing lives in a spreadsheet
Customer-specific prices and discounts are looked up by hand, so quotes are slow and mistakes reach the invoice.
Field reps call the office for stock
Sales in the field cannot see live stock or credit status, so they promise what the warehouse cannot deliver.
For distributors
Stock, orders and deliveries that agree.
Bring one delivery and follow it with us from order to proof of delivery. Every gap is a message that should have sent itself.
Follow one delivery with us
By company size
Distribution and logistics at 10 people, and at 1,000.
- 1 to 10
One person knows what is in the warehouse, who owes what and which truck left. Usually the owner.
- 11 to 50
A stock register, a credit sheet and a delivery book, reconciled at month end by hand.
- 51 to 200
Multiple channels and warehouses, proof of delivery on paper, and receivables chased from memory.
- 201 to 1,000
Several depots, an ERP, and a field team that still calls the office to ask about stock.
What we build
What we build for distribution and logistics teams.
- 01
Collections on the credit cycle
Reminders fire on the due date and escalate by age, from email to message to a call task for the rep, and stop the moment payment lands. Accounts past the limit go on hold automatically.
- 02
Proof of delivery on the driver's phone
Photo, signature, time and location captured at the door in a mobile browser, attached to the order and visible to finance the same minute.
- 03
One stock count for every channel and depot
Warehouse stock pushed to every sales channel and the field app, with transfers between depots tracked as they happen.
- 04
Customer status and ETA messages
Picked, dispatched, delayed and delivered messages sent on WhatsApp, SMS or email from the real event, logged against the customer.
- 05
Price lists and quotes from one record
Customer tiers and contract prices in one place, applied automatically to quotes and orders.
- 06
Field sales lookup
Reps ask by message or open a simple screen and get live stock, price and credit status.
The workflows
The distribution and logistics workflows, and what sets each one off.
- 01 Credit and payment follow-up
When an invoice passes its due date
ThenReminder to the customer, escalation to the rep, hold flag on new orders past the limit
- 02 Digital proof of delivery
When a driver completes a drop
ThenPhoto and signature captured, POD attached to the order, customer told
- 03 Warehouse and channel stock sync
When stock moves
ThenEvery channel and the field app updated from one count
- 04 Customer ETA and status
When an order is picked, dispatched or delayed
ThenThe customer messaged on WhatsApp with the new ETA
- 05 Field stock lookup
When a rep asks on WhatsApp
ThenLive stock and price returned from the record of truth
The numbers we move
How a distribution and logistics build is judged.
Every build has a number written into the blueprint. These are the ones distribution and logistics builds are measured by, and how we measure them.
| Metric | Before | After | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receivables ageing | Chased by memory | Chased on schedule, escalating by age | Overdue by bucket, weekly |
| Proof of delivery lag | Days, on paper | Same day, captured on the phone | Time from delivery to POD on the record |
| Stock accuracy across channels | Disagree | One count, every channel | Mismatches between warehouse and channel stock, per day |
| Where-is-my-order calls | Daily | Rare, status sent proactively | Inbound status calls, per week |
Documents and records
The paperwork that generates itself.
Names and tax rules differ by country. We build for the ones you file under, whether that is VAT, sales tax or GST.
Systems we connect in distribution and logistics
What is usually already there, and what we add.
Anything with an API or a database we can read works the same way. Each tool links to its page in the integrations directory.
-
NetSuite - SAP Business One
- Odoo
-
Cin7 -
Unleashed -
Zoho Inventory - QuickBooks
-
Xero -
Sage -
Tally -
Zoho Books - Shopify
-
ShipStation -
WhatsApp Business API -
Twilio -
Airtable -
SmartSuite -
Retool -
n8n
Proof
Proof from builds like this.
- Customer story
Order and dispatch management system
A building material supplier consolidated order intake, dispatch and invoicing into one system, coordinating multiple stakeholders without the paperwork lag.
Read the story - Customer story
Sales channel inventory sync
Inventory kept consistent across three sales channels with zero mismatches, using the same sync approach that works for warehouse stock.
Read the story
The offer
The distribution control starter
Thirty days to one stock count, collections on schedule and customers who do not have to ask.
- Week 1 to 2audit of the order, stock, delivery and collections flow with hours on each
- Week 3blueprint, first build chosen by payback, usually collections or POD
- Week 4 oncollections follow-up, digital POD, stock sync and customer status on WhatsApp
- Accounts in your name, runbook, training for the office and drivers, sixty days of hypercare
What this does not do
So the scope is clear before the call.
- Fleet telematics and route optimisation hardware. We integrate with what you have.
- Replacing your ERP. We connect to it.
Terms, defined
Distribution and logistics terms, in plain English.
- Proof of delivery
- Evidence a delivery was made: photo, signature, time and location, attached to the order.
- Credit hold
- A rule that stops new orders when a customer passes an agreed overdue limit.
- Channel stock
- The quantity shown for sale on each channel, which must agree with the warehouse.
Questions
What people ask about distribution and logistics automation.
Which accounting and inventory systems do you connect to?
QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, NetSuite, Zoho Books, Tally, Cin7, Unleashed and most others with an API. Your books stay where they are. We read invoice and payment status to drive collections and write confirmed transactions back.
Do drivers need to install an app?
No. Proof of delivery runs in a mobile browser on the phone they already carry. Nothing to install, no per-device licence, and it works offline until signal returns.
Can you handle several warehouses or depots?
Yes. Stock is held per location, transfers are tracked in transit, and each channel can sell from the depots you choose.
Will customers get messages on WhatsApp?
Where they have opted in, yes. Otherwise SMS or email. Consent is recorded per customer and every message is logged.
What does this usually reduce?
Two things first: the days money sits uncollected because follow-ups were manual, and the hours a week the office spends answering status calls and hunting for delivery paperwork.
Reading
- Operations
Who noticed when the workflow stopped?
Most automation failures are silent. The run shows green, the trigger is armed, and nothing happens for six weeks. How silent failure works in Zapier and n8n, what it costs, and the four checks we put on every build.
- Pricing
The Zapier tax in 2026: what a 20-person team pays
Zapier now bills tasks, AI steps by model tier, and Agents in activities. A worked bill for a 20-person company, what the same workflows cost on n8n, and the rule Zapier itself now recommends to cut the bill.
Related
- Industry
Manufacturing
Production entered once at the machine. Stock that matches the shelf. Dispatch paperwork and customer messages that send themselves. All of it live this morning, not typed up tonight.
- Function
Finance and accounting
Close faster, chase less, and see the numbers without waiting for month end.
- Function
Back office
The admin layer that quietly consumes your team’s week, handled by systems instead.
By industry: Manufacturing, Consulting and agencies, Service and e-commerce, Healthcare, Real estate, SaaS, Professional services
Distribution and logistics
Talk to us about the distribution control starter.
Bring the one distribution and logistics workflow your team still runs by hand. You leave the call with a yes or no on fit and the first thing we would build.
Book the call