Inventory or order management

1. Problem Statement
This project will involve creating Software for the purpose of Inventory Management of a
Supermarket, selling Day-to-Day goods such as: Grocery, Food Items, Household goods,
Merchandise, Kitchen Essentials etc.

2. Features of System
Features of the Fully Operational System
The Software has to be designed such that , the Inventory Manager/Staff is able to keep
track of not only the Inventory Items , but also of the defected Items , rejected goods ,
Logistics as well as scheduling a time-to-time Inventory refilling process. Furthermore, an
Inventory management Software can keep track of available space for upcoming stock of
goods. Systems should be designed to allow possible future expansion. For an example,
more product lines in case, release of a Version 1.0 with added software requirements,
are needed.
Entry of new goods:
When new goods are supplied to the Inventory, they need to be allotted a physical space
in the Inventory .This needs to be recorded systematically. The software will provide a Data
Entry section with modules that take up essential information related to the products that
just got stocked into the Inventory. This will contain a Unique Id for the product and a count
of the quantity and also, more information mapped to the product, all saved in a Database.
Defect and Security check:
Every commodity that is stocked in the Inventory, needs to go through a thorough Security
as well as Defect checking mechanism. This may include checking the quantity and quality

of the products. In case a product is found Defected at the time of Delivery, then it needs
to be registered in a separate module which lines them up for a Return to Service
Provider section.
Refilling of Inventory :
The Inventory needs to be refilled time-to-time so that new goods can be filled up. The
Software will have a module that monitors remaining space for a particular Item. As soon as
the goods move out for sale, a Scheduled Task will get triggered. This will notify the End
User (Inventory manager, in this case) , to monitor and refill Inventory.

Logistics:
The manager needs to maintain a checklist of Logistic partners. For example,
Vegetables such as tomatoes may need to be refilled every alternate day hence
making it a duty for the manager to make sure the Logistic partner makes the delivery
on expected time. If this does not happen, there is loss in Business. This can become a
hectic task when the number of items multiplies. This Module of our Software, though
less functional, can have a record of Logistic partners, and the frequency of their visit
to the Inventory for Supplying goods.

 Scheduled Dispatch:
Goods in the Inventory need to be dispatched to the Outlet for sale. The Manager has to
make sure the required quantity is delivered to the Respective Outlets on time. This will
make space for more Items in the inventory, and therefore ensuring a smooth flow of items
in and out of the Inventory. The software can have a module for Outgoing Item scheduling.
This can change as per customer requirement. For example, Sales are more likely on a
weekend as compared to a weekday.

3. Requirements
Functional requirements
Login
Authenticated user registration, validation and verification of username and password, availability of
changing password, emailing username and password to an authenticated email.
PO Order Note
Unique PO Order Note ID which would be key parameter to be passed inter-department.
Good Acceptance Report
This would require identification of valid goods through inspection department and create a graph that would
demonstrate exact quality: quantity ratio.
Inventory Updating

On the basis on Good Acceptance Report, inventory must be updated to free flow accurate information to the
accounts department for payment
Payment Disbursal
Creating GRN and updating Inventory information to allow payment disbursal against valid items supaplied
by authenticated vendor
Non-functional requirements
1 The software code should be portable between different operating systems such as Linux and Windows.
2 The software should be easy to use and should require minimum manual operation.
3 The software should have a user-familiar interface so that the system would not pose an additional workload to
the users.
4 The software should provide security of operations and data retrieving
5 The software should be able to interface and link all components of system

4. Stakeholders of the System

Sr.

Stakeholder

Type

Description of Work

No
.
1.

Retail Manager Internal

Sending requisition form to

Inventory manager
Acceptance of Material

2.

Inventory
Manager

Internal

Transfer Note
Receiving of requisition form
from Retail Manager
Generation of Purchase Order
Acceptance of Goods Delivery

Note
Issue of Material Transfer Note
to Retail Manager on
delivering goods
Acceptance of Goods
Acceptance/Rejection Report
Generation of Purchase Order
3.

Inspection

Internal

Department

4.

Supplier

Externa
l

1.

for reordering rejected goods

Acceptance of Purchase Order
Verification of goods
Generation of Goods

Acceptance /Rejection reports

Acceptance of Delivery Note
Acceptance of Purchase Order
Generation of Delivery Note
Supply of goods

Business Rule

Entry of new goods

1.
Goods must be updated on a Regular basis and in accord with the requirement by the
Retail outlet. Every Product has a Refilling Time category mapped to it.

