Shopify Quantity Sync

GrowthPath has a drop-in replacement for the standard Cin7 Core Shopify quantity sync. Like other GrowthPath integrations, it runs on the Application Server and uses the highly optimised cache and middleware.

Advantages Over the Standard Sync

1. Decoupled Catalog

The GrowthPath sync does not require the Cin7 Core product catalog to be linked (“listed”) on Shopify. Instead, it simply matches Cin7 Core SKUs to Shopify variant SKUs.

This means you no longer need to list to Shopify if the only reason you were doing that was to sync quantity.

2. Oversell Prevention

The standard Cin7 Core stock sync has a fundamental problem during periods of high demand: it can push inflated stock levels to Shopify, substantially increasing the risk of overselling.

The Root Cause

Syncing systems in real time over cloud APIs is hard due to delays. The key problem is when Shopify has reduced available stock because it has accepted an order, but this order has not yet been received in Cin7 Core. At that moment, Cin7 Core considers Shopify’s stock level is too low, and if it runs a stock sync, it will push up Shopify stock. If the Shopify order (not yet in Cin7 Core) consumed the final available stock, the product should no longer be available for sale — but Cin7 Core’s action will relist it. Eventually, the sync will notice the error, but only after further orders have been placed for stock you don’t have.

The GrowthPath Approach

The GrowthPath sync uses a number of techniques to minimise this risk. Each time the sync runs, it takes stock snapshots and order snapshots to detect orders which are only in one system, and then adjusts the Cin7 Core stock to anticipate orders which Cin7 Core does not yet know about.

There is still a timing risk as even “delta updates” from Shopify take a few seconds, but due to an optimised multipass approach, the window is as small as theoretically possible — typically 5 to 15 seconds.

An optional additional protection prevents stock increases in Shopify unless they occur over two successive updates. This delays legitimate stock increase corrections from flowing to Shopify, but provides extra protection against overselling.

Update Frequency

The GrowthPath stock update acts over the entire stock, rather than per SKU, and does not wait to be triggered by orders. This means that if an incorrect stock level still happens despite the protection layers, it will be corrected within a few minutes.

Typical update frequency: every 15 to 30 minutes (remembering that Shopify manages stock levels itself). If the same warehouse services multiple stores, faster updates are needed.

Independent Rate Limits

Being a separate app, the GrowthPath Shopify stock sync operates under different API rate limits to the Cin7 Core connection. The Cin7 Core API connection may get rate limited at peak order load, delaying orders, but the GrowthPath stock sync is not affected by this.