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Workflow Events, Plans and Testing: Product, Vendor SKU and Order Workflows

A workflow is a rule for one site: when an event happens, if the conditions match, then apply the actions. You'll find them under Automation > Workflows.

This article covers the kinds of events, which plans can run them, when they fire and how to test them. For every action you can use, see Workflow Actions Reference. For field definitions, see Workflow Field Definitions.

Plans and Test Mode

  • Growth and Premium: workflows run for real.
  • Other plans: workflows are in Test Mode. You can build them and run tests, but you can't switch them on. The menu shows a lock.
  • Order Imported workflows need the Premium plan. On other plans the event is greyed out with the note "Order-triggered workflows are available on the Premium plan."

The three kinds of events

The Workflows list groups your workflows by kind.

Product events

These run on a product in your store, using the combined values from all its vendors.

  • Product Costs Changed, Product MAP Changed, Product MSRP Changed, Product Stock Changed
  • Vendor Availability Changed (only offered when the site has a Turn14 vendor)
  • Add Product from Catalog: runs when a product is added from a vendor catalog. Its only action is Apply Product Template.

Conditions can use the product's SKU, brand, type (bundle, super bundle or simple), suggested price, cost, MAP, MSRP, lowest MSRP, lowest-cost vendor, bundle values, tags, categories, total stock, weight and user fields 1 to 10.

Vendor SKU events

Vendor SKU Cost Changed, Vendor SKU MAP Changed, Vendor SKU MSRP Changed and Vendor SKU Stock Changed run on one vendor's SKU, before its values are combined into the product. Use them when the rule depends on which vendor the data came from, for example "set stock to 0 for this vendor's SKUs in a category."

Conditions can use Vendor, Vendor SKU Brand, Vendor SKU Category(ies), Vendor SKU Stock, Vendor SKU MSRP, Vendor SKU MAP, Vendor SKU Unit Cost, Vendor SKU Shipping Cost Avg, Vendor SKU Shipping Cost Flat, Vendor SKU User Field 1 to 5 and Vendor SKU Notes.

Order events (Premium)

Order Imported runs when Spark Shipping imports a new order. Conditions can use the order status, totals (order total, vendor cost, subtotal, shipping, discount, tax), total quantity, line item count, shipping name and address fields, shipping method description, customer email, order comment, internal notes, order user fields 1 to 4, and the SKU, name, quantity, price or vendor of any item.

Use it to add a fee line, send yourself an alert, fill in order fields, or release matching orders from your hold rules.

When a workflow fires

A workflow fires when the value its event watches actually changes, for example when the next inventory or cost update changes a product's cost. If nothing changes, nothing fires, so a new workflow usually takes effect on the next update after you switch it on.

There are two exceptions. Switching on a workflow that uses Set Inventory to Zero or Set Stock Minimum, or a Product Type condition, runs it across the catalog straight away. Order workflows run once, when each order is imported.

Building a workflow

  1. Click New Workflow, give it a Name (unique on the site) and choose the Event.
  2. Add Conditions. Conditions in the same group must all match. Click Add OR Condition Group for an alternative set: the workflow matches if any group matches. You can have up to 100 conditions.
  3. Add Actions (up to 50) and click Save Workflow.
  4. Switch it on with the Status toggle, on the form or in the list.

Execution Order decides which workflow runs first when several share an event: lower numbers run first. You can also drag rows in the list to reorder them within an event. Use Clone to copy a workflow; the copy starts switched off.

Test before you switch it on

Open a workflow and use Test Workflow (Dry Run). It shows what would change without changing anything:

  • product events: enter a Product SKU,
  • vendor SKU events and Add Product from Catalog: pick the Vendor and enter the Vendor SKU,
  • Order Imported: enter an Order ID.

Then click Run Test. Spark Shipping opens the test's job log, which shows whether the conditions matched and what each action would change. Testing works in Test Mode too.

On a product page, the Workflows panel lists the workflows that match the product, with Test Workflows and Run Workflows buttons. Run Workflows applies every product workflow to that product right away. Vendor SKU pages have a Run Workflows button for vendor SKU workflows.