FS-DOC-03Operations
Process Runbook / SOP
Inventory Reorder Management
[YourCompany.com] · Operations Department · Prepared by FullSpec · [Today's Date]
This runbook is the day-to-day operating guide for the Inventory Reorder Management automation. It explains exactly what the system does on your behalf, where your team is still involved, how to handle anything that goes wrong, and what routine maintenance keeps the automation running accurately. FullSpec has built and configured the automation end to end. Your team's responsibility is to keep the underlying data clean, respond to Slack approval requests promptly, and follow the exception steps described here when an edge case arises.
01Process overview
The Inventory Reorder Management automation continuously monitors Cin7 for SKUs that have reached or fallen below their configured reorder point. The moment a threshold is crossed, the Reorder Calculation Agent works out the correct order quantity using live sales velocity and supplier lead time data, then hands a draft purchase order to the PO Dispatch and Tracking Agent. That second agent creates the PO in Cin7, routes high-value orders to the operations manager via Slack for approval, emails the finalised PO to the supplier, creates a corresponding draft bill in Xero, logs the order to the shared Google Sheets tracker, and sends a chaser email if no supplier acknowledgement arrives within 24 hours. The full cycle from stock alert to sent PO takes under 15 minutes. The only moment a human is needed is when the manager reviews and approves or rejects a high-value order in Slack.
Process name
Inventory Reorder Management
Trigger
A SKU's on-hand quantity in Cin7 hits or falls below its configured reorder point
Final output
PO sent to supplier via Gmail, draft bill in Xero, row logged in Google Sheets tracker, chaser sent if no acknowledgement within 24 hours
Agents running
Reorder Calculation Agent; PO Dispatch and Tracking Agent
Tools involved
Cin7, Xero, Gmail, Slack, Google Sheets
Weekly volume
Approximately 120 SKUs monitored continuously; 15 to 30 purchase orders raised per month
Human checkpoint
Operations Manager approves or rejects high-value orders via a Slack message before the PO is sent to the supplier
Process owner
[Your name], Operations Manager
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02Step-by-step: what happens and who acts
What you actually need to do: There is one human step in this process. When the system sends a Slack message asking you to approve a high-value purchase order, open the message, review the PO summary, and tap Approve or Reject. That is your only required action. Everything else is handled automatically by the FullSpec automation.
Step
What happens
Who acts
Type
1
The automation platform polls Cin7 continuously. When a SKU's on-hand quantity reaches or falls below its reorder point, the workflow is triggered immediately.
Automation
Automated
2
The Reorder Calculation Agent reads the SKU's average daily sales rate, current stock level, supplier lead time, and safety stock target from Cin7 and Google Sheets, then calculates the recommended reorder quantity.
Reorder Calculation Agent
Automated
3
A draft purchase order is created directly in Cin7 with the correct SKU code, calculated quantity, supplier name, and expected delivery date pre-populated. No manual data entry is needed.
PO Dispatch and Tracking Agent
Automated
4
The system checks whether the total order value exceeds the approval threshold you have configured. If the order is below the threshold, it is approved automatically and the workflow continues to step 6. If it is above the threshold, a Slack message is sent to the operations manager.
Automation
Automated
5
The operations manager receives a Slack message containing the PO summary, SKU details, order value, and one-click Approve or Reject buttons. The manager reviews the order and selects a response. If rejected, the workflow stops and a note is logged. If approved, the workflow continues.
Operations Manager
Human
6
The finalised purchase order is emailed to the supplier's registered email address via Gmail, with the PO document attached as a PDF. This step fires automatically whether the order was auto-approved or manually approved in Slack.
PO Dispatch and Tracking Agent
Automated
7
A draft bill is created in Xero and linked to the supplier and PO value. This gives the accounts team immediate visibility of the incoming liability without any manual entry.
PO Dispatch and Tracking Agent
Automated
8
The PO number, supplier name, SKU, quantity, total value, and expected delivery date are appended as a new row in the shared Google Sheets tracking log so the full team can see open orders at a glance.
PO Dispatch and Tracking Agent
Automated
9
If the supplier has not replied to the PO email within 24 hours, a chaser email is sent automatically via Gmail and a Slack alert is posted to the operations channel. No manual follow-up is needed unless the supplier still does not respond after the chaser.
PO Dispatch and Tracking Agent
Automated
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03Handling exceptions
Situation
What the system does
What you do
A SKU triggers a reorder but has missing or zero values for sales velocity, lead time, or safety stock in Cin7 or the Google Sheets reference data
The Reorder Calculation Agent detects the missing field, halts the calculation for that SKU, and sends an alert to the operations Slack channel with the SKU code and the field name that is missing.
Open the Google Sheets reference data or Cin7 SKU record and fill in the missing field. Once saved, you can manually re-trigger the reorder for that SKU, or wait for the next automatic poll cycle.
A duplicate PO is detected for the same SKU within the same rolling window (for example, a reorder fires twice because stock briefly fluctuated around the threshold)
The automation checks for an existing open PO in Cin7 for the same SKU before creating a new one. If one exists, the workflow stops and logs a duplication warning to the Google Sheets tracker without creating a second PO.
