Yes, AI can reorder what you keep running out of.
It needs three things: your stock somewhere it can read, a reorder point for each product, and your supplier's email. Lui checks your stock on a schedule, places the order when something drops below its point, and tells you what it ordered.
Blakeley Designs, a wholesale brand in Houston: the reorder went from two or three hours in a spreadsheet to minutes, from a phone.
Works with Shopify or CartonCloud · $20 of usage free, no card
Can AI handle reordering for you?
Yes. Automated reordering means something watches your stock and places the next order with your supplier when a product drops below its reorder point, the level you set so the new stock arrives before you run out.
Lui is an assistant that works inside the systems your business already runs on and does the admin for you. Reordering is one check you describe to it in a sentence.
- What it needs: your stock in Shopify or your warehouse system (the WMS), a reorder point and order quantity per product, and the supplier's email.
- What it does: compares stock with each reorder point, creates the inbound order in your warehouse system, emails the supplier, and tells you.
- How often: on the schedule you pick, for example every morning at 7.
- What it costs: a little of your usage balance per check. The account starts with $20 of usage, no card.
There are three ways to automate reordering.
They differ in who notices and who places the order. Pick the one that matches how your suppliers work.
| What differs | A low-stock alert | Your supplier manages it | A check that orders |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who notices | The alert | The supplier | The check |
| Who places the order | You | The supplier | The check |
| What you set up | A threshold per product | An agreement and shared stock data | A reorder point, a quantity and the supplier's email |
| Good when | Each order needs a person's judgement | A main supplier offers it | The same products are reordered the same way |
Lui does the third, and the first if you only want to be told.
How do you pick a reorder point?
Reorder point = what you sell in a day × the days your supplier takes to deliver + a safety buffer.
Don't know your daily sales? Ask Lui. It works them out from your Shopify or warehouse history.
- Sell 20 a dayYour average daily sales of the product.
- 7 days to arriveFrom the order to the stock on your shelf.
- Keep 50 spareFor a busy week or a late delivery.
- Reorder at 19020 × 7 = 140, plus 50. When stock drops below 190, the order goes out.
Three steps, and it keeps checking.
Tell Lui the rule
"Every morning, check Cold IPA. Under 800 cases, order 500 from the brewery and tell me."
Watch it run once
Lui reads the rule back, checks your stock now and shows what it would order today. Change the wording until it is the order you would place.
Choose: told, or ordered
Say whether it should only tell you, or place the order and tell you. Switch between the two any time with one sentence.
Type one sentence and it starts checking.
Create your account, connect Shopify or your warehouse system, and tell Lui the product, the reorder point and the supplier. It shows you what it would order before it orders anything.
“You already have winners but you're not reordering them. Based on past sales you didn't sell a lot of this colour. There was no way to ask that before.”
Blakeley Designs, Wholesale clothing brand, Houston, Texas
Questions people ask before they start
Is there a way to let AI handle reordering the things I always run out of?
Yes. Give Lui the products, the reorder point for each, how much to order and the supplier's email. It checks your stock on a schedule, places the order when something drops below its point, and tells you what it ordered.
Where does it read stock from?
Shopify or your warehouse system (CartonCloud today). It reads the current stock each time it checks. For CartonCloud →
How does it know when to reorder?
From what actually sold. Ask Lui what sold and how fast, and it works out each product's reorder point from your Shopify or warehouse history and your supplier's lead time.
How does the supplier get the order?
By email. Lui also creates the inbound order in your warehouse system, so the warehouse knows it is coming.
What if it orders the wrong thing?
Before the check is saved it shows you what it would order today, so you fix the rule first. You can also have it only tell you until you trust it. Every order it places is one line on your board with what it sent.
What does it cost?
Each check uses a little of your usage balance. The account comes with $20 of usage, no card, and after that you pay for what Lui does or take a monthly plan. Pricing →
Also:Alerts and workflowsReportingInvoicing and reordersFor CartonCloud