Purpose
1. Automate alerts for slow-moving or unsold inventory in bakeries to reduce waste, optimize stock rotation, enhance profitability, and ensure inventory freshness.
2. Fully automatable flows enable proactive notifications, supporting real-time decision-making and automatic escalation to management or suppliers.
3. This end-to-end automation streamlines bakery inventory management, prevents overstock, and automates tracking unsold SKUs.
Trigger Conditions
1. Inventory item remains unsold beyond a configurable threshold (e.g., 48 hours for fresh bakery items).
2. SKU flagged with slow turnover rate in POS/inventory management system.
3. Real-time sync that picks up nearing "best before" dates without sale activity.
4. Periodic automated checks (hourly, daily, weekly) on inventory database.
Platform Variants
1. Twilio SMS
• Feature/Setting: Automate sending SMS alerts upon inventory trigger via programmable SMS API (Configure: account SID, auth token, "messages.create")
2. SendGrid
• Feature/Setting: Automator triggers automated email alerts using the "Mail Send API" (Configure: API Key, dynamic templates, recipient list).
3. Slack
• Feature/Setting: Automated Slack channel notification through "chat.postMessage" API (Configure: Bot token, channel ID, custom alert message).
4. Microsoft Teams
• Feature/Setting: Automate Teams notification via "Incoming Webhook" (Configure: webhook URL, event payload, message formatting).
5. Gmail
• Feature/Setting: Automated alert email using "send" action in Gmail API (Configure: OAuth connection, from/to address, email body template).
6. Outlook/Exchange
• Feature/Setting: Automate sending alert emails with Microsoft Graph API "sendMail" endpoint (Configure: Auth, recipient, MIME message).
7. Shopify
• Feature/Setting: Automates inventory webhooks integration for real-time triggers; invoke "inventory_levels/adjust.json" and custom webhook alert.
8. Square
• Feature/Setting: Use "Inventory API – Retrieve Inventory Changes" to automate detection, trigger alerts when specific inventory state detected.
9. QuickBooks Online
• Feature/Setting: Automates item activity reporting, configure "Reports API" scheduled exports for triggers, and alert via email when limits hit.
10. Zoho Inventory
• Feature/Setting: Inventory "getItems" API automation, filter by movement history, send automated alert through Zoho Flow integration.
11. Trello
• Feature/Setting: Automates Trello card creation/updates on a designated board/list via "cards.create" when slow-moving inventory flagged.
12. Monday.com
• Feature/Setting: Automate item status updates through "items.create" or "items.change_column_value" API for visibility by team.
13. Airtable
• Feature/Setting: "Automations" with trigger "When record matches condition", automate email/SMS/webhook based on inventory criteria.
14. Google Sheets
• Feature/Setting: Automate script/Apps Script to scan inventory rows and trigger Gmail/SMS alerts via "onEdit" or time-driven trigger.
15. Notion
• Feature/Setting: Automator watches inventory database with API, auto-create page/comment for attention flag.
16. SAP Business One
• Feature/Setting: Automate with "Service Layer API" for inventory aging, trigger external email/SMS alert when item threshold met.
17. Oracle NetSuite
• Feature/Setting: Use SuiteScript automated workflow to trigger email or webhook alert on slow-moving inventory detection.
18. Freshworks
• Feature/Setting: Connect Freshdesk to automate ticket creation for inventory issues via Freshdesk API.
19. PagerDuty
• Feature/Setting: Automated incident alert via REST Events API configured with relevant inventory event data.
20. Zendesk
• Feature/Setting: Automatable trigger to create ticket or alert to support/ops when automated detection occurs via Zendesk API.
21. SMSGlobal
• Feature/Setting: Automate SMS alert workflow using HTTP API POST to "Send SMS" endpoint on trigger.
22. Asana
• Feature/Setting: Automator creates new task or comment for inventory alert using "tasks.create" API, assign to inventory manager.
23. Salesforce
• Feature/Setting: Automate email task or Chatter message using "Process Builder", "Flow", or REST API on inventory criteria met.
24. Mailgun
• Feature/Setting: Send automated inventory alerts by triggering "messages/send" in Mailgun API.
Benefits
1. Automatedly reduces manual checks, minimizing staff workload and human error.
2. Automates waste reduction by identifying unsold products in real-time.
3. Automates timely actions such as discounts or promotions for slow-moving items.
4. Increases profitability by optimizing product lifecycle — fully automatable and customizable for bakery operations.
5. Improves accountability with automated digital audit trails and instant escalation.
6. Enhances responsiveness via omnichannel automated alerting — SMS, email, chat, ticketing.
7. Automates data-driven decision-making for stock ordering and depletion analysis.
8. Enables bakery staff and management to automate prioritization and resource allocation.
9. Facilitates automating insights for suppliers/distributors on stock trends and needs.
10. Allows scaled automation across multiple branches/locations with consistent logic.
Inventory & Supply Chain