VendorIQ — Integrations & Connections

VendorIQ runs your marketplace and can connect it to inventory planning, return signals, and a branded shopper app. Each connection has a different purpose and data scope.

VendorIQ works on its own: vendors onboard, orders split across sellers, commission is calculated, and payout workflows remain under the merchant's control. A connected app can add a specific capability when both apps are installed and configured. This guide explains what each connection does, what information it uses, and where it appears.

Table of Contents

1. How Connections Work
2. Your Privacy & Control
3. Per-Vendor Return Rates (ReturnsIQ)
4. Marketplace Inventory Planning (StockIQ)
5. Branded Shopper App (App Builder)
6. The Direction, at a Glance
7. The Connections Screen
8. FAQ

How Connections Work

Kernvel apps use private, authenticated connections for specific shared features. Installing a second app alone does not turn on every feature: each store still needs the relevant configuration and, where offered, the merchant's choice.

You manage these on VendorIQ's Connections screen. Each connection shows up as a card with:

• What it does — the capability in one line.
• The benefit — the outcome you get.
• The direction — whether an active signal flows into VendorIQ or the card points to a companion app.
• A state badge — Connected, Paused, Available, or Not installed.
• A control when the source can be paused — the connection that actively feeds VendorIQ has an on/off toggle; the companion-app connection shows status and an install link without pretending to be a switch.

The Connections screen currently shows one active signal card and one companion-app card:

• A signal it reads in. VendorIQ can show ReturnsIQ return-risk context on a vendor's detail page and, if you separately opt in, use that signal for a capped reserve on eligible pending payouts. It does not change the vendor roster's score or ranking.
• A companion for a separate job. StockIQ plans inventory from its own supported inputs. Its card shows availability and an install link; VendorIQ customer-order shipments do not become incoming stock.

The branded shopper-app connection is different. App Builder uses VendorIQ's local-shopping services for stores using both apps. It appears through the Hyperlocal hand-off and App Builder configuration, rather than as a third card on the Connections screen. It has shopper-specific actions with stronger identity checks; see Branded Shopper App.

Your Privacy & Control

Each connection is limited to the information needed for its job.

• ReturnsIQ shares a settled return signal, without a buyer list. StockIQ plans inventory separately; VendorIQ customer-order shipments are not incoming merchant stock.
• VendorIQ handles buyer data for marketplace orders. It stores the customer identity, contact and shipping details needed to split, fulfill, support, and track an order. It would be inaccurate to call VendorIQ a seller-only app with no shopper data.
• App Builder can access a verified shopper's own local-commerce details. A signed-in Shopify customer can see their own delivery status and reorder information through the connected app. Serviceability checks may use the shopper's chosen delivery location. This is a per-store, per-shopper flow; it is not a bulk customer-list feed.
• Connections are authenticated and store-scoped. A merchant's public API key does not call the private shopper or app-to-app routes.
• Unavailable connections are shown honestly. A missing or unconfigured companion app does not create a delivery promise or fabricate an order history.
• You stay in control. The connection that feeds VendorIQ has a per-shop on/off toggle right on the Connections screen. Turn it off and VendorIQ stops using that signal — no configuration to unwind.
• Reserves are off until you ask for them. The optional payout reserve described below is default-off, opt-in, advisory, and capped — VendorIQ will never quietly start holding money back. You turn it on, you set the cap, and it releases on its own afterward.
• Your money stays yours. No companion app becomes the holder of merchant funds by connecting to VendorIQ.

Per-Vendor Return Rates (ReturnsIQ)

Direction: into VendorIQ (a signal VendorIQ reads). Live, toggleable connection.

What you get: advisory return-risk context on a vendor's detail page, based on the settled return signal from ReturnsIQ. The connection does not change the vendor roster's score or ranking.

Here's what the signal powers when the connection is on:

• Advisory vendor return risk. A vendor's detail page can show the settled return-risk signal — units only, no shopper personal data — when enough history is available. Use it when reviewing that seller; it does not rewrite the roster's AI score or sort order.
• An optional payout reserve on high-return vendors. Separately, and only if you switch it on, VendorIQ can hold a small reserve on a pending payout for a vendor whose returns run high — so you're not paying out in full on sales that are statistically likely to come back, then chasing the money later. This reserve is default-off, opt-in, advisory, and capped (VendorIQ won't hold back more than a hard ceiling), and it releases automatically once the return window for that period has passed. When it applies, it shows as a clear adjustment line on the payout statement, so both you and the vendor see exactly what was held and why.

Why it matters: the return-risk view gives staff more context when reviewing a seller. If enabled separately, the capped reserve can also hold part of an eligible pending payout until the configured release window passes.

How to turn it on: install ReturnsIQ and switch the connection on from VendorIQ's Connections screen. The advisory return-risk view then becomes available on eligible vendor details. The payout reserve stays off until you separately opt in and set your cap and release window in Payouts settings.

Marketplace and Inventory Planning (StockIQ)

Current relationship: companion app, with no VendorIQ order-to-inventory feed.

VendorIQ helps you run sellers and fulfill customer orders. StockIQ plans inventory from its own supported store inputs. A vendor shipment for a customer's marketplace order is headed to that customer; counting it as stock arriving at your store would give you a misleading restock picture. Those orders are therefore not used as incoming inventory by StockIQ.

The StockIQ card in VendorIQ Connections helps you find and install the companion app. It is not a switch for an inventory feed. A future connection would need evidence of a genuine supplier replenishment bound for your inventory before it could change forecasts or reorder suggestions.

