Automated Obsolete Part Cross-Reference Alerts
Every Monday, WebRun opens DDI Inform, finds parts flagged obsolete or discontinued that shipped to a customer in the last 12 months, cross-references each one to its manufacturer approved replacement part number, drafts a substitution notice email in Outlook for the account rep to review, and posts sales a Slack summary of every customer affected.
How do I automatically catch obsolete parts before a customer reorders one?
WebRun checks DDI Inform every Monday for parts newly flagged obsolete that shipped to a customer within the last 12 months, cross-references each one to its manufacturer approved replacement, and drafts a substitution notice email in Outlook for the account rep to review before sending. It also posts sales a Slack summary grouped by rep, so no customer reorders a part that no longer exists.
- Customers get a substitution notice before they try to reorder a dead part number
- Every obsolete part is cross-referenced to its approved replacement automatically
- Parts with no replacement yet get flagged instead of silently dropped
Built for industrial distributors · account reps · MRO suppliers · wholesale distribution
What does WebRun do on every run?
The exact actions WebRun takes, in order - in plain language, so you can adjust anything.
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WebRun signs in and gets to work
Opens
www.ddisystem.comin a real browser with your saved login - no setup, no API keys. -
1
DDI System (Inform ERP) - find obsolete parts with recent order history
ddisystem.com
WebRun opens DDI System (Inform ERP) to find obsolete parts with recent order history. - Open DDI Inform and pull parts newly flagged obsolete or discontinued this week
- Filter to parts with order history in the last 12 months
- Cross-reference each obsolete part to its manufacturer approved replacement number
Done when Every newly obsolete part with recent order history has a replacement part number.
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2
Outlook - draft the substitution notice for review
outlook.com
WebRun opens Outlook to draft the substitution notice for review. - Draft a substitution notice email to each affected customer from the account rep's address
- State the obsolete part number and its approved replacement in the draft
- Leave every draft unsent in the account rep's drafts folder for review
Done when A substitution notice draft is waiting for every affected customer. Nothing is sent automatically.
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3
Slack - summarize affected customers for sales
slack.com
WebRun opens Slack to summarize affected customers for sales. - Post sales a summary of every customer affected by this week's obsolete parts
- Group the list by account rep so each owner sees only their own customers
- Note any part with no approved replacement yet as needing a manual cross-reference
Done when Sales has this week's obsolescence summary grouped by account rep.
How is each run configured?
Secure by default
Connect once, stays signed in
WebRun signs in once and keeps each session in a persistent environment, so every run picks up right where it left off.
Every action is checked against this policy before it runs.
Questions, answered
Will it notify customers about the substitution without approval?
No. Every substitution notice is drafted and left unsent in Outlook. The account rep reviews and sends each one themselves before a customer hears about it.
What if a part has no approved replacement yet?
It's flagged separately in the Slack summary as needing a manual cross-reference, instead of being silently dropped or guessed at.
How does it decide which obsolete parts matter?
It only flags parts that actually shipped to a customer in the last 12 months, so a distributor is not chasing substitution notices for parts nobody buys anymore.
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