What This Workflow Does
This workflow automates your entire inventory management process by combining real-time Shopify data with predictive analytics. It monitors stock levels, predicts reorder points based on historical sales patterns, and automatically notifies suppliers and team members when action is needed. No more manual inventory checks or missed reorder opportunities.
How It Works
The workflow runs on an hourly schedule to keep your inventory data constantly updated. Here’s the step-by-step process:
- A scheduled trigger initiates the workflow every hour
- Live inventory levels and product details are pulled directly from your Shopify store
- Recent order history is retrieved to analyze sales velocity
- Your Inventory Master, Supplier list, and Purchase Order Log are read from Google Sheets
- All data sources are merged into a unified SKU-level dataset
- Predictive analytics code calculates optimal reorder points based on lead times and sales trends
- An if-statement logic evaluates whether reordering is necessary
- When action is required, notifications are sent via Gmail and Slack simultaneously
- An HTTP request can trigger supplier ordering systems or external APIs
- A wait node adds deliberate pauses to respect rate limits or batch processing needs
- A sticky note provides workflow documentation and notes
Use Cases
- E-commerce businesses managing hundreds of SKUs across multiple suppliers can eliminate stockouts and overstock situations with data-driven reordering
- Dropshipping operations use this workflow to automatically monitor supplier inventory and adjust reorder quantities based on real-time demand
- Multi-channel retailers synchronize Shopify inventory with supplier systems to maintain accurate stock levels across all sales channels
- Seasonal businesses forecast peak demand periods and automatically increase reorder quantities before busy seasons begin
- Logistics companies track inventory across warehouses and automatically redistribute stock based on regional demand patterns
Nodes Used
- Schedule Trigger: Initiates the workflow on a recurring hourly schedule
- Set: Defines initial variables and workflow parameters
- Shopify: Connects to your Shopify store to retrieve inventory and order data
- Google Sheets: Reads supplier lists, inventory masters, and purchase order history
- Merge: Combines multiple data sources into a single unified dataset
- Code: Executes custom JavaScript for predictive analytics calculations
- If: Creates conditional branches to determine if reordering is necessary
- Gmail: Sends email notifications to suppliers and team members
- HTTP Request: Sends data to external APIs or supplier ordering systems
- Wait: Pauses execution to respect API rate limits or allow batch processing
- Slack: Posts real-time alerts to your team Slack channel
- Sticky Note: Provides inline documentation and workflow notes
Prerequisites
- An active Shopify store with API access enabled
- A Google account with Google Sheets access for storing inventory data
- Gmail or SMTP credentials configured for email notifications
- A Slack workspace with bot permissions for sending messages
- Supplier API endpoints or contact information for automated ordering
- Historical sales and inventory data to establish accurate reorder point calculations
- Basic understanding of inventory management principles and lead times
Difficulty Level
Intermediate. This workflow requires basic familiarity with n8n, API connections, and Google Sheets. The predictive analytics code node can be customized based on your specific business logic, but the provided template handles most standard inventory scenarios. No advanced programming knowledge is required if you use the default settings.
This workflow template is shared under the n8n fair-code license. Free to use and modify.