Review the tracker log and confirm the existing open PO covers the required quantity. If the existing PO is insufficient, contact the supplier directly or manually adjust the PO quantity in Cin7.
The supplier email address in Cin7 is missing, invalid, or bounces when the PO is sent via Gmail
Gmail returns a delivery failure. The automation catches the error, flags the order in the Google Sheets tracker with a red status, and sends a Slack alert to the operations channel naming the supplier and the PO number.
Locate the correct supplier email address, update it in Cin7, and manually resend the PO from Gmail using the draft saved in the tracker. Notify FullSpec at support@gofullspec.com if the same supplier continues to cause errors.
The operations manager does not respond to the Slack approval request within the configured response window (default: 4 business hours)
The automation sends a reminder Slack message to the operations manager. If still no response after a second reminder, the PO is held in draft status in Cin7 and the workflow pauses. No order is sent to the supplier without approval.
Check Slack for any pending approval requests. If you are unavailable for an extended period, assign a delegate in the contact table below and notify the FullSpec team so the approval routing can be updated temporarily.
The supplier does not respond to the PO email or the automatic chaser within 24 hours
The 24-hour chaser email is sent automatically via Gmail and a Slack alert is posted to the operations channel. The Google Sheets tracker row is updated with a status flag indicating the chaser has been sent.
If no response arrives within a further 24 hours after the chaser, contact the supplier directly by phone or through an alternative contact. Update the tracker row manually with the outcome and log any new expected delivery date.
Cin7, Xero, Gmail, or Google Sheets is temporarily unavailable (API timeout or service outage)
The automation retries the failed step up to three times with a 5-minute gap between attempts. If all retries fail, the workflow pauses at the failed step and sends a Slack alert to the operations channel with the error detail and the step that failed.
Check the relevant tool's status page to confirm the outage. Once the tool is back online, the FullSpec team can re-run the paused workflow. For urgent orders that cannot wait, raise the PO manually in Cin7 and email the supplier directly, then log the manual PO in the tracker so there is no duplicate when the automation resumes.
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04Who to contact and when
Fill in the rows marked with placeholders once your team is confirmed. Keep this table updated whenever roles or contact details change, as the automation's Slack routing and escalation alerts depend on the right people being reachable.
Role
Name
How to reach them
Process owner (Operations Manager)
[Your name]
[Your email or Slack handle]
Operations Coordinator (day-to-day runner)
[Your name]
[Rep email]
Approval delegate (covers when manager is unavailable)
[Your name]
[Rep email]
Accounts contact (Xero bill queries)
[Your name]
[Rep email]
FullSpec builder
FullSpec team
support@gofullspec.com
FullSpec support (errors, outages, change requests)
FullSpec support
support@gofullspec.com
If the Slack approval routing stops working or the wrong person is receiving alerts, contact FullSpec at support@gofullspec.com before attempting to change any automation settings yourself. Routing rules are configured inside the automation platform and must be updated by the FullSpec team to take effect correctly.
05Ongoing maintenance
Whenever a new SKU is added or a reorder point changes in Cin7
Update the SKU's reorder point, safety stock, and lead time fields in Cin7 and confirm the supplier email and lead time in the Google Sheets reference data. The automation will not trigger correctly for any SKU with missing or stale threshold values.
Operations Coordinator
Whenever a PO email template needs updating (for example, new payment terms or branding)
Send the revised template text to FullSpec at support@gofullspec.com. Do not edit the Gmail draft template directly; changes must be made inside the automation platform to apply correctly to all future orders.
Operations Manager, then FullSpec
Monthly spot-check (first week of each month)
Open the Google Sheets tracker and review the previous month's PO rows. Confirm that PO statuses are marked as acknowledged, that no rows are stuck in a pending or error state, and that Xero bills match the corresponding PO values.
Operations Coordinator
Monthly error-log review (first week of each month)
Check the Slack operations channel for any unresolved error alerts from the past month. If any errors were not resolved at the time, raise them with FullSpec at support@gofullspec.com so the root cause can be investigated and fixed.
Operations Manager
Whenever a team member joins, leaves, or changes role
Update the contact table in this runbook. Notify FullSpec at support@gofullspec.com so the Slack approval routing and alert recipients can be updated in the automation platform before the change takes effect.
Operations Manager, then FullSpec
Quarterly volume and threshold review (every three months)
Review the approval threshold value to confirm it still reflects your business's risk tolerance and order patterns. Also check whether average order volumes or supplier lead times have shifted significantly and update the Google Sheets reference data accordingly.
Operations Manager
The single most common maintenance issue for this process is stale or missing reorder point data in Cin7. When a SKU's threshold is not set, or is set to zero, the automation will never trigger for that product and stock can run out silently. Run a quick audit of all active SKUs in Cin7 at least once per quarter to confirm every product has a reorder point, a safety stock level, and a current supplier lead time recorded.
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