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Automations (Alerts and Tasks)

Learn how to set up automation (alerts and tasks) in Prediko

Written by Amar Sujith

Automations let you ask Pia to monitor and report on your Inventory data automatically, so you don't have to keep checking Prediko yourself.

  • Want to know when an important SKU is running low?

  • Get a sales report every Monday?

  • Receive a list of overdue POs every morning?

Simply tell Pia what you want to keep an eye on, and she'll set it up for you.

You can receive updates via email, Slack, WhatsApp, or multiple channels at once.


What's the difference between an Alert and a Task?

There are two types of automations in Prediko:

🔔 Alerts

Alerts tell you when something happens.

For example, "Alert me when an A-class SKU falls below safety stock."

Pia keeps an eye on the condition and messages you when a new item meets it.

When you first create an alert, Pia won't suddenly send you notifications for everything that already matches the condition. Instead, she starts monitoring from that point onward and notifies you about new matches.


Alerts are best for things you want to know about as they happen.


Examples:

  • Alert me when an A-class SKU falls below safety stock.

  • Tell me when a purchase order is marked as Ordered.

  • Let me know when an important SKU becomes at risk of stocking out.


📅 Tasks

Tasks give you recurring updates on a schedule.

For example, "Every Monday at 9 AM, send me all purchase orders that haven't been placed yet."


Pia runs the task at the scheduled time and sends you the results.

You can schedule tasks to run hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly.

Tasks are useful for reports or checks that you want to receive regularly.


Examples:

  • Every morning, send me my overdue purchase orders.

  • Every Monday at 9 AM, show me SKUs at risk of stocking out.

  • On the first of every month, show me categories where actual sales exceeded the forecast.

Note: A Task in Prediko is a scheduled report or check. It isn't a to-do item that needs to be assigned or marked as complete.


Creating an Automation.

There are no complicated forms to configure.

  • Go to Automations and click Create automation.

  • Pia will open and ask what you'd like to monitor.


You can simply describe what you want in everyday language, such as:

"Tell me when an A-class SKU falls below safety stock." or "Every Monday morning, send me SKUs that are selling quickly and are at risk of stocking out."


Pia will turn your request into an automation. If anything is unclear, she'll ask you a few questions before creating it. Before saving the automation, Pia will show you:

  • What she'll monitor

  • Any conditions or filters you've requested

  • How often it will run, if it's a Task

  • Where the results will be sent

  • A preview of how many items currently match your criteria

You'll then be asked to confirm the automation before it goes live.


What can I ask Pia to monitor?

You can create automations around your inventory, forecasting, locations, suppliers, and purchase orders.

Your request can include conditions such as:

"below", "above", "at least", "at most", "zero", or similar criteria.

You can also narrow an automation down to specific parts of your business.

For example:

  • "Show me SKUs below safety stock for Supplier A."

  • "Tell me when stock at the Dubai warehouse drops below safety stock."

  • "Every Friday, show me my 20 worst-performing products."

  • "Alert me if my total inventory value falls below $250,000."

Depending on the data you're monitoring, Pia can work with individual SKUs, products, categories, suppliers, warehouses, stores, orders, transfers, or your business as a whole.


Popular automations to try

Not sure where to start? Prediko includes several useful examples.

🚀 Fast sellers at risk of stocking out

Runs: Every Monday at 9 AM

Find active SKUs that sold through more than 80% of their inventory during the last 30 days and are now at risk of stocking out.

Great for identifying products that may need replenishment before they disappear from the shelf.


📉 Categories where demand was under-forecasted

Runs: Monthly

See categories where actual sales over the previous 30 days were more than 18% higher than the demand plan.

This can help you identify areas where your forecasts may consistently be too conservative.


🏬 Stock imbalance between locations

Runs: Weekly

Find products where one location has more inventory than it needs while another location is out of stock or below safety stock.

This can help you spot opportunities to rebalance inventory before placing another order.


🚚 Overdue purchase orders

Runs: Daily

Receive a list of purchase orders that are past their confirmed delivery date but still have units on the way.

Useful for quickly identifying suppliers or shipments that may need following up.


✅ Purchase order confirmed

Type: Alert

Get notified when a purchase order is marked as Ordered.

Useful when several people are involved in your purchasing workflow, and you want visibility without checking Prediko throughout the day.


⚠️ A-class SKU below safety stock

Type: Alert

Get notified when an active A-class SKU reaches or falls below its safety stock level at any location.

This can help you react quickly when one of your most important products needs attention.


📋 Purchase orders waiting to be placed

Runs: Weekly

Receive a list of purchase orders that are still:

  • Draft

  • Awaiting approval

  • Approved but not yet placed

It's an easy way to make sure important POs don't get forgotten.


Choosing where Pia sends your updates

An automation can be sent to one or several destinations.

Email

Pia can send the results directly to your inbox.

Slack

Pia can post the results to a Slack channel. You can also reply to Pia directly from the Slack thread to continue the conversation.

WhatsApp

Pia can send the results to you through WhatsApp.

You can also configure an automation to send to multiple people or channels at the same time.

For example:

"Send the weekly stockout-risk report to me by email and to our inventory team's Slack channel."


Managing your automations

Your Automations page shows all the automations you've created. From here, you can:

  • Turn an automation on or off

  • Edit it

  • Change its schedule

  • Change who receives it

  • Change the delivery channel

  • Send a test

  • Delete it

Changing something simple, such as the recipient or delivery time, won't change the conditions Pia is monitoring.

For example, if you have: "Every Monday, show me A-class SKUs below safety stock." and then ask Pia: "Send this to me by email too."

Pia adds email as a destination without changing what the automation monitors.


Editing an existing Alert or Task

  • Find the automation under Alerts & Tasks and click Edit.

  • Pia will open the automation in chat so you can tell her what you'd like to change.

For example:

"Only include products from Supplier A."

"Change this to every Friday at 10 AM."

"Also send this to our inventory Slack channel."

"Remove WhatsApp and send it by email instead."

Pia will help update the automation accordingly.


A simple way to remember the difference

Alert = "Tell me when this happens." 🔔

"Tell me when an A-class SKU falls below safety stock."

Task = "Tell me about this every Monday." 📅

"Every Monday, send me all A-class SKUs below safety stock."

You don't need to decide which type to create yourself. Just describe what you want in plain English, and Pia will work out the right automation for you.

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