Stage 5: Review & test the Orders process flow (Shopify & Virtualstock Supplier)

Introduction

In this stage you will access the [[Orders]] Virtualstock >> Shopify process flow.

The process flow is pre-configured with all required settings, including any connector instances you defined as part of the installation stage. On this page, we guide you through recommended checks so you can ensure the flow meets your requirements.

The steps

Step 1 Select process flows > process from the left-hand navigation menu (or click here). Your process flow list is displayed - for example:

If you've used Patchworks before installing the Shopify & Virtualstock Supplier blueprint, you might see more than the three process flows shown here.

Step 2 Click the [[Orders]] Virtualstock >> Shopify entry to open the process flow in edit mode.

Step 3 Access settings for the trigger shape and edit the default schedule to reflect the frequency you want this process flow to run:

For guidance on defining trigger schedules, please see our Trigger shape page.

Any schedule you define here won't affect the number of new orders received - just how frequently you collect them.

New orders are determined by order status (rather than any time-based conditions). When the process flow runs, any orders with an ORDER status are pulled from Virtualstock Supplier and sent into Shopify - you can see this if you check the settings for the first connector shape in the flow:

When this operation is completed successfully, the order changes to an ORDER_ACK status, so it will never be picked up again in subsequent flow runs.

Step 4 Access settings for the first map shape and scan down the list to ensure the default settings meet your requirements. Here we are mapping FROM Virtualstock Supplier TO Shopify.

Generally, default mappings do not need to be changed however, the following fields should be checked with particular care and changes can be made if necessary:

Field	Notes
Order.Inventory_behaviour	This affects your Shopify stock levels, and whether or not you will allow Shopify to receive the order if Shopify is out of stock. The default setting is: decrement_obeying_policy. For more information, please see Shopify's API documentation.
part_number > variant_id	This field mapping uses a cross-reference-lookup transform function to convert Shopify SKUs to Virtualstock Supplier part numbers. Make sure that your SKU Lookup cross-reference table has been updated accordingly.

The following fields must NOT be changed:

• Order Line Properties

• Order notes

• Order source_name

If you would like to map additional fields (for example, billing address), this is fine. For guidance on defining field mappings, please see our Working with field mappings page.

Step 5 Access settings for the second map shape and scan down the list to ensure the default settings meet your requirements. Here we are mapping FROM Shopify TO Virtualstock Supplier.

Generally, default mappings do not need to be changed however, the following fields should be checked with particular care:

Field	Notes
supplier_delivery_date	The supplier delivery date is generated using a script transform function on this field. Here, we call the Calculate dispatch date using order date script, which calculates the supplier delivery date by adding a given number of days to the order creation date. By default, 5 days are added. If you want to change this value, see Changing the supplier delivery date calculation.
Fulfillment_route	This attribute is used to send an acknowledgement back to Virtualstock Supplier after an order is created in Shopify. By default, a custom string transform sends a text value of: Direct to customer. If necessary, you can change this value by editing the transform function. For guidance, please see our Working with field mapping transforms page.

It should not be necessary to map additional fields here.

Step 6 In Virtualstock Supplier, make sure you have some test orders (with an ORDER status) using part numbers that you added to the SKU lookup table previously.

Step 7 Access settings for every connector shape in the flow (there are four) and double-check that the source instance is for a sandbox environment - for example:

Step 8 When you're satisfied that the flow is ready to test, click the initialise flow button from the actions bar:

The process flow should run and complete successfully. Check that the outcome is as expected in Shopify and Virtualstock Supplier.

Step 9 Go to the next stage.