INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Arina Ramlee arina@cs.washington.edu

David Henry davidvh@cs.washington.edu
Bruce Chhay chhayb@cs.washington.edu
April 4, !!"
C#$ 4!%
Assignment & ' (C)
Abstract
*his paper describes the Inventory Management System su++iciently to determine
the +easibility and usability o+ a +inished system. *he core concept is to trac, the sale o+
items +rom the cash registers with additional +eatures +or interpreting the data. -t uses a
client.server model with a connected database to allow multiple stores and warehouses to
be connected. *his allows +or later e/pansion while still supporting the targeted small
businesses. *he core +eatures and +inal +ramewor, should be completed within wee,s,
leaving 0 wee,s to implement additional +eatures and testing.
&. )perational Concepts
*he Inventory Management System is a real.time inventory database capable o+
connecting multiple stores. *his can be used to trac, the inventory o+ a single store, or to
manage the distribution o+ stoc, between several branches o+ a larger +ranchise.
However, the system merely records sales and restoc,ing data and provides noti+ication
o+ low stoc, at any location through email at a speci+ied interval. *he goal is to reduce
the strain o+ trac,ing rather than to handle all store maintenance. 1urther +eatures may
include the ability to generate reports o+ sales, but again the interpretation is le+t to the
management. -n addition, since the+t does occasionally occur, the system provides
solutions +or con+irming the store inventory and +or correcting stoc, 2uantities.
. #ystem Re2uirements
*he Inventory Management System uses a web.based inter+ace to display
inventory data to the stoc, manager client. *he product will use o+ open.source so+tware
primarily due to cost o+ implementation. A 3#4 53ava#erver 4ages6 servlet will be hosted
by an Apache *omcat web server 5on top o+ any choice o+ operating system, although a
+lavor o+ 7ni/ is recommend6. *he +irst +eature o+ the #toc, 8anager Client web
inter+ace component allows the #toc, 8anager Client to view the current stoc, o+
products, along with the capabilities o+ searching and sorting the products. *he second
+eature o+ the #toc, 8anager Client web inter+ace will allow the user to modi+y
application settings, such as the threshold +or email noti+ications, +re2uency o+ inventory
scans 5daily at a particular hour, wee,ly, monthly, etc.6, and security settings. *he third
+eature o+ the #toc, 8anager Client web inter+ace will allow the user to update the
&
inventory during the restoc,ing process. See Figure 1. #ince a web inter+ace will be
used, a networ, that supports the H**49H**4# protocol must e/ist, whether it is a
private networ, +or an isolated customer deployment or an -nternet connection +or a
multi.site customer deployment. *he bandwidth o+ the networ, depends on the
+re2uency o+ transactions. A bandwidth o+ at least &! 8bps is recommended 5small
commercial deployment6. *he database to store the inventory data will use a 8y#:(
database.
#ince the so+tware and hardware resources o+ cash registers are not available due
to the variation in so+tware and cost, we will be developing an emulated Cash Register
client to inter+ace with actual cash registers. *he Cash Register client will emulate
purchases by having a simple graphical inter+ace with +ields +or a barcode number and
2uantity and a button to ma,e a purchase. See Figure 2. As these resources become
available, the actual implementation +or speci+ic cash register models will be considered
+or +uture releases o+ the Inventory Management System. 3ava4)# will be used as a
re+erence +or emulating cash registers, and could potentially be used to create the actual
implementation o+ the +uture release.
Alternatively, commercially licensed products are available. -n particular, the
8icroso+t A#4.;$* 5Active #erver 4ages6 +ramewor, can be used. *his re2uires a
8icroso+t A#4.;$* web server and a 8icroso+t #:( #erver database, which also
re2uires a 8icroso+t operating system. However, these alternative system re2uirements
will increase the overall costs +or both implementation and deployment.
1igure &. *he three +eatures o+ the #toc, 8anager Client web inter+ace.

Cash Register Client

74C :uantity
4urchase
#toc, 8anager Client< #ettings
$mail Address
1re2uency *hreshold
#ecurity
#toc, 8anager Client< 7pdate
Restoc, #ynchroni=e
#toc, 8anager Client< Current #toc,
4roduct #toc,
#ort By
1igure . *he emulated Cash Register Client inter+ace.
%. #ystem and #o+tware Architecture
*he programming language +or the Inventory Management System application
will be in 3ava since the 3#49*omcat architecture will be used. Both types o+ clients will
communicate with the server using 3ava Remote 8ethod -nvocation 5R8-6 with #ecure
#oc,et (ayer 5##(6. *hus, security will be upheld by H**4# in both a private networ,
and a networ, connected to the -nternet. *he application will use a client.server model.
See Figure 3.
1urthermore, the 3ava Database Connectivity 53DBC6 will use the 8y#:(
Connector93 driver +or the server to communicate to the inventory database. 7pon
receiving re2uests +rom the clients, the server will issue transactions to the 8y#:(
database with AC-D properties. *he Cash Register clients will maintain local log +iles in
the event o+ communication downtime between Cash Register clients and the server.
7pon re.establishing communication, the Cash Register clients will re.synchroni=e with
the server by issuing the re2uests that occurred during downtime.
Alternatively, i+ the 8icroso+t A