n8n Inventory Stockout Alerts: Gemini + Sheets + Gmail Drafts

Keep your shelves stocked: automatic n8n inventory stockout alerts with Gemini + Sheets + Gmail drafts

This n8n workflow checks your inventory every morning, calculates days of cover and reorder suggestions from Google Sheets, and then uses Google Gemini to generate a plain-language purchase recommendation. It alerts your team in Slack and creates Gmail drafts (and sends buyer emails) when stockout risk is detected—while writing the updated status back to Google Sheets.

What this workflow does

• Runs daily at 7:00 to start an inventory check.
• Reads your “Inventory” Google Sheet (SKU, Product, Stock On Hand, Weekly Sales, Lead Time Days, Unit Cost, Supplier, Supplier Email, Last Alert).
• Calculates key replenishment metrics: daily sales velocity, days of cover, a lead-time-based reorder point, and a suggested order quantity.
• Skips recently handled items by ignoring SKUs alerted in the last three days.
• Uses Google Gemini to draft a short, plain-language purchase recommendation for each item that needs attention.
• Routes by status using a Switch step:
  • Stockout risks go to Slack.
  • Supplier purchase-order emails are created as Gmail drafts.
  • Low-stock items are emailed to the buyer using the Gemini-generated recommendation text.
• Updates Google Sheets by appending or updating cover, reorder point, suggested quantity, and status fields.

Use cases

• Morning replenishment triage for SaaS operators managing fast-moving SKUs.
• Proactive supplier ordering: Slack visibility plus Gmail drafts your team can review before sending.
• Reducing stockout risk by combining lead time, sales velocity, and automated recommendations.

Technical details

• n8n nodes: code, google sheets, google Gemini (PaLM) API, gmail, slack, switch, sticky note.
• Requires credentials for Google Sheets, Google Gemini (PaLM) API, Gmail, and Slack.