2.
Every Goods provider must possess an Entry License. This License Id is updated every
time a new Entry of Goods is done.
3.

Every Item must undergo Quality check .

4.
An Item can be added in the Inventory only after Quality Clearance receipt signed by
respective Quality Assurance Officer is shown.
5.

Items must be stored at the allotted shelves.

a.

Each Shelf has a capacity.

b.

Physical Inventory Space is Divided according to Shelf Type.

Two types of Shelves are there :

Perishable(Dairy Products , Bakery Items , Fruits and Vegetables)
Non Perishable(Pulses , Soaps , Stationary, Packaged Products)
Defect and Security Check
1.
Inventory manager holds privileges to reject an Item falling under any of the
following :

Item is found damaged

Item is less than expected quantity

Item is expired

Items that are not registered under trademark companies.

Items lacking good quality

Items falling out of demanded checklist

Items with tampered tags

2.
Items that clear security check, will be tagged as Passed and every Passed slot will
have a Signed Clearance Document with them.
3.

Items must match the Item Demand list.

4.
Items that do not clear security check , will be tagged separately as Defected and
will have to be returned to the provider
5.
Returned items need to have details mapped to them. This is done in a Return
Document. This Document will have following details :

Name of product

Reason for rejection

Number of items returned

Return date

Name of QA officer

Name of Goods Provider

6.
Refund of Defected Items will be handled by Accounts Department as per the
Defected Item List
Scheduled Dispatch

7.
Dispatching is scheduled on a FIFO basis- Goods that come in First are Dispatched Out
First
Refilling Inventory
8.

Goods are categorised as follows:

A : Maximum Capacity Maximum Capacity of a Product , the Inventory can hold

B: Reorder Capacity Level Once goods count reaches this Level , they are scheduled for
Reorder
C: Minimum Capacity Level Minimum Level Count that must be maintained .
D: Danger Capacity Level Once goods reach this Level , then there is a product
deficiency(Eg When order Delivery is delayed / Orders for those Products is not placed)
9. Each product has a shelf Life. If a Product exceeds Shelf Life then it is returned to the
Supplier with a Product Return report , according to the predecided rates.
10. Unsold Products will be returned to Supplier according to respective Contracts , as per
the Rules of every Supplier.
11. Incase of excess Demand of Products , Inventory must always be maintained above
Reorder level. Eg: If A=20 , B=12 , C= 6 , D = 3
Incase of excess Demand (Emergency Mode), Products must be maintained upto B+2 at all
times to ensure full Inventory.
Logistics

1.
Incase of failure of Delivery by one Transport medium , alternate Transport
arrangement , is the responsibility of the Supplier
2.

Incase of Delayed Deliveries , a maximum of 3 Days extension is granted.

3.
Every Ordered Item must have a Tracking Id , provided by the Logistics manager , at
the time of dispatch(from his end).The items can be tracked with this Tracking Id

2.

Overall System

The system on which we are going to work is a part of this System. This system resolves
the day to day problem of the retail management systems.

Figure 1 Showing overall System

3.

Internal System

Inventory system works as an interconnected system which have many functions like:

Figure 2 Showing Internal Architecture of Inventory system

4. Data Flow Diagrams

LEVEL 0 - CONTEXT LEVEL DIAGRAM

RETAIL
MANAGER

Material Transfer
Note

Purchase Order
List

Delivery
Acknowledgement Note

0.0

Product Return Report

INVENTORY

Delivery Note

MANAGEME
NT
SYSTEM
Purchase

Delivery Note

Acceptance/Rejection

Order

INSPECTION
MANAGER

Report

SUPPLIER

LEVEL 1 - DFD

USER

User Authentication
User Login

1.0

User Authentication
Admin Login

INVENTORY
STAFF

Inventory
Login

User_id,User_name,Passwd,User
_info

User
Details

INVENTORY

Acknowledgement
Report

1.1
Product Return Report

MANAGER
Product List
Pr_Id,Pr_info

ProductMaster
File

LOGISTICS
MANAGER

Delivery Note

Inspectio
n

Defect_id,Defect_info,Pr_id,Supplier_
Id

DefectInfo

Schedule Refill

INVENTORY

Product List

1.3

MANAGER
Pr_id,Pr_qty,Pr_details

REFILL

INVENTORY
Refill Updation
Report

STAFF

Pr_id,Pr_qty,Inventory_onhand,Inv_una
vailable

ProductMasterFil
e
Pr_id,Defect_Id,Defect_category,Pr_price

DefectInfo

InventoryFi
le

5.ERDiagram