Branded Shopper App (App Builder)

Direction: both ways, for stores using VendorIQ and Kernvel Mobile App Builder. Limited availability while App Builder completes its public launch.

What you get: a branded shopper app that can use VendorIQ's current local marketplace facts instead of maintaining a second catalog and delivery rulebook. Depending on the store's setup, shoppers can find nearby vendors, check whether their address is served, browse a published food menu, choose a delivery or pickup window, and follow their own order after checkout. A menu price or order promise is checked against current VendorIQ data before it is used; the app does not treat a displayed suggestion as authority to charge a different price.

How identity works: browsing a vendor or checking a service area does not require a shopper's order history. App Builder's Orders view reads the signed-in customer's orders from Shopify Customer Account. VendorIQ-connected tracking or reorder details require a verified same-store customer and a purchase link VendorIQ can prove for that specific order; a matching email alone does not grant access. VendorIQ's separate native shopper app offers a merchant-reviewed missing-order request. When Shopify no longer returns an older order, an approved review can expose only VendorIQ's recorded seller allocation: purchase date and item names and quantities, with no current payment, fulfillment or after-sales actions. That limited historical view is not App Builder's Orders view. The connection does not send a bulk buyer list.

Where to start: open Hyperlocal in VendorIQ. It explains the storefront path, the branded-app path, and whether App Builder is already installed for your store. App Builder is a separate app and its public listing is not yet available to every merchant. Contact us from the Hyperlocal page to discuss your store's launch path.

DeliveryIQ is also a separate Shopify app for standalone delivery operations. VendorIQ's local marketplace delivery does not require you to install DeliveryIQ, and installing DeliveryIQ does not automatically merge the two apps' order records.

The Direction, at a Glance

ReturnsIQ is an active signal on Connections; StockIQ is a companion-app card. App Builder uses the Hyperlocal hand-off and its own store configuration.

The Connections Screen

Open Connections in the VendorIQ admin to manage the ReturnsIQ seller signal and find StockIQ as a companion app. App Builder's shopper-specific connection is described separately above.

• Per-vendor return rates · ReturnsIQ — the connection VendorIQ reads in. When ReturnsIQ is installed, this card carries a live on/off toggle for the advisory vendor-detail signal. A separate payout-reserve setting controls whether eligible pending payouts use it. When ReturnsIQ isn't installed yet, the card links you to add it.
• Inventory planning · StockIQ — a companion-app suggestion and install link. VendorIQ customer-order shipments do not feed StockIQ incoming stock or forecasts.

Each card shows its own live state, checked per shop:

• Connected — the sister app is installed and the signal is flowing.
• Paused — installed, but you've toggled the connection off (ReturnsIQ only).
• Available — the sister app is installed and ready; the connection can be turned on.
• Not installed — install the sister app to unlock the connection; the card links you to it.

The screen probes each app's availability and fails soft — if a check is slow it shows "checking" rather than a wrong answer. The StockIQ card's installed state does not prove an inventory feed is active. No API keys need to be pasted for the ReturnsIQ connection.

FAQ

Do I need other Kernvel apps to use VendorIQ?

No. VendorIQ is a complete marketplace on its own — vendors onboard, orders split, commissions apply, and payouts go out without any sister app. ReturnsIQ can add advisory return-risk context and an optional payout reserve. StockIQ handles inventory planning separately.

What data is actually shared between the apps?

ReturnsIQ supplies a seller-level settled return signal. StockIQ does not receive VendorIQ customer-order shipments as incoming stock. A store using App Builder can also exchange local-shopping information and a verified shopper's own order or tracking details. Each connection has a different data scope; see Your Privacy & Control.

Does VendorIQ handle anything about individual shoppers?

Yes. VendorIQ needs customer and delivery details to handle marketplace orders. For a store using App Builder, a shopper who has verified their Shopify customer account can see their own order and delivery details in the branded app. The ReturnsIQ signal does not send a shopper list, and the StockIQ companion card does not send a marketplace order feed.

Which apps connect to VendorIQ today?

ReturnsIQ and StockIQ are on VendorIQ's Connections screen. App Builder is a separate, limited-availability shopper-app integration through Hyperlocal. DeliveryIQ is a separate delivery app; it is not required for VendorIQ local delivery.

Does the return-rate connection move money on its own?

No. On its own it shows advisory return-risk context on eligible vendor details; it does not change roster scoring or ranking. A payout reserve is a separate, optional feature that stays off until you turn it on — and even then it is capped, holding back only a small, hard-limited slice of a high-return vendor's pending payout, which releases automatically after your chosen window. The money still moves from your own account to your vendors when you send the payout.

Can I turn a connection off?

Yes — the ReturnsIQ return-rate connection has a per-shop on/off toggle right on the Connections screen. Turn it off and VendorIQ stops using return rates (and stops any reserve) immediately. The StockIQ card is a companion-app suggestion with an install link, not a data switch.

What happens if a sister app is down or uninstalled?

VendorIQ degrades gracefully. Without ReturnsIQ, it scores vendors on the signals it already has and generates payouts with no reserve, rather than failing. StockIQ's separate availability does not block a payout, a split, or a page.

Is customer data involved in the App Builder connection?

Yes, for a shopper's own order and delivery actions after verified sign-in. Discovery can be used without that order-history access. The app-to-app connection is authenticated and tied to the merchant's store; it is not the merchant public API.

Updated September 2026 · Questions? support@kernvellabs.com

For the full product walkthrough, see the VendorIQ User Guide.