Industra

Inspiration

We wanted to simplify industrial shopping by providing a fast, user-friendly web app with instant chatbot support, removing barriers like account creation and complex navigation.

What it does

Industra is a minimal industrial shopping web app designed to make purchasing simple and efficient.

Users can browse products, add items to their cart, and place orders seamlessly.
A built-in chatbot assistant answers questions, recommend products that best match users' requirements and explain why they stand out compared to other options based on product information, helping them make informed decisions.
It also suggests relevant industrial products based on users’ browsing behavior and frequently viewed items, helping improve product discovery and decision-making.

How we built it

We began by spending the first two hours brainstorming and refining the project idea. Once the concept was finalized, we focused on collecting and organizing product data to populate the database.
For the backend, we used Node.js with Express to handle APIs and data flow. The frontend was built with React, providing a simple and responsive user interface. A chatbot assistant was integrated using Microsoft Copilot using our own database to help users navigate the app and answer product-related questions.
To prioritize speed and clarity for the MVP, the application was intentionally kept minimal, with clean and maintainable code. Authentication was omitted to reduce complexity and allow faster iteration and deployment.

Challenges we ran into

Integrating the chatbot seamlessly, managing product data efficiently, and keeping the user interface simple while supporting essential shopping features were key challenges. The most difficult aspect was fine-tuning the chatbot to ensure accurate responses and avoid misleading or incorrect information.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We successfully built an AI-powered recommendation system that suggests relevant industrial products based on users’ browsing behavior. The system helps users make more informed purchasing decisions while keeping the application lightweight and easy to use. We are proud of delivering a functional, end-to-end experience within a limited hackathon timeframe, balancing AI features with a clean and minimal design.

What we learned

This hackathon challenged us to move quickly from idea to implementation. We learned how to collaborate effectively under time pressure, make fast technical decisions, and focus on delivering core features rather than overengineering. Building Industra helped us better understand full-stack development, system integration, and the importance of keeping an MVP simple yet functional. Most importantly, we gained experience balancing ambitious ideas with realistic execution within a limited timeframe.

What's next for Industra

Next, we plan to introduce image-based product search, further improve the intelligence of the chatbot, and expand the product catalog to provide a richer and more intuitive shopping experience.