FS-DOC-03Operations
Process Runbook / SOP
3PL / Warehouse Coordination
[YourCompany.com] · Fulfilment Department · Prepared by FullSpec · [Today's Date]
This runbook is the day-to-day operating guide for the automated 3PL and warehouse coordination process. It tells your operations team exactly what the automation handles, what the one remaining human step is, how to respond when something goes wrong, and how to keep the process running smoothly over time. FullSpec builds, monitors, and supports the automation end to end. Your team's role is to review exception alerts, investigate major discrepancies, and keep the SKU mapping table current.
01Process overview
Before automation, the operations coordinator spent up to eight hours each week logging into the ShipBob portal, downloading and reformatting reports, running manual comparisons against Cin7, chasing missing ASNs by email, and separately updating both Cin7 and Shopify. The automated process replaces nine of the ten original manual steps. The daily data pull, normalisation, reconciliation, stock updates, Shopify sync, Slack notifications, and Google Sheets logging all run without human input, triggered either on a daily schedule or in real time when ShipBob fires an inbound or outbound webhook. The only step that remains with your team is investigating and resolving major discrepancies, because those require direct communication with the 3PL and a judgement call on the correct stock figure.
Process name
3PL / Warehouse Coordination
Trigger
Daily schedule fires each morning, plus real-time trigger when ShipBob sends an inbound ASN or outbound dispatch webhook
Final output
Cin7 and Shopify stock levels updated, reconciliation row logged to Google Sheets, daily summary and any exception alerts posted to Slack
Agents running
3PL Data Fetch and Normalisation Agent; Reconciliation and Discrepancy Agent; Update and Notification Agent
Tools involved
ShipBob, Cin7, Shopify, Slack, Google Sheets
Weekly volume
Approximately 220 shipment events per month, processed daily
Human checkpoint
Operations Coordinator reviews Slack alerts and investigates any major discrepancy or missing ASN flagged by the system
Process owner
[Your name] — Operations Manager
Process Runbook / SOPPage 1 of 4
FS-DOC-03Operations
02Step-by-step: what happens and who acts
What you actually need to do: There is one human step in this process. When the automation detects a major discrepancy or a missing ASN, it posts a structured alert to Slack. Your operations coordinator opens that alert, reviews the SKU details and expected versus actual counts provided, contacts the 3PL to confirm the correct figure, and then updates Cin7 manually for that line. Everything else in the table below runs automatically.
Step
What happens
Who acts
Type
1
The daily schedule fires each morning, or ShipBob sends a webhook when a new inbound ASN or outbound dispatch event is created. This starts the automation run.
Automation platform
Automated
2
The 3PL Data Fetch and Normalisation Agent calls the ShipBob API and retrieves current inventory levels, inbound receipt statuses, and outbound dispatch records. Each SKU code is cross-referenced against the internal mapping table and normalised to match the internal format before being passed downstream.
3PL Data Fetch Agent
Automated
3
The Reconciliation and Discrepancy Agent receives the clean dataset and compares each SKU line against live Cin7 inventory records. Every SKU is classified as matched, minor variance, or major discrepancy. Missing ASNs are also detected at this step. A reconciliation log row is appended to the master Google Sheet.
Reconciliation Agent
Automated
4
For any SKU classified as a major discrepancy or flagged for a missing ASN, the Update and Notification Agent posts a structured Slack alert to the fulfilment channel. The alert includes the SKU reference, the expected count, the actual count from ShipBob, and a direct link to the Cin7 record.
Update and Notification Agent
Automated
5
The operations coordinator opens the Slack alert, reviews the discrepancy details, contacts the 3PL to confirm the correct stock figure, and manually updates the affected Cin7 line. This is the only step that requires human action.
Operations Coordinator
Human
6
For all SKUs with no discrepancy or with a minor variance below the agreed threshold, the Update and Notification Agent automatically adjusts stock levels in Cin7 via the API. An adjustment note and timestamp are logged against each change.
Update and Notification Agent
Automated
7
The confirmed Cin7 stock levels are pushed to Shopify via the API, updating available inventory per product variant. The storefront reflects the corrected figures without any manual entry.
Update and Notification Agent
Automated
8
A daily summary message is posted to the Slack fulfilment channel. It lists the total SKUs processed, the number of automatic adjustments made, and any open exceptions still awaiting human resolution.
Update and Notification Agent
Automated
9
A summary row is appended to the master reconciliation Google Sheet, recording the run date, SKUs processed, variances found, adjustments made, and any exceptions still open. This row serves as the audit trail for finance and operations.
Reconciliation Agent
Automated
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FS-DOC-03Operations
03Handling exceptions
Situation
What the system does
What you do
A SKU in the ShipBob data does not match any entry in the internal SKU mapping table
The normalisation step cannot classify the SKU and flags it as an unmapped item. The reconciliation run continues for all other SKUs. A Slack alert is sent to the fulfilment channel naming the unmapped SKU and the ShipBob reference code.
Open the Slack alert, identify the correct internal SKU code, and add the mapping to the SKU mapping table in Google Sheets. The next scheduled run will process that SKU correctly. If the SKU is net new, confirm with the buying team before adding it.
