Add configuration options for sorting

**Description**
Currently utils lacks proper serialization support.

**Proposed solution**
Add configurable serialization with sensible defaults.

**Priority**: Low/Medium

Start by locating the utils code and any existing sorting or serialization logic. Compare the issue title with the proposed serialization change, then trace how configuration is loaded and tested. Done means the intended configuration options and sensible defaults are defined consistently, with relevant checks passing.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.