Shopify automation that survives edge cases
We design and harden workflows with guardrails, approvals, and monitoring—so automation reduces work instead of creating surprises.
What we automate
Real workflows for real operations
Order routing + tagging
Automatically tag orders, route to the correct warehouse based on inventory and shipping rules, and escalate when routing rules conflict or inventory is unavailable.
Example: High-value orders tagged "VIP" → routed to premium 3PL → tracked separately for quality control.
Fraud/exception triage
Flag suspicious orders based on risk score, pause fulfillment automatically, and create review tasks for your team with all relevant context pre-populated.
Example: Orders with mismatched billing/shipping addresses → flagged → fulfillment paused → Slack alert with customer history.
Inventory & fulfillment notifications
Monitor inventory levels, trigger reorder alerts when thresholds are hit, and send proactive notifications when fulfillment is delayed or tracking info is missing.
Example: When a product drops below reorder point → create purchase order draft → notify procurement team via Slack.
Returns/refunds workflows
Automate return approvals based on your return policy, route refund requests to the appropriate approval queue, and track return shipments with automated status updates.
Example: Returns within 30 days with tags intact → auto-approve → generate return label → update customer via email.
Internal ops checklists
Create task lists for manual review processes, assign to team members based on order attributes, and track completion with automated follow-ups for overdue items.
Example: Orders requiring gift wrapping → create packing checklist → assign to fulfillment team → send reminder if not completed within 24 hours.
Common failure modes
How Flow breaks in production
These are the problems we see in every Flow rescue engagement — and why we build differently from day one.
Trigger doesn't fire when you expect it to
Flow triggers are sensitive to exact conditions — a missing tag or slightly different order state means your workflow silently does nothing.
No error handling → silent failures
When an action fails (API timeout, missing data), Flow stops without notification. You only discover the problem when a customer complains.
Testing in production because there's no preview
Flow lacks a staging environment. Every workflow change goes live immediately, making iteration risky and time-consuming.
Overly broad triggers catch everything
Triggers fire on every order update, not just the specific change you care about — leading to unnecessary runs and logic bloat.
Race conditions when multiple workflows run
Two workflows updating the same order can overwrite each other, creating unpredictable results and data inconsistencies.
Our guardrails
How we prevent failures
Safe defaults + "no action" fallbacks
Every workflow has a defined fallback behavior. If conditions are ambiguous or data is missing, the workflow logs the issue and takes no risky action.
Approval steps for risky actions
High-impact actions (refunds, cancellations, inventory adjustments) include manual approval steps with full context — no automation runs unchecked.
Monitoring dashboard for every workflow
Real-time visibility into workflow runs, success/failure rates, and execution time. Alerts fire when workflows start failing or timing out.
Documented workflow library
Every workflow is documented with trigger logic, expected behavior, and failure modes. Versioned playbooks make updates safe and auditable.
Example workflows
Preview of what you get
These are real workflows we've built — each one documented, tested, and monitored.
Trigger
Order created with "Wholesale" tag
Condition
Order total > $5,000 AND customer has prior orders
Action
Tag as "Priority" → Route to dedicated account manager → Send custom email with payment terms
High-value wholesale orders get white-glove treatment automatically.
Trigger
Order ships from 3PL
Condition
Tracking number not updated in Shopify within 48 hours
Action
Create investigation task in admin → Send Slack alert to operations → Log in monitoring dashboard
Catch tracking sync failures before customers complain.
Trigger
Product inventory drops below 10 units
Condition
Product tagged "Best Seller" AND no reorder pending
Action
Create draft purchase order → Notify procurement team → Set "Low Stock" badge on storefront
Prevent stockouts on critical SKUs with proactive reordering.
Trigger
Return request created
Condition
Order placed > 30 days ago OR product has "Final Sale" tag
Action
Route to manual review queue → Tag order "Exception" → Send customer support team notification with policy notes
Policy-aware return routing ensures edge cases get human review.
Trigger
Order marked "High Risk" by Shopify
Condition
Risk score > 0.7 AND billing ≠ shipping address
Action
Pause fulfillment → Create fraud review task → Capture order details + customer history in task notes
Automated fraud triage reduces chargebacks and manual review time.
Trigger
Order fulfilled but delivery delayed
Condition
Expected delivery date passed AND carrier shows "In Transit"
Action
Send proactive customer email with updated timeline → Tag order "Delivery Issue" → Create customer service follow-up task
Turn delivery problems into customer service wins with proactive communication.
Trigger
Fulfillment service marks order "Ready for Pickup"
Condition
Customer email contains valid phone number
Action
Send SMS notification with pickup details → Update order notes with pickup code → Log pickup event
Local pickup workflows provide seamless omnichannel experiences.
Trigger
Subscription renewal fails
Condition
Payment declined AND customer has active subscription
Action
Pause subscription → Send payment update request email → Schedule retry in 3 days → Create dunning workflow task
Recover failed subscription payments with automated dunning flows.
Deliverables
What you get
Want a workflow library tailored to your ops?
Tell us about your operational pain points and we'll respond with specific workflow recommendations and implementation estimates.