The same shipment event appears twice in the ShipBob export, creating a duplicate reconciliation line
The reconciliation agent detects matching shipment IDs and suppresses the duplicate before comparison. Only one line is processed and logged. A note is added to the Google Sheets row indicating a duplicate was removed.
No action is required. Review the Google Sheets log at your next spot-check to confirm duplicates are being caught. If duplicates from the same source appear repeatedly, notify FullSpec at support@gofullspec.com so the deduplication logic can be reviewed.
An inbound purchase order has no confirmed ASN from the 3PL after the expected receipt date
The reconciliation agent flags the missing ASN and the Update and Notification Agent sends a Slack alert to the fulfilment channel, listing the PO reference, expected delivery date, and the SKUs involved.
Contact your 3PL account manager directly to request confirmation of the receipt status. Once the ASN is confirmed, the next automation run will pick it up and process it. If it remains unconfirmed after 24 hours, escalate using the contact table in Section 04.
A major discrepancy alert is sent to Slack but the operations coordinator does not respond within the business day
The system does not auto-correct major discrepancies. The exception remains open and is carried forward to the next daily summary message. Cin7 and Shopify are not updated for that SKU until the discrepancy is resolved by a human.
Check the Slack fulfilment channel each morning as part of your opening routine. Open any unresolved alerts and work through them before the next automation run fires. If you are out of the office, assign cover to a colleague and notify FullSpec if the exception is time-sensitive.
The 3PL does not respond to a discrepancy query within the expected window
The automation has no visibility of your email or phone conversations with the 3PL. The Cin7 and Shopify records for the affected SKU remain at their last confirmed values. The open exception continues to appear in each daily Slack summary until it is resolved.
If the 3PL has not responded within one business day, escalate to your 3PL account manager or their operations supervisor. Document the outcome in the Google Sheets log once resolved, and update Cin7 manually. Contact FullSpec if you need the exception threshold or alert timing adjusted.
ShipBob, Cin7, or Shopify is unavailable or returns an API error during a run
The automation platform retries the failed API call up to three times with a backoff interval. If all retries fail, the run is marked as incomplete, no updates are written to the affected system, and a Slack alert is posted to the fulfilment channel stating which tool is unavailable and at which step the run stopped.
Check the status pages for ShipBob, Cin7, or Shopify as appropriate. If the outage is confirmed, wait for the service to recover and then manually trigger a reconciliation run or wait for the next scheduled run. If the outage persists beyond four hours during a business day, contact FullSpec at support@gofullspec.com to assess whether a manual fallback is needed.
04Who to contact and when
Fill in the rows below once your team is confirmed. Keep this table updated whenever roles change so that exception escalation and maintenance queries reach the right person without delay.
Role
Name
How to reach them
Process owner / Operations Manager
[Your name]
[Your email or Slack handle]
Operations Coordinator (daily runner)
[Your name]
[Your email or Slack handle]
Finance Lead (for Google Sheets log queries)
[Your name]
[Your email or Slack handle]
3PL Account Manager at ShipBob
[Your name]
[Your email or direct phone]
FullSpec builder (build and technical changes)
FullSpec team
support@gofullspec.com
FullSpec support (errors, outages, threshold changes)
FullSpec support
support@gofullspec.com
For any automation error, unexpected Slack alert behaviour, or API failure that does not self-resolve within four hours, contact FullSpec at support@gofullspec.com. Include the date and time of the failed run, the Slack alert text if available, and the name of the tool that appears to be the source of the problem.
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FS-DOC-03Operations
05Ongoing maintenance
Whenever a new SKU is added to your product catalogue
Add the new SKU and its corresponding ShipBob reference code to the SKU mapping table in Google Sheets. Without this entry, the normalisation step will flag the SKU as unmapped and it will not be reconciled until the table is updated.
Operations Coordinator
Whenever a Slack alert template or daily summary format needs to change
Submit the requested changes to FullSpec at support@gofullspec.com with a description of what needs to change and why. FullSpec will update the notification agent and confirm when the new format is live.
Operations Manager + FullSpec
Monthly spot-check (first Monday of each month)
Open the Google Sheets reconciliation log and review the last 30 days of run records. Check that every daily run has a corresponding log row, that the exception count is within expected range, and that no SKU is appearing repeatedly as unresolved.
Operations Coordinator
Weekly error-log review (each Monday morning)
Check the Slack fulfilment channel for any alerts posted outside of business hours or any runs marked as incomplete. Confirm that the previous week's exceptions have been resolved and that no SKU line remains open for more than two business days.
Operations Coordinator
When a team member joins or leaves
Update the contact table in Section 04 of this document. If the departing person was the sole reviewer of major discrepancy alerts, assign the Slack channel notification to the replacement immediately. Notify FullSpec if any API credentials were held by the departing team member.
Operations Manager
Quarterly volume and threshold review (every three months)
Review the total shipment event volume against the 220-per-month baseline. If volume has grown significantly, assess whether the current discrepancy thresholds still match your risk tolerance. Submit any threshold change requests to FullSpec. Also confirm the $180/year automation platform subscription is current.
Operations Manager + FullSpec
The most common maintenance issue for this process is an unmapped SKU causing false-positive discrepancy alerts. This happens whenever a new product is added to the catalogue without a corresponding entry in the SKU mapping table. Make updating the mapping table part of your new product launch checklist to prevent a backlog of unmapped alerts building up in the Slack channel.
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