The Problem #
A bridge and road construction company was managing materials and equipment across multiple sites manually:
- Stock discrepancy of 10-20% between physical inventory and system records
- No real-time tracking for materials and equipment spread across many project locations
- Manual record-keeping was error-prone and caused information delays
The Solution #
Built an inventory management API focused on real-time multi-site tracking.
Key Features #
- Multi-site stock tracking: real-time recording of materials and equipment per project location
- Barcode scanning: fast and accurate input for receiving, transfer, and stock opname
- REST API: endpoints for integration with other systems and mobile access
- Reporting: stock reports per location, mutations, and discrepancy alerts
Results #
- Stock discrepancy dropped from 10-20% to under 2%: nearly eliminating the gap between physical and system records
- Real-time visibility: management can view stock positions across all project locations at any time
- Faster processes: barcode scanning replaced slow and error-prone manual record-keeping
Lessons Learned #
- Simple solution > complex architecture: barcode scanning is an incredibly simple solution but its impact on data accuracy is massive
- Understand the physical workflow: understanding how materials actually move on the ground (receiving, inter-site transfers, consumption) is more important than choosing cutting-edge technology
- Part-time commitment can be impactful: working ~36 hours/week in a small team, but focusing on the highest-impact features produced measurable outcomes