Supplier Stock and Product Questions Answered on WhatsApp
This recipe answers “do you have stock?”, “what’s the lead time?”, “send me the spec sheet” and “how much for 200?” on WhatsApp, email and web chat. It reads stock and prices from your accounting or ERP system, or from your Shopify or WordPress store, and it shows trade prices only to buyers it can match to an account. Part of the B2B supplier workflows.
What happens today
A contractor’s buyer messages from site at 7.30am: “Do you have 500 pcs of M8x40 stainless in stock? If not, what’s the lead time?”. Your salesperson sees it at 9.30, walks to the warehouse or calls someone who knows, and replies at 10. The buyer sent the same message to two other suppliers, and one of them answered at 8.
The answer was in your system the whole time. The buyer needed it before the site started work.
The flow that works
- The buyer asks about a product by name, by your code or by their own description. AeroChat finds the product in your system and asks which one they mean if there is more than one match.
- It says how many are available now and, for any shortfall, the lead time recorded for that product.
- If they ask for a spec sheet, certificate or safety data sheet, it sends the current file.
- If they ask for a price, it matches their phone number or email to a contact on a customer record. Known accounts get their price level. Everyone else gets list price and an offer to open a trade account.
- If they want to go ahead, it moves into the quote or order workflow.
Trade prices are never shown to a contact who is not on a customer record. That keeps your price structure away from competitors.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When a buyer asks about a product, stock, lead time, documents or price, follow these steps.
- Find the product in our system by name, product code or description. If more than one product matches, list them with their codes and ask which one.
- Tell them the quantity available now. Do not count stock that is already committed to other orders. If they need more, give the lead time recorded for that product. If no lead time is recorded, say their sales rep will confirm it.
- If they ask for a spec sheet, certificate or safety data sheet, send the current file for that product from our knowledge base.
- If they ask for a price, check whether their phone number or email belongs to a contact on a customer record in our system. If it does, give the price for that customer’s price level, and the price break if their quantity reaches the next one. If it does not, give the list price only and offer to pass them to sales to open a trade account.
- Tell them our minimum order quantity if their quantity is below it, for example 50 units for fasteners (example).
- If they want to order or need a quote for several items, move to the quote or order steps.
Never promise stock or a lead time that is not in our system. Never give a trade price to a contact who is not on a customer record. If they ask about credit terms, a special price or a part shipment, hand the conversation to their sales rep with the product codes and quantities. Reply in the buyer’s language.
Change the example minimum order quantity to your own before you paste it.
What to connect
- Your accounting or ERP system. Xero, QuickBooks Online or Oracle NetSuite connect through their APIs. For Xero or QuickBooks Online, approve AeroChat’s access to your company when AeroChat asks. For NetSuite, your administrator creates an access token for AeroChat and pastes it in when AeroChat asks. AeroChat reads products, stock on hand, committed stock, lead times, price levels and customer contacts from there.
- Your product documents. Spec sheets, certificates and safety data sheets in the AeroChat knowledge base, named by product code.
- Your online store. If you sell to trade buyers on Shopify or WordPress, both are built in, and AeroChat reads products and stock from there.
If you run a small operation from a Google Sheet of stock and accounts, connect your Google account and approve the access.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
What you still decide
- Which contacts count as known for each account, and what happens with a new number.
- Whether unknown contacts see list price or no price.
- Your price levels, price breaks and minimum order quantities.
- Who keeps stock counts and lead times current in your system.
AeroChat applies these as written. It does not invent stock, lead times or prices.
The result to expect
Stock and lead-time questions are answered in minutes, at any hour, while the buyer is still deciding who to order from. Your salespeople stop checking the warehouse for every message and spend the time on quotes and accounts. Trade prices stay with your trade accounts.
Measure it with your own numbers: time to first reply on stock questions, and orders that started with a stock question in the chat, for a month before and after you start.
Next: quote requests and order placement. See also AI agent.
Answer your first stock question
Connect your accounting or ERP system, paste the recipe and ask your own number for 500 pieces of your best-selling product.
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On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.