Although these tees have different designs, they both use the same stock of blank tees.
In the Easify Product Options app, their variants are organized into multiple inventory groups for proper synchronization.
If you receive an order for both designs (with variants from the same inventory group) and your inventory is too low to fulfill the entire order, you might encounter sync issues.
Notes:
It’s important to note that sync issues don’t always occur with low stock. Often, even if your stock is very low (e.g., just 1 item), the sync process will still run smoothly.
Sync failures typically happen only when your stock is insufficient to fulfill the entire order that involves multiple products from the same inventory group.
In the upcoming sections, we’ll explain the scenarios where syncs succeed or fail, and provide tips on how to prevent or handle sync issues effectively.
Customer orders: 1 x Tees (Design 1) – Black/M product.
Inventory: Tees (Design 1) – Black/M and Tees (Design 2) – Black/M share the same inventory of blank tees (Black/M) with 100items available.
Results: The inventory for Tees (Design 1) – Black/M in Shopify admin is reduced by 1 (from 100 to 99). The mutual inventory for the “tees-black-m” group is adjusted to 99. This updated inventory of 99 also applies to Tees (Design 2) – Black/M.
Inventory: Tees (Design 1) – White/L and Tees (Design 2) – White/L share the same inventory of blank tees (White/L) with only 1item available.
Customer orders: 1 x Tees (Design 1) – White/L and 1 x Tees (Design 2) – White/L
Results: The order can still be placed, but since only 1 item is available and 2 are required, this will lead to overselling and sync issues.
Notes:
If the customer orders only 1 tee (either 1 x Tees (Design 1) – White/L or 1 x Tees (Design 2) – White/L), the inventory for the unpurchased tee will be updated right after the order is placed. The unpurchased tee will then show as out of stock, preventing overselling and sync issues.
First and foremost, even if there’s an inventory or sync issue, Shopify admin will still record the customer order as successful and adjust the quantities of each ordered product accordingly. For example, if a customer orders 2 items – 1 for Design 1 – White/L and 1 for Design 2 – White/L, Shopify wwill deduct 1 unit from each product, reducing both to 0 inventory. This means the quantities of both products will be shown as zero, though this doesn’t reflect the true inventory situation.
In the app, what happens in case of a sync issue when lacking inventory depends on your settings. On the Settings page, you can enable one of these two options: “Pause syncing and report sync failure” and “Keep syncing and allow negative stock”.
If this setting is enabled and your inventory is only sufficient for part of the order, the sync will prioritize the first product added to the cart. For example:
1/ Initial Sync:
The customer adds Tees (Design 1) – White/Lto the cart first. Its quantity in Shopify will be deducted from 1 to 0.
This triggers a sync for the inventory group including the Tees (Design 1) – White/L and the Tees (Design 2) – White/L. The mutual inventory is updated to 0, and this new inventory is applied to the Tees (Design 2) – White/L.
2/ Subsequent Sync:
After the sync triggered by the Tees (Design 1) – White/L is processed, the sync for the Tees (Design 2) – White/L in the same order will start:
The inventory of theTees (Design 2) – White/L in Shopify is also deducted by 1 to 0.
This triggers another sync for the inventory group. The mutual inventory should be deducted by 1 again, but since it is already 0, the sync pauses and records as Failed.
If you have enabled email notifications for sync failures (explained in the next section), you will be notified and can visit the Sync History page to see which order includes the failed sync, the available inventory versus what the customer ordered, and how much inventory is lacking. This will help you find ways to handle the issue.
If you choose this setting, the sync will continue even if the inventory goes negative. Here’s what happens:
1/ Initial Sync:
The quantity of Tees (Design 1) – White/L is deducted from 1 to 0, then syncs to the mutual inventory, which is updated to 0.
2/ Subsequent Sync:
The sync for Tees (Design 2) – White/L proceeds, deducting its quantity from 1 to 0. The mutual inventory is then reduced from 0 to -1.
The mutual inventory (-1) syncs back to all products in the inventory group, updating the quantity for both Tees (Design 1) – White/L and Tees (Design 2) – White/L to -1.
This reflects that your store is lacking 1 tee – White/L to fulfill the order.
1. Set up inventory thresholds for timely stock alerts#
Sync failures can occur when stock levels are very low. To mitigate this, use the app’s Inventory Threshold feature. This allows you to set one or multiple threshold levels. When stock falls below these levels, the app will notify you via email, giving you the chance to replenish stock and prevent sync failures.
It’s important to note that low stock can lead to sync failures, but it doesn’t always cause them, so there’s no need to worry too much. Sync failures occur only in specific cases, such as when customers add products from the same inventory group in a single order, and the stock is too low to fulfill the entire order.
For stores with smaller inventories that frequently experience low stock, inventory thresholds might not be as effective. In such cases, enabling sync failure notifications can be crucial. This app feature allows you to receive timely alerts when a sync failure occurs so you can take immediate action.
For example, you might contact the customer to suggest an alternative product, restock the item to fulfill the order, or inform the customer of a possible delay, etc.
To enable this feature:
Open the Settings page.
Scroll down to the Email Notifications section.
Select the “Experiencing sync failure” checkbox.
Add the email addresses where you want to receive notifications.
Notes:
Email notifications only work if you enable the “Pause syncing and report sync failure” feature when products in the group are out of stock.
If you choose “Keep syncing and allow negative stock”, the sync will continue successfully, no sync failure will be recorded, and no email notification will be sent.
For more information on the difference between “Pause syncing and report sync failure” and “Keep syncing and allow negative stock,” refer to the earlier section of this guide.
