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ToolDeck

Ecommerce

Low-Stock Alerts

The day a SKU hits your threshold, you get a Slack alert with reorder suggestions.

Saves about ~1 hr per week

What it does

  • Monitors inventory across all products
  • Alerts you when a SKU crosses its threshold
  • Suggests reorder quantity from recent sales velocity
  • Summarizes weekly inventory risk in one message

How it works

  1. Inventory levels checked daily
  2. Threshold crossings detected
  3. Slack alert sent with context
  4. Weekly risk summary posted

What's included

  • Inventory monitoring
  • Threshold rules
  • Reorder suggestions

Set it up yourself

Follow these 4 steps in order. You will need accounts for: Shopify.

Step 1: Connect inventory

  1. In Shopify custom app, enable read_inventory and read_products.
  2. Copy the token.
  3. In the workflow, poll inventory levels daily (or use a midnight schedule).
  4. Output: Product/Variant, Qty, Location.
  5. Test the read matches your store's actual stock.

Watch out: Include the location field — if you manage multiple warehouses, an alert without location is half a message.

Step 2: Set thresholds

  1. Create a sheet 'Stock Thresholds': Variant, Threshold (alert when ≤), Reorder Qty, Supplier.
  2. For products without a row, use a default threshold (e.g. 5).
  3. Review the thresholds with your ops knowledge.
  4. Set per-variant overrides for fast movers.
  5. Test by temporarily lowering a real product's threshold.

Watch out: Per-variant thresholds beat a global number — a bestseller should alert at 30, a slow mover at 3.

Step 3: Add the Slack alert

  1. Create the Slack incoming webhook to your #inventory channel.
  2. For each threshold crossing, post: product, variant, qty, suggested reorder.
  3. Include a link to the admin product page for one-click ordering.
  4. Rate-limit: one alert per variant per 24h.
  5. Test with the temporary lowered threshold.

Watch out: One alert per variant per day keeps the channel readable; a daily re-fire on the same SKU is noise.

Step 4: Schedule the check

  1. Run the inventory check daily at 8am.
  2. Add the weekly summary on Mondays: top 10 risk SKUs, weeks-of-stock estimates.
  3. Keep a 30-day inventory log to compute the velocity.
  4. Review the weekly summary in your ops sync.
  5. Update thresholds quarterly with new sales data.

Watch out: Weeks-of-stock (qty ÷ daily sales rate) is the metric that catches slow burners — warn on those too, not just zero.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Low-Stock Alerts automation do?

The day a SKU hits your threshold, you get a Slack alert with reorder suggestions. Monitors inventory across all products

How much time does Low-Stock Alerts save?

It is estimated to save ~1 hr per week. Actual savings depend on your volume.

Which tools does Low-Stock Alerts use?

It works with Shopify.

What does Low-Stock Alerts include?

Inventory monitoring, Threshold rules, Reorder suggestions.

Can I set up Low-Stock Alerts myself?

Yes. The do-it-yourself guide on this page walks through 4 steps, from getting access to testing the finished automation.