Each morning we receive 15-20 separate emails from different sites with data attached in excel format.
One person then cleans the data, collates and inputs into a single spreadsheet.
This is a daily and very time consuming task.
Is there a way to automate this process using python/sql?
It depends on how the Excels are formatted. Are they all the same or does actual transformation need to happen to get them into a common format? Are they actual .xls(x) files or rather .csv?
Excel itself should have enough tools to transform the data to the desired format in an automated way, at least if the actions are the same all the time.
From what I understand of your question, it's not actually needed to have the data in a database, but just combine them into a new file? Excel has the option to import data from several different formats under the "Data" menu option.
How to automate data in email/excel to SQL?