Reorder Points in Shopify Without Stocky: Min/Max, Flow Alerts and Reports

Shopify has no built-in reorder point field. Its Stocky transition guide says to “Set custom minimum and maximum thresholds per variant using custom metafield definitions.” It adds: “Set up automated low-stock alerts using Shopify Flow.” For a single store, that means three parts. Put a min and max on each variant you reorder. Build a Flow workflow that emails you below the min. Then size the order weekly from the Inventory remaining per product report.

This reorder points Shopify guide is for a retail store with one buyer and a Shopify store online. It shows how to calculate reorder points, set them, and automate the alert.

What do reorder points mean?

A reorder point (ROP) is the stock level that tells you to place a new order now, to replenish stock in time. Set it right and the new stock arrives just before the shelf runs out. Set it low and you sell out; set it high and you carry excess inventory.

Reorder point ROP logic is the base of inventory planning and inventory management for a single store business. It turns sales data into one value per variant, so you avoid stockout days without overbuying.

Why reorder points in Shopify changed in 2026

Shopify’s Stocky help page states “The Stocky app will no longer be available after August 31st, 2026.” The replacement is not one feature. It is metafields, Flow, reports and Sidekick working together.

Shopify is clear on one limit. It suggests variant metafields for supplier details, then says “These metafields store information for your reference.” Nothing calculates from them. Your buyer still has to decide and manage the numbers.

The reorder point formula

Reorder point = average daily sales × lead time + safety stock

Use this reorder point formula to calculate each variant you restock.

That is the standard reorder point formula, sometimes written as reorder point average daily sales times lead time, plus safety stock. Its inputs:

Average daily sales. Units sold per day. Shopify’s Inventory remaining per product report uses the last 28 days.
Lead time. Days from placing the order until the new shipment arrives on your shelf.
Safety stock. A buffer for demand spikes and supplier delays.

Average daily sales × lead time is your lead time demand: the total units you expect to sell while you wait. The reorder point formula adds the safety stock quantity on top. Lead time and safety stock are the two inputs most stores guess; time and safety stock deserve real data.

What lead time includes

Lead time is more than shipping. It covers order processing, manufacturing time for a new batch, and transit from the supplier’s warehouse. Use real lead times from your order history, not the rep’s promise.

Cross-border suppliers need extra days for customs. A delay at the border doesn’t show in your sales average.

How to calculate safety stock

The simple method

In our accounts, many stores calculate safety stock as a share of lead time demand. A common rule is 20 to 30 percent for steady sellers. Bestsellers and items with uneven demand patterns get a larger buffer.

The max-minus-average method

For items where you track daily sales, use this:

Safety stock = (max daily sales × max lead time) − (average daily sales × average lead time)

This formula is a common way to calculate safety stock for items with variable demand.

This covers a bad week and a slow supplier at once. It suits A-grade products from ABC analysis, where a stockout hurts most.

Choosing your desired safety stock

Your desired safety stock is a judgment call. More safety stock means fewer stockouts and more cash tied up. The formula only informs that call. Less means lower storage costs and more risk. Decide per product group, not per variant.

Worked example: how to solve for reorder point

For example, a candle sells 4 units a day. Lead time is 10 days, or 14 at worst. The best week sold 6 a day.

Lead time demand = 4 × 10 = 40 units.
Safety stock = (6 × 14) − (4 × 10) = 84 − 40 = 44 units.
Reorder point = 40 + 44 = 84 units, using the reorder point formula above.

So when available stock levels hit 84, order. With the simple 25 percent method, safety stock is 10 and the reorder point is 50. In this example, the business chooses based on how much a stockout hurts customers.

What is EOQ and reorder point?

The reorder point tells you when to order. Economic order quantity (EOQ) is a formula that tells you how much stock to order each time.

EOQ = √(2 × annual demand × cost per order ÷ yearly holding per unit)

For one store, a simpler rule works: order up to your max. The max is the reorder point plus what you sell between orders. In the example, if the candle is ordered every 14 days, max = 84 + (4 × 14) = 140 total units.

Step 1: Set reorder points in Shopify inventory management

Shopify lets you create definitions from Settings > Metafields and metaobjects, or from a variant’s Metafields section with Add definition.

Name	Namespace and key	Type
Reorder min	`inventory.reorder_min`	Integer
Reorder max	`inventory.reorder_max`	Integer
Lead time (days)	`supplier.lead_time_days`	Integer
Minimum order quantity	`supplier.minimum_order_quantity`	Integer

The last two keys match Shopify’s examples. The first two are our naming. Put the reorder point in the min and the order-up-to value in the max.

Set reorder points for your top sellers first, then use bulk editing to create the rest.

Step 2: Set low stock alerts with Shopify Flow

Shopify Flow is a free app to automate tasks. Shopify says it is “available on the Basic, Grow, Advanced, and Plus plans.” Install it from the Shopify App Store, then open it from your admin.

Use the Product variant inventory quantity changed trigger. Shopify says it “starts a workflow when inventory is changed for a specific product variant.” To read the current inventory level, use productVariant / inventoryItem / inventoryLevels / available with your location.

Trigger: Product variant inventory quantity changed.
Condition: available is at or below inventory.reorder_min, and inventoryQuantityPrior was above it. This stops repeat emails on every sale.
Action: email the buyer the product, SKU, current stock and inventory.reorder_max.

Shopify lists a template that emails you when a variant’s inventory drops low in your Shopify store. Start there and add the metafield condition. That is how you set low stock alerts tied to your own reorder point.

Step 3: Size the order from reports

Alerts tell you when. Reports tell you how much stock to buy. Go to Analytics > Reports, click Category, then Inventory:

Inventory remaining per product: days of stock left, to calculate when you hit each reorder point.
Products by sell-through rate: sales velocity over the most recent 30 days, a check on your inputs.
ABC product analysis: A-grade items are “Your top selling products that collectively account for 80% of your revenue.”

Order quantity = max − current stock, rounded up to the supplier’s minimum. Check sales velocity before you sell through a new product’s first order. Then go to Products > Purchase orders and add a new order.

Use Available, not On hand

Flow should test Available. Shopify defines it as “inventory that you can sell.” On hand includes units committed to unfulfilled online orders from your Shopify store. Test On hand, and pickup orders from customers can hide a stockout.

Review reorder points monthly

Recalculate reorder points at least every month, and manage them in one inventory management routine. For seasonal products, compare the 28-day average with last year’s season, a key business habit. Increased demand before a holiday needs a higher reorder point before the shipment arrives. For instance, a December bestseller needs its new value set in October.

Shopify’s guide says “Sidekick recommends items based on sales data and drafts the purchase order.” Treat it as a draft. Check it against your min and max.

When a third-party app is the right call

Native inventory management works for a business with a few hundred SKUs and one buyer. Consider a forecasting app for strong seasonality, many suppliers, a warehouse, or automatic purchase orders. Nothing native acts on metafields to automate reordering, a gap in inventory planning tools.