Template
Inventory management automation template
This template watches stock against sales and supplier lead times, drafts purchase orders for lines that need them and holds each order for a buyer to approve before it goes to a supplier.
Last reviewed 7 October 2026
Status
Designed
No template covers inventory management. The Marketplace listing Supply chain-tuned Qwen is a sample model listing with nothing seeded behind it. The steps are the shape you would build in Studio.
No template covers this job yet. The steps below are the shape we would build and the shape you can build in Studio yourself.
The job
What this template does
Inventory belongs to a buyer or an operations manager. For every item the weekly question is the same: how many are on hand, how fast are they selling, how long does the supplier take, and is that enough. A stockout loses sales. An overorder ties up cash.
By hand, the answer lives in a spreadsheet that was right on the day it was built. A promotion changes the sales rate and nobody updates the reorder point. This flow recomputes cover for every line on a schedule, using your rules, and drafts the orders. The buyer decides, because the buyer knows things the data does not.
Workflow
The workflow, step by step
Steps marked as approval gates pause the run until a named person approves. Nothing after a gate runs before that decision, and the decision is recorded.
- 01
Snapshot stock and sales
On a schedule the workflow reads stock on hand and open purchase orders from the inventory system, and recent sales from the shop. It writes a dated snapshot, one row per item. The snapshot is kept, so a later question about why an order was drafted can be answered. The next step receives the snapshot. - 02
Work out cover
A code step computes days of cover for each item from on hand, open orders and the recent sales rate, then compares it with the supplier lead time and the minimum and maximum you set. Items inside their range are left alone. The next step receives only the items that are short or over. - 03
Explain the odd lines
An agent reads the flagged items with their history and writes a short note for each unusual one: a sudden spike, negative stock, a supplier delay recorded in a note, a seasonal pattern. The notes inform the buyer. They never change a quantity. - 04
Draft the purchase orders
For items that are short, the workflow proposes a quantity from your rules and groups lines by supplier into draft orders in the inventory system. Drafts are marked as proposals. The agent’s notes travel with them. The buyer receives one draft per supplier. - 05
Approve each order
The run pauses for the named buyer. They see each draft with the cover calculation and the notes, then approve, edit the quantity or reject it. Orders above <approval threshold - set by the process owner> need a second named approver. Decisions are saved with the old and new quantities.Approval gate: a named person approves before the next step runs. - 06
Send and follow up
Approved orders are sent to the supplier by email or through the supplier’s portal where one exists, and the expected delivery date is written back. The next run uses that date, so an order already on its way is not drafted twice.
Controls
What it can do, cannot do, needs approval for, and records
Can
- Snapshot stock, open orders and recent sales on a schedule
- Compute cover against lead times and your min and max
- Write notes on unusual lines
- Draft purchase orders grouped by supplier
Cannot
- Send an order that no buyer approved
- Change a reorder rule or a supplier lead time
- Write stock adjustments
- Negotiate with a supplier
Requires approval
- Each purchase order, by the named buyer
- Orders above the threshold, by a second approver
- A new supplier, by the purchasing manager
Records
- The dated stock and sales snapshot
- Cover calculation for each flagged item
- The agent’s notes as shown
- Each order, approver, decision and time
Honest labels
What the library holds for this job
| Asset | Type | Covers | Role in this flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supply chain-tuned Qwen | Marketplace sample listing | Sample listing, no template behind it | A sample model listing described as tuned on SKU and logistics terminology. Nothing is seeded behind it, and this page does not rely on it. |
| ERPNext | Integration | Used inside the flow | A possible source of stock on hand and a home for draft orders, if ERPNext is your inventory system. |
| Shopify | Integration | Used inside the flow | A source of recent sales if the shop runs on Shopify. |
| WooCommerce | Integration | Used inside the flow | The same role for a WooCommerce shop. |
Connections
Integrations this flow uses
- ERPNext: A possible source of stock on hand and a home for draft orders, if ERPNext is your inventory system.
- Shopify: A source of recent sales for the cover calculation.
- WooCommerce: The same source if the shop runs on WooCommerce.
- Postgres: Stores the dated snapshots if you want to keep history yourself.
The full list of tools Studio connects to is on the integrations page.
Before you start
What you supply, and what this page does not cover
- You supply the reorder rules, minimum and maximum levels, supplier lead times, order thresholds and the buyers who approve.
- This page does not forecast demand. It uses recent sales and fixed rules. A forecasting model is a different design and not described here.
- Studio is not an inventory system or an ERP. It reads from yours and drafts orders into it.
- Warehouse operations, picking and stock counts are outside this page.
Common questions
- Does the template forecast demand?
- No. It works out cover from stock on hand, open orders and the recent sales rate, and compares that with lead times and your minimum and maximum levels. That is a rule, not a forecast. If you want forecasting, it is a separate piece of work that you would add as another step.
- Will it order from suppliers on its own?
- No. It drafts orders and pauses for a named buyer to approve, edit or reject each one. Only approved orders are sent. You can lower the bar for small, routine lines later by changing the rule, but we would start with every order approved.
- Which inventory systems does it work with?
- Those with an integration in the library, such as ERPNext and Odoo, or any system that exports a file the workflow can read. Shopify and WooCommerce provide the sales side. Check the integrations hub for the current list and supply the credentials yourself.
- What does the agent add if the rules decide the order?
- It reads the odd lines the rules cannot judge, such as a one-off spike or a supplier delay written in a note, and explains them to the buyer. It adds context. The quantity still comes from your rules, and the buyer decides whether to accept it.