Automation, SaaS

Ecom Automation: Multi-Tenant eCommerce Workflow Automation with n8n

Overview

Ecom Automation is a technical showcase built to demonstrate NUS Technology’s ability to combine n8n workflow automation with a full multi-tenant SaaS application.

The demo automates a common eCommerce fulfillment workflow across Shopify, Zoho Inventory, EasyPost, Slack, and email. When a customer places an order, the system checks inventory, updates the order based on stock availability, creates a shipment when the order can be fulfilled, and keeps both the store owner and customer informed as the process progresses.

Rather than using n8n as a standalone automation tool, the showcase demonstrates how it can operate as the orchestration layer inside a larger SaaS architecture, with tenant management, integration configuration, workflow visibility, and application-level controls built around it.

What We Built

A Multi-Tenant Automation Platform for eCommerce Operations

Ecom Automation is a multi-tenant SaaS showcase where businesses can create an account, configure their own Shopify, Zoho Inventory, and EasyPost integrations, and monitor workflow status and logs.

The current demo provides one predefined fulfillment workflow:

A Shopify order triggers n8n.
Zoho Inventory checks stock availability.
In-stock orders are confirmed and passed to EasyPost for shipment creation.
Out-of-stock orders are placed on hold and trigger a Slack notification.
Shipment updates can trigger customer emails and Slack notifications.

The workflow is fixed rather than user-editable, but the platform is designed to support additional predefined workflows and alternative services at individual workflow steps in the future.

Tech & Architecture

A SaaS Application Layer Built Around n8n Orchestration

Ecom Automation uses n8n as the workflow orchestration engine, while a dedicated web application handles authentication, tenant management, integration setup, and workflow visibility.

The system is built as a TypeScript Turborepo monorepo. A NestJS backend manages tenant-aware application logic and communicates with n8n through protected internal APIs. Clerk handles account and organization management for the multi-tenant model.

n8n coordinates the eCommerce workflow across Shopify, Zoho Inventory, EasyPost, Slack, and email services. On the frontend, users can configure integrations and monitor integration and workflow execution status, with Server-Sent Events providing near real-time updates.

Technology Stack

Frontend: Next.js 16, React 19, TypeScript
Backend: NestJS 11, Prisma, PostgreSQL
Automation: n8n
Authentication & multi-tenancy: Clerk
Realtime updates: Server-Sent Events
Integrations: Shopify, Zoho Inventory, EasyPost, Slack, Resend
Infrastructure: Docker, Docker Compose, Turborepo

Technical Highlights

Building Managed Business Automation on Top of n8n

n8n as the orchestration layer: n8n coordinates business events across Shopify, Zoho Inventory, EasyPost, Slack, and email, while the web application handles tenant management, configuration, and user-facing controls.

Multi-tenant automation: Each business operates within its own organization context and configures its own integrations. The same predefined workflow can therefore be used across multiple businesses while keeping tenant data and configuration separated.

Event-driven fulfillment workflow: Shopify orders trigger the automation, Zoho Inventory determines stock availability, and EasyPost handles shipment creation. Conditional logic allows orders to continue to fulfillment or be placed on hold with a Slack notification when inventory is insufficient.

Workflow visibility outside n8n: Users can view integration status, workflow execution status, visual workflow information, and logs directly in the application without accessing the underlying n8n interface.

Foundation for reusable automation products: The current demo uses one predefined workflow, but the architecture can be extended with additional workflows or alternative services at individual workflow steps.