Configure Out of Stock Automation Rule
Overview
Section titled “Overview”The Configure Out of Stock automation rule in Corso helps brands handle situations where inventory levels change between the time a claim is submitted and when it is finalized.
Without this rule, claims will process normally even if the item is out of stock at the time of finalization. By enabling the rule, you can decide whether claims should fail, restrict finalization to specific fulfillment locations, and control how inventory is decremented in Shopify.
What You Can Expect
Section titled “What You Can Expect”With this automation, you can:
- Inventory awareness: Prevents surprises when inventory runs out between claim submission and finalization.
- Automatic failure handling: Claims can fail with a clear error when the requested item is out of stock.
- Location-based finalization: Restrict claim finalization to only proceed when inventory is available at specific fulfillment locations.
- Flexible inventory behavior: Choose how inventory is decremented in Shopify when claims are processed, or leave the field unset to fall back to your store-level default.
- Better customer experience: Allows you to proactively offer alternatives (such as recommending a different product) when stock is unavailable.
Features & Functionality
Section titled “Features & Functionality”Rule Creation
Section titled “Rule Creation”- Name the rule, define any conditions, and select which claims it applies to.
Failure Behavior
Section titled “Failure Behavior”- If enabled, claims attempting to finalize with an out-of-stock item will fail.
- Failed claims display an error in Corso so your team can take action.
Allowed Fulfillment Locations
Section titled “Allowed Fulfillment Locations”- Use the Allowed Fulfillment Locations multi-select to specify which fulfillment locations Corso checks when finalizing a claim.
- When one or more locations are selected, Corso only finalizes the claim if inventory is available at one of those locations.
- Leave the field empty to allow any fulfillment location.
Inventory Behavior
Section titled “Inventory Behavior”The Inventory Behavior field controls how Shopify inventory is decremented when a claim finalizes and results in a new order. When set, it overrides the store-level default configured in Settings > Returns > E-Commerce Platform > Inventory Behavior. Leave the field unset to use the store default.
Available options:
- Do Not Decrement Inventory: Claim processing will not reduce inventory counts.
- Decrement Inventory (Ignore Policies): Inventory decrements regardless of Shopify stock policies and will allow claims to process, even with the potential to drive inventory into the negative.
- Decrement Inventory (Obey Policies): Follows Shopify stock rules. If an item is out of stock, the claim cannot decrement inventory and the claim may fail.
Implementation
Section titled “Implementation”To configure the Out of Stock automation:
- Go to Automation Rules in Corso Admin.
- Create a new rule and select Configure Out of Stock.
- Name the rule and set any conditions (optional).
- Toggle on Fail on Out of Stock Scenarios if you want claims to stop at finalization when inventory is unavailable.
- Select one or more locations in Allowed Fulfillment Locations to restrict finalization to specific warehouses, or leave it empty to allow any location.
- Choose an Inventory Behavior option to override the store default for this rule, or leave the field unset to inherit the default set in Settings > Returns > E-Commerce Platform.
- Save and activate the rule.
Q: What happens if I don’t enable this rule? Claims will continue to process even if inventory levels change, and out-of-stock items may still be exchanged.
Q: Can I still override a failed claim? Yes. You can review failed claims manually and decide how to proceed.
Q: What happens if I leave Allowed Fulfillment Locations empty? Corso will allow finalization from any available fulfillment location, which is the default behavior.
Q: What is the store-level Inventory Behavior default and where do I set it? You can configure a default in Settings > Returns > E-Commerce Platform > Inventory Behavior. The Configure Out of Stock automation’s Inventory Behavior field overrides that default when set. If you leave the automation field unset, Corso uses the store default.
Q: Which inventory behavior should I use?
- Use Do Not Decrement Inventory if you want no inventory impact from claims.
- Use Decrement Inventory (Ignore Policies) if you want claims to finalize even when stock is technically unavailable.
- Use Decrement Inventory (Obey Policies) if you want Shopify to enforce stock rules and block claims when items are out of stock.
Q: How can I make it so replacement orders consider inventory availability based on the original fulfillment location? Set up a condition of Order Fulfillment Location for the specific location, then use Allowed Fulfillment Locations to restrict finalization to the locations where inventory should be checked.