Set lead time once per Shopify vendor instead of SKU by SKU
If most of your SKUs come from a handful of suppliers, you do not have to type the same lead time into every row. Restoc reads each SKU's vendor from Shopify, and one number saved against that vendor fills every SKU under it that has no lead time of its own.
Restoc is not open yet, so anything on this page about what it does is what it is being built to do.
What this article helps with
A reorder point needs two inputs: how fast a SKU sells, and how long a replacement takes to arrive. The sales side Restoc works out for you from your store's history over a 7, 14 or 30 day window. The lead time is yours to tell us.
Typing it in SKU by SKU is the part that stalls setup. Most stores buy from a short list of suppliers, so the same number repeats down hundreds of rows. Vendor lead times exist for exactly that: set the days once against a vendor, and every SKU under that vendor that has no lead time of its own uses it.
Use this when you are setting Restoc up for the first time, when a supplier's shipping time changes, or when you add a batch of products from a supplier you already buy from.
Set a lead time for a vendor
- Let a sync fill in the vendors
Restoc copies the vendor from each Shopify product when it syncs your catalogue, and shows it on the dashboard and on the weekly reorder report. Nothing to type here. If a vendor reads as blank, the product's vendor field in Shopify is empty.
- Open vendor lead times in settings
The screen lists every distinct vendor across your tracked SKUs, one row per vendor, with the lead time that vendor is currently using.
- Enter the days and save the row
A whole number of days from 1 to 365, counted from placing the order to the stock being sellable. Save that row. The other vendors keep whatever they had, so you can work down the list one supplier at a time.
- Keep your exceptions on the SKU
A SKU with its own lead time keeps it, whatever its vendor says. Set those individually on the reorder rules screen, and leave everything else to the vendor value.
- Check the dashboard
Each SKU's reorder point is recalculated from its sales velocity and the lead time now in force, alongside current stock and days of inventory remaining. From then on Restoc watches the crossing and sends an alert by email, or by Slack on Growth and Pro, when a SKU drops below its reorder point.
Which lead time a SKU uses
| What you have set | What Restoc uses for that SKU |
|---|---|
| A lead time on the SKU itself | The SKU's own lead time |
| No SKU lead time, a lead time on its vendor | The vendor's lead time |
| No SKU lead time and no vendor lead time | Your store default lead time |
If the number did not take
A vendor is not in the list
The list is built from the vendors on your tracked SKUs, so a supplier only appears once at least one synced product carries that vendor in Shopify. Fill the vendor field in your Shopify admin and it shows up after the next sync.
Save stays greyed out
The field takes a whole number of days between 1 and 365. A blank, a decimal or a zero is refused, and emptying a vendor lead time back to nothing is not something you can do yet. Set the number you want instead, and tell us if you need a vendor cleared.
Sales velocity is a separate setting
Lead time answers how long stock takes to arrive. The velocity window, 7, 14 or 30 days, decides how much sales history the calculation reads, and it is set for the store rather than per vendor. Pro adds a per-SKU velocity window override.
Still stuck
Email support@restocapp.com with the vendor name and the days you tried to save, and we will look at the store.
Questions
Where does the vendor come from?
From the vendor field on the Shopify product. Restoc copies it in when it syncs your catalogue and shows it on the dashboard and the weekly reorder report. You do not type vendors into Restoc.
Does a vendor lead time overwrite the lead times I already set per SKU?
No. A vendor lead time only fills the SKUs under that vendor that have no lead time of their own. Anything you set on a SKU stays as you set it.
What lead time can I enter?
A whole number of days from 1 to 365. Anything outside that is refused with an error rather than saved quietly.
Can I remove a vendor lead time once it is saved?
Not yet. Clearing the field back to empty will not save today, so set the correct number of days instead, and email support@restocapp.com if you need one removed.
How soon does the reorder point change?
The reorder point is computed from the sales velocity window and the lead time in force, so the affected SKUs show the new figure and the new reorder status on the dashboard once the change is saved and the next calculation runs.
Is this on every plan?
Reorder points from sales velocity and lead time are part of every plan, including Starter. The differences between plans are the tracked SKU cap, Slack as an alert channel on Growth and above, and the per-SKU velocity window override on Pro.
Can I see which vendor a reorder line belongs to when I place the order?
Yes. The vendor is shown on the dashboard and on the weekly reorder report, which lists the SKUs below their reorder point with a suggested order quantity and exports to CSV.