Material Manager FAQ

Why should I use Material Manager for my Shopify store?

Material Manager is designed for stores that produce their products on demand. It provides a streamlined solution for effectively managing raw materials inventory independently of your Shopify product inventory. With Material Manager, you can associate multiple raw materials with each product. Any changes in the raw material inventory will automatically update the inventory levels of all linked products. This ensures accurate and efficient management of your materials and products.

How does Material Manager manage inventory levels?

Material Manager facilitates two-way communication with your Shopify store to manage inventory levels:

1. Material Manager to Shopify

   When you adjust the inventory level for a raw material, the app initiates an update in your Shopify inventory for all variants associated with that raw material. This calculation is based on determining the maximum quantity of variants that can be produced using the available raw materials on hand.

2. Shopify to Material Manager

   Shopify will update the app when orders are created, updated, or canceled. When orders are created, the inventory levels of the raw materials will be decreased by the appropriate amount. Decreasing the quantity of the raw materials in the order will also trigger updates to the inventory levels of all products that use those materials.

   When an order is cancelled, refunded, returned, or products are removed from it, the inventory levels of the raw materials will be increased if the ‘Restock’ option is selected.

How do I associate a raw material with a Shopify variant?

There are two convenient methods to associate a raw material with a Shopify variant:

1. In Material Manager

   After creating a material you can use the “Add product” button to associate multiple variants with the raw material at the same time. Each variant can consume a different amount of the raw material with the default being 1.

2. On the Shopify product page

   You can also associate materials to product variants on the Shopify product page. When viewing a Shopify product click on the “More actions” button in the top right and select “Raw materials”. This will open a dialog where you can search for and associate raw materials to any of the product’s variants.

Does Material Manager support multiple locations?

Yes, you can track a different inventory level of raw materials for each location. The variant inventory for each location will be based on the raw materials at the same location.

When an order is placed, how does Material Manager determine the location for inventory adjustment?

Initially, when an order is created, Material Manager decreases the raw material inventory from the same location as the variants included in the order. After the order has been created, the fulfillment location for each variant can be altered while viewing the order in the Shopify admin. If a change in fulfillment location occurs, the raw materials inventory will be restocked at the original location and subsequently deducted from the new location.

What happens when an order is returned?

When processing a return if the ‘Restock’ option is selected then the raw materials used to make the product will be restocked.

Why isn’t Material Manager updating my variant’s inventory?

The app will only update variants which are set to have their inventory levels tracked for the same location as the raw material. Please see the Shopify documentation on enabling inventory tracking.

Also make sure that the “Update Shopify inventory” settings is checked for the material (it is on by default). Otherwise changes to that material will not updated variants associated with it.

When a raw material is updated how long does it take to update associated variant’s inventory?

Typically, updates to associated variant inventory levels happen within a few seconds of making changes to a raw material. However, if the raw material is associated with a large number of variants, the update might take a bit longer. Rest assured that the system is designed to process these updates as swiftly as possible to ensure accurate inventory management.

I prefer to update inventory in a spreadsheet program, is that possible?

Yes, you can export the raw materials with inventory as a CSV file. Then edit that file and then re-import it. Please see the import/export documnetation for more information.

How do I track incoming inventory for my raw materials?

You can use the purchase order feature to track incoming inventory from your various suppliers.