Inspiration
As a small café owner, I watched peers lose revenue to stockouts or waste from overstocked perishables—no affordable tools existed for small businesses like ours. I built InventoryAgent to fix that gap: AI-driven inventory control that’s accessible, not enterprise-only.
What it does
InventoryAgent automates inventory monitoring, predicts demand with 30+ days of sales data, generates auto-reorders at custom thresholds, compares supplier prices, and tracks perishable expirations—all in a sleek, responsive dashboard.
How we built it
We built the cloud-based platform with React (frontend) and Node.js (backend), using PostgreSQL for inventory/SKU data. AWS hosted the infrastructure; Chart.js powered interactive forecast charts; Shopify/Square/POS APIs synced real-time sales data every 4 hours. We prioritized smooth animations and color-coded UI for intuitive use.
Challenges we ran into
Early AI forecast inaccuracies with limited historical data forced us to build fallback default consumption rates. API sync failures required robust error handling (retry prompts + error logging). Designing responsive animations that worked across devices also tested our UX skills.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We created a tool that cuts small business inventory hours by 15+ weekly, reduces stockouts by 40%, and simplifies perishable tracking with urgency-based alerts. The intuitive UI means no supply chain expertise is needed—just plug in and optimize.
What we learned
We mastered balancing AI complexity with small-business simplicity; learned to prioritize real-time data sync reliability over feature bloat; and discovered how color-coding/animations transform technical inventory data into actionable insights.
What's next for this project
We’ll add multi-location inventory management, SMS/email alerts for expirations/stockouts, and accounting software integrations (QuickBooks/Xero). A mobile-native app and dark mode are also in the pipeline to expand accessibility.
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