Classic Mode vs Smart Mode: What’s the difference?
Stockie offers two modes for managing your low stock alerts — Classic Mode and Smart Mode.
Both send low stock notifications, but they work differently behind the scenes.
Overview
| Feature | Classic Mode | Smart Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Thresholds | You manually set thresholds within each notification. Every notification can monitor a different group of products with its own rules. | Stockie automatically calculates global reorder points using your forecast data and configured lead time, safety stock, and sales velocity. |
| Based on | Fixed stock quantity thresholds. | Sales velocity, lead time, and safety stock. |
| Forecasting required | ❌ Not required. | ✅ Required — uses Stockie’s inventory forecasting. |
| Maintenance | You update thresholds manually as your sales change. | Stockie updates reorder points automatically each night. |
| Best for | Merchants who prefer manual control or want simple alerts. | Merchants who want data-driven automation and forecasting. |
Classic Mode
Classic Mode gives you manual control over when alerts trigger.
You decide the exact threshold (in units) that defines “low stock” for each product or variant.
Thresholds are defined on the notification level — meaning each notification can track a specific subset of products, collections, or vendors, with its own custom low-stock rules.
When stock drops to or below that number, Stockie includes the item in your notification.
✅ Best for:
- Stores with stable inventory and predictable sales patterns.
- Merchants who want to set clear manual rules.
- Smaller catalogs or teams that prefer simplicity.
📘 Learn more:
Smart Mode
Smart Mode replaces manual thresholds with automated reorder points — calculated globally from your inventory forecast.
Instead of defining thresholds inside each notification, Stockie looks at your configured settings for:
- Sales velocity (average daily sales per variant)
- Lead time (days for stock to arrive once ordered)
- Safety stock (extra days of buffer inventory)
🧮 Formula:
(Lead time × Sales velocity) + (Safety stock × Sales velocity)
Products that are forecasted to reach their reorder point within your notification window (e.g., 7 days) are automatically included in your Smart Mode notifications.
✅ Best for:
- Stores with dynamic or seasonal demand.
- Merchants who want proactive alerts before stockouts.
- Medium to large catalogs where manual thresholds are hard to maintain.
📘 Learn more:
- How Stockie’s inventory forecasting works →
- How reorder points are automatically calculated →
- How to create a notification (Smart Mode) →
Summary
| Classic Mode | Smart Mode | |
|---|---|---|
| Control level | Manual | Automatic |
| Data source | Current inventory only | Forecast + inventory |
| Alert type | Low stock threshold reached | Reorder point forecasted within window |
| Setup effort | Requires thresholds setup | Requires lead time and safety stock setup |
| Maintenance | Manual updates | Fully automated |
💡 Tip: If you’re new to Stockie, start with Classic Mode to get familiar with notifications, then try Smart Mode to unlock forecasting and automation.