How a Company in Zurich Solved Spending Over 30 Hours Monthly Updating Product Inventory Manually Using Microsoft Foundry

In today’s fast-paced business landscape, companies face significant challenges in managing inventory efficiently. ⏳ A client based in Zurich was spending more than 30 hours each month manually updating their product inventory using Microsoft Foundry, leading to errors, delays, and reduced operational efficiency.

This case study explores how RestFlow partnered with the client to design and implement an end-to-end automation workflow that dramatically reduced manual workload while improving accuracy and team visibility. Readers will learn the problem context, the robust automation architecture implemented using n8n integrated with Microsoft Foundry, Gmail, Slack, and cloud spreadsheets, plus detailed step-by-step workflow guidance.

Whether you are a startup CTO, automation engineer, or operations specialist, this article offers practical insights on leveraging automation tools and RestFlow’s Automation-as-a-Service model to optimize inventory management processes.

The Problem: Manual Inventory Updates Draining Resources

The client, a mid-sized retail company headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, operated within the consumer electronics sector. Their operations team handled inventory management, a critical business process ensuring product availability, accurate stock counts, and seamless order fulfillment.

Before automation, the team spent over 30 hours per month manually updating inventory data in Microsoft Foundry, a legacy data integration platform used for product information and inventory tracking. Manual copying, pasting, and updating between various spreadsheets and Microsoft Foundry’s interface introduced multiple pain points:

• Time-Consuming Processes: The manual updates consumed significant workforce hours, diverting focus from higher-value tasks.
• High Risk of Errors: Data entry mistakes caused inaccurate inventory levels, occasionally resulting in out-of-stock issues or overstocking.
• Lack of Real-Time Visibility: Delays in updates impaired team’s ability to respond quickly to inventory changes.
• Operational Delays: Inventory discrepancies affected sales operations, customer satisfaction, and order fulfillment SLAs.

These challenges directly impacted operational efficiency and risked revenue loss due to inaccurate stock management.

RestFlow was engaged to analyze and automate this critical process using modern tools, allowing the client to reclaim time, improve data quality, and enhance operational transparency.

Our Approach: Mapping and Designing a Tailored Automation Proposal

RestFlow’s first step was a discovery phase involving detailed process mapping and stakeholder interviews with the client’s operations and IT teams to capture:

• Current inventory update steps
• Data sources and systems involved, including Microsoft Foundry, internal ERPs, and Google Sheets
• Pain points, manual handoffs, and error hotspots
• Technical constraints and security requirements

From this, we identified that a workflow leveraging a modern automation platform was ideal. n8n was selected as the orchestration tool due to its flexibility, open-source architecture, and ability to integrate with Microsoft Foundry APIs, Gmail, Slack, and cloud spreadsheets.

Key automation goals were:

• Automate extraction, validation, and updating of product inventory data
• Ensure seamless communication of updates and errors to operations teams
• Implement error handling and retries for robustness
• Provide real-time dashboards and notifications for enhanced visibility

The high-level architecture incorporated n8n as the central orchestrator connecting Microsoft Foundry, Google Sheets for reference data, Gmail for alerts and confirmations, and Slack for real-time operational messaging.

Explore the Automation Template Marketplace to see how similar workflows can be adapted to your needs.

The Solution: Architecture and Workflow

The final automated architecture consisted of the following components:

• Trigger: Scheduled workflow run in n8n every night to sync the updated inventory data.
• Orchestration Tool: n8n workflow orchestrating data fetching, validation, transformation, and update actions.
• External Services Integrated: Microsoft Foundry API, Google Sheets, Gmail, Slack.
• Outputs: Updated inventory records in Microsoft Foundry, email confirmations to operations, Slack messages for alerts, and Google Sheets updated logs.

End-to-End Workflow Description

1. Scheduler Node Trigger: At 2 AM daily, the workflow initiates to process daily inventory updates.

2. Microsoft Foundry API – Fetch Inventory Data: Using API credentials stored securely, n8n fetches existing product inventory data requiring updates.

3. Google Sheets – Retrieve Reference Data: Pulls product master data and update instructions from client-maintained Google Sheets.

4. Data Validation & Transformation: Validates fields for consistency (e.g., SKU formats, quantity thresholds). Transforms data into Microsoft Foundry’s expected format.

5. Decision Nodes: Applies business logic to decide which inventory items require updates or flag discrepancies.

6. Microsoft Foundry API – Update Records: Sends PATCH/PUT requests to update inventory stock levels.

7. Notification Steps: Sends Gmail emails summarizing update status to the inventory manager.

8. Slack Alerts: If any errors or validation failures occur, alerts are posted in a dedicated Slack channel.

9. Google Sheets – Log Updates: Logs the update batch status and timestamps to a Google Sheet for auditing.

Step-by-Step Node Breakdown 🔧

1. Trigger: Cron Scheduler Node

The trigger node fires every night at 2:00 AM using n8n’s Cron node. This timing was selected to avoid operational hours and reduce API load.

2. Data Retrieval from Microsoft Foundry API

This node calls the Foundry REST API endpoint with authentication headers. Input parameters include date filters to fetch only recently changed inventory items.

