Why automate
In your first shop you carry boxes, run the register and top up shelves by hand. That does not scale: the moment you run two or three businesses, manual restocking eats the whole day. Automation is the system that removes you from the supply loop — a Purchasing Agent keeps the warehouse full, a Logistics Manager pushes stock to your stores overnight, and a Pricing Manager keeps neighborhood prices competitive. The 1.0 release leaned further into this with the Pricing Manager role and quality-of-life hires like the Private Driver.
Step 1 — Purchasing Agent recurring imports
The Purchasing Agent at your HQ holds importer contracts and places the orders that fill your warehouse.
- One Purchasing Agent can manage one importer contract at a time, so sourcing from all seven importers needs seven agents.
- Orders can be one-time or recurring on a 1, 3 or 7 day cycle. A recurring order becomes a stock target: if you target 1,000 soda cans and already hold 600, the agent only buys 400.
- Smart Delivery lets you set a per-product target so the system tops up to that level automatically.
- The order is checked and charged at 2 a.m. If your balance is too low or the pallet racks are full, the whole order is cancelled — so keep cash and shelf space ready.
- A higher-skilled agent negotiates a larger importer discount; if you train the agent after signing, restart the contract to capture it.
See Imports & Deliveries for the full ordering flow and the seven importers.
Step 2 — Logistics Manager daily routing
Once goods sit in the warehouse, the Logistics Manager at HQ turns them into store stock.
- One manager is bound per warehouse. Set a destination, choose the store, and set a minimum stock level per product (for example 500 pizzas, top up when it drops to 100).
- Deliveries leave around 2 a.m. each day, so shelves are full before the morning rush. The store needs enough storage shelves to receive them.
- A manager's skill level sets how many delivery points one route can serve, and the vehicle type sets the cap. A high-skill manager in a Freight Truck T1 reaches the most stops; the Freight Truck needs a well-trained driver (see the vehicle table in Vehicles), while smaller vans need far less skill.
- Drivers must be assigned to a delivery vehicle in the warehouse's BizMan.
The destination math is covered in detail in Imports & Deliveries.
Step 3 — Pricing Manager (1.0)
The 1.0 update adds a Pricing Manager at headquarters who can set retail prices per product and update an entire district's prices at once. Instead of opening every store's pricing screen, you manage neighborhood pricing from the HQ — useful when rivals move into your area or when you want uniform margins across a chain. Hire through City Workforce Inc. and train to 100% before relying on the role.
Private Driver (1.0)
Once you reach the Hamptons, you can hire a Private Driver from Onyx Luxury Chauffeurs. Summon the driver whenever you need a ride and they take your own vehicle, so you stop losing time to taxis and parking. It is a quality-of-life automation for travel, not supply, but it frees your day the same way the HQ team frees your stores.
Daily auto-investing (1.0)
Investments gained daily auto-investing in 1.0: you can set a recurring amount and make partial withdrawals when needed, turning spare cash into passive growth without manual trades each session. Pair it with the banking changes (loans, taxes) covered in 1.0 Update.
Automation checklist
- Warehouse with pallet shelves, a delivery vehicle, and assigned drivers.
- At least one Purchasing Agent (more if you want several importers) and one Logistics Manager per warehouse.
- Recurring orders plus Smart Delivery targets so the warehouse self-fills.
- Minimum stock levels set per store so the Logistics Manager tops up overnight.
- A Pricing Manager once you run a chain across neighborhoods.
- Keep enough cash at 2 a.m. and enough shelf space, or orders and deliveries silently fail.
Done right, importing plus automated logistics is what lets a single player run a city-spanning retail empire — the boring manual work disappears and you focus on the next store.