How it works

Follow these 5 simple steps to start receiving Slack alerts when Shopify inventory runs low

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Inventory Level Updated
App connector: Shopify • Time to complete: 0 minutes (Auto-configured)
Why this matters: This trigger captures every inventory change in real-time, enabling immediate low-stock detection that prevents stockouts rather than discovering them after they've already impacted sales.

This trigger activates whenever any product variant's inventory quantity changes in your Shopify store. It automatically captures the updated inventory data including available quantity and inventory item ID. The system runs continuously in the background, so no configuration is needed from you. When inventory changes occur due to sales, restocks, or manual adjustments, this trigger fires and passes the inventory data to the next step for evaluation.

Filter (Low Inventory Check)
App connector: Filter • Time to complete: 1 minute
Why this matters: Acts as the threshold gatekeeper that only sends alerts when inventory actually needs attention, preventing alert fatigue from well-stocked items while ensuring critical low-stock situations reach your team immediately.

The filter evaluates whether the available inventory quantity is 3 units or fewer. You can customize this threshold by changing the number from "3" to whatever low-stock level makes sense for your business. Only inventory updates that meet this condition will proceed to the next steps. If the available quantity is above your threshold, the workflow stops here and no alert gets sent.

Retrieve Product Variant Details from Inventory Item ID
App connector: Shopify • Time to complete: 0 minutes (Auto-configured)
Why this matters: Converts the inventory item ID into meaningful product and variant information that makes alerts actionable, showing your team exactly which product and variant needs restocking rather than just an unintelligible ID number.

This step automatically looks up the full product and variant details using the inventory item ID from the trigger. It retrieves essential information like product title, variant title, and product ID that will be used to create a meaningful alert message. The system handles this lookup automatically using Shopify's API. No configuration is required, and the retrieved product data gets passed forward to build your final Slack notification.

Retrieve Shop
App connector: Shopify • Time to complete: 0 minutes (Auto-configured)
Why this matters: Fetches your store's myshopify domain needed to construct the direct admin link in the alert, enabling one-click navigation from the Slack message to the exact product page for restocking.

This step retrieves your Shopify store information, specifically {{shopify_2.myshopify_domain}}, which contains your store's unique domain (like "yourstore.myshopify.com"). This domain is used to build the admin URL format "https://admin.shopify.com/store/yourstore/products/[id]" that provides immediate access to the low-stock product's admin page from the Slack alert.

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Send Message
App connector: Slack • Time to complete: 2 minutes
Why this matters: Delivers an immediate, actionable alert to your team showing exactly which product variant is low, how many units remain, and where to go to restock it, enabling fast response to prevent stockouts.

This step sends a Slack message to your configured channel containing the product title, variant title, current inventory quantity, and a formatted admin link.

You need to configure the channel field during setup—select the Slack channel where inventory alerts should be sent (you must invite the MESA Slack app to your channel first by typing @MESA and clicking Invite). The message format can be customized to match your team's preferences or add additional information like supplier contact details or reorder quantities.

Make it your own

Customize this workflow even further:

Set different thresholds by product type or vendor
Add conditional paths before the filter that check product tags, type, or vendor and apply different inventory thresholds—high-velocity items get alerts at 20 units while slow-movers alert at 3 units.
Include location information for multi-location stores
Modify the Slack message to include {{shopify.location_id}} or add a location lookup step to show which warehouse or store location is running low, helping teams route restocking to the right place.
Create reorder tasks automatically
Add steps after the Slack message that create tasks in Asana, tickets in your project management system, or rows in a reorder spreadsheet, ensuring low-stock items enter your purchasing workflow automatically.
Track low-stock events in a database
Add a MESA Data table or Google Sheets step to log every low-stock alert with timestamp, product, quantity, and location, creating a historical record for analyzing stockout patterns and optimizing inventory levels.

Frequently asked questions

Will I get multiple alerts as inventory continues to drop below the threshold?
Yes, every time inventory changes (from a new sale, adjustment, or restock), the workflow runs. If inventory stays below the threshold, you'll receive an alert with each change. Consider adding logic to track which products have already been alerted on today using a database table or tags to prevent duplicate alerts.
Can I set different thresholds for different products?
This workflow uses a single threshold for all products. To use different thresholds, either create multiple copies of this workflow with different filters and product tags, or add conditional logic that checks product properties (like vendor or product type) and uses different threshold values for different categories.
How do I handle variants with multiple inventory locations?
This workflow triggers on each location's inventory level separately. If you have multiple locations, you'll receive separate alerts for each location where a variant drops below the threshold. To aggregate across locations, you'd need to add steps that retrieve and sum inventory across all locations before checking the threshold.
What is a template?
MESA templates are fully pre-configured workflows built and vetted by Shopify Experts. Unlike competitor templates that provide basic scaffolds requiring extensive setup, MESA templates come with all data variables properly mapped, required fields configured, and steps ready to activate. You can turn them on immediately and start automating.
Can I customize a template?
Absolutely! While our templates work out-of-the-box, every step can be personalized to match your exact business requirements. Add conditional logic, integrate additional apps, or build more sophisticated workflows. MESA's templates provide a solid foundation that you can expand as needed.
Are templates free?
Yes! Our entire library of expert-built, production-ready templates is free to use. Unlike platforms that charge for premium templates or provide only basic scaffolds, MESA gives you access to hundreds of fully-configured, vetted workflows at no additional cost.

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