Stock alerts
Find out what is low, out of stock or close to expiry
Once a day we check your OpenBoxes stock and, when something needs attention, send one email about products below the minimum level you set and lots close to their expiry date. Stock-outs can also go to Slack, Microsoft Teams or PagerDuty. Included on your plan, and off until someone on your account turns it on.
Once a day, never real time
One check each day, in your instance's own timezone. Nothing is sent the moment stock drops, and on a day when nothing is wrong, no email is sent at all.
Included on every plan
Shared, Dedicated and Enterprise instances alike, with no alerts add-on to buy. What decides is where your instance runs, not the plan name.
Off until you turn it on
Anyone on your account can switch alerts on or off in the portal, under Integrations, Destinations, Stock alerts, and choose which teammates receive them.
Where alerts go
All from the same daily check. Each one is set up in the portal under Integrations, Destinations.
Daily email
Below minimum and expiring soon
Products below the minimum level set at each location, largest shortfall first, and lots whose expiry date falls inside the window you pick: 30, 60, 90, 180 or 365 days. It goes out shortly after 7am in your instance's timezone to the account owner and the teammates ticked in the panel.
Stock alert docs →Outside addresses
The same daily email
Send the daily email to a supplier, a contractor or a colleague without a login. Only the account owner adds an address, and nothing is sent to it until the 6-digit code sent to it is entered in the panel.
Outside address docs →Slack
Stock-outs only
A message in a Slack channel when a product with a minimum level set runs out at a location, and one "stock returned" message when the next daily check sees stock again. It uses an incoming webhook from a Slack app in your workspace.
Slack docs →Microsoft Teams
Stock-outs only
A card in a Teams channel for the same stock-outs, and one "stock returned" card when stock comes back. It uses a Workflows webhook you create in Teams.
Teams docs →PagerDuty
Stock-outs only
An incident in your PagerDuty service when a product with a minimum level set runs out at a location. It resolves when the next daily check sees stock again.
PagerDuty docs →Weekly summary
Every Monday, by email
An email about the week before: stock-outs, below minimum, expiring lots, stock value, open purchase orders and activity. Nobody gets it until it is turned on for them.
Weekly summary docs →What goes where
Slack, Microsoft Teams and PagerDuty receive stock-outs only: a product with a minimum level set that reaches zero at a location. Below-minimum and nearing-expiry items never go to them as alerts. They stay in the daily email.
How the daily check works
- Set minimum levels in OpenBoxesOnly products with a minimum level set at a location are checked for being low. The minimum is the only threshold used; a reorder point is not.
- Turn alerts on in the portalOpen Integrations, then Destinations, then Stock alerts. Switch them on, tick who receives them and pick the expiry window.
- We check once a dayEarly each morning we take one picture of your stock, in your instance's timezone, and send at most one email.
- No email means nothing was wrongIf nothing is below minimum and nothing is expiring inside the window, no email is sent. The panel shows when we last checked, and says so if a check could not be completed.
Questions about stock alerts
Are stock alerts real time?
No. We check once a day and send at most one email, shortly after 7am in your instance's timezone. Slack, Microsoft Teams and PagerDuty stock-outs come from the same daily check, so a product that runs out at noon is reported after the next check.
Which products are checked for being low?
Only products with a minimum level set at that location in OpenBoxes. A product with no minimum is never reported as below minimum, however low it gets, and a reorder point is not used. The expiring section does not use minimum levels, so lots close to expiry are still reported.
Is stock that has already expired included?
No. The expiring section lists lots still ahead of their expiry date, inside the window you pick. A lot already past its expiry date is not listed and does not cause an email, so use the expiry views in OpenBoxes for that stock.
Do below-minimum and expiring items go to Slack, Teams or PagerDuty?
No. Slack, Microsoft Teams and PagerDuty receive stock-outs only: a product with a minimum level set that reaches zero at a location. Below-minimum and nearing-expiry stay in the daily email. A Slack or Teams channel ticked for the weekly summary gets only their counts, once a week.
Can alerts go to someone without a login?
Yes, by email. The account owner adds the address, that mailbox receives a 6-digit code, and nothing is sent until someone on the account types the code into the panel. Every email to an outside address has its own unsubscribe link.
Is the capability you need in here?
Ask about any feature: lot tracking, integrations, mobile, reporting. If we don't do something you need, we want to hear that too.
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