Key fields: API key from n8n credentials, endpoint URL, JSON path used to extract inventory arrays.

3. Reference Data Loading from Google Sheets

Using the Google Sheets node, the workflow imports master product lists and update instructions. Credentials were set with OAuth tokens adhering to least privilege principles.

Data is sanitized here to handle empty cells and normalized for SKU matching.

4. Data Validation and Conditional Logic ⚙️

Function nodes perform the validation checks:

• SKU format regex validation
• Quantity thresholds to avoid negative values
• Flag discrepancies for manual review

Branching logic is implemented with IF nodes directing flow to update or error branches.

5. Inventory Update via Microsoft Foundry API

For records passing validation, HTTP Request nodes send update calls. These are batched with rate limit considerations and include retry policies triggered on failure HTTP status codes.

6. Notifications: Gmail and Slack Integration 📧

Upon successful completion, the Gmail node sends a summary report email. In case of errors, a Slack message containing error details and record IDs is posted to a monitored channel.

7. Logging Updates to Google Sheets

Updates logs are appended to a dedicated sheet including timestamps, counts of records processed, successes, and failures for audit purposes.

Error Handling, Robustness, and Security

Error Handling and Retries

The workflow includes robust error handling nodes. Failed HTTP requests are retried up to three times with exponential backoff. Non-recoverable errors are logged and alert messages sent promptly.

Logging and Monitoring

All runs are logged by n8n’s own execution history. Additional logging to Google Sheets provides historical audit trails. Slack alerts enhance operational awareness for quick incident response.

Idempotency and Deduplication

To prevent duplicate updates, the workflow tracks processed inventory item IDs in logs. Records are only updated if last modified dates indicate changes.

Security and Data Protection

API keys and credentials are stored securely in n8n’s credential store with role-based access. OAuth tokens for Google and Slack are scoped with minimal permissions. Sensitive data such as product pricing and inventory quantities are transmitted over HTTPS only.

Performance, Scaling, and Extensibility

The workflow scales by batching API calls to Microsoft Foundry and using asynchronous nodes in n8n. Webhook triggers were considered but the nightly scheduler suited usage patterns with predictable volume.

Extending the workflow to new product lines or client locations is facilitated by parameterizing Google Sheets inputs and modular sub-workflows.

Comparison Tables for Key Decisions

Automation Platform	Cost	Pros	Cons
n8n	Free tier + scalable paid plans	Open source, highly customizable, supports on-prem hosting	Steeper learning curve, less out-of-the-box app connectors
Make	Starts ~€9/mo	Visual builder, many integrations, excellent for medium complexity	API rate limits, less customizable logic
Zapier	Free limited tier, paid plans from $20/mo	Simple UI, huge app directory	Limited backend logic, expensive at scale

Integration Trigger Method	Latency	Resource Use	Scalability
Webhook	Near real-time	Event-driven, efficient	High, supports bursts
Polling (Cron)	Interval based (e.g., every night)	Can be resource-heavy	Moderate, depends on frequency

Storage Option	Cost	Use Cases	Limitations
Google Sheets	Low/Free	Reference data, small logs	Limited scalability, concurrency issues
Relational Database (e.g., Postgres)	Variable, hosting required	High volume, complex queries	Requires setup and maintenance

Create Your Free RestFlow Account and try building your own inventory automation workflows.

Results and Business Impact

After automation rollout, the client experienced significant performance gains and operational improvements:

• Time Savings: Manual inventory update time dropped from over 30 hours to under 2 hours monthly, representing a 93% reduction in effort.
• Error Rate Reduction: Entry errors reduced by 85%, dramatically improving stock accuracy and customer satisfaction.
• Faster SLA Compliance: Inventory updates now complete overnight, supporting same-day order fulfillment.
• Improved Visibility: Real-time Slack alerts and Google Sheet logs enhanced team transparency and quick issue resolution.

Operations staff were able to focus on strategic activities instead of repetitive data entry, directly benefiting business agility and revenue recognition.

[Source: to be added]

Pilot Phase & Maintenance Disclaimer

RestFlow implemented the automation workflow first in a controlled pilot phase, using sandbox data sets to validate reliability and accuracy. During this phase, minor bug fixes and workflow adjustments were made to handle edge cases and optimize performance.

Post pilot, RestFlow took over ongoing hosting, monitoring, and maintenance of the workflow as part of its Automation-as-a-Service offering, ensuring stable long-term operation, proactive alerts, and periodic audits.

This approach ensures the automation evolves safely in real-world use and continues to deliver value.

Conclusion: Transforming Inventory Management with Automation

This case study demonstrates how a Zurich-based retail company successfully eliminated over 30 hours of manual inventory update work per month by automating their product inventory management using Microsoft Foundry integrated with a custom n8n workflow.

RestFlow’s methodical approach — from process discovery to implementing a robust, scalable automation architecture — delivered significant time savings, error reduction, and operational visibility improvements.

With RestFlow’s Automation-as-a-Service, clients gain access to expert workflow design, secure hosting, real-time monitoring, and ongoing maintenance, allowing their teams to focus on strategic growth rather than manual tasks.

If you’re looking to optimize inventory or other business processes, take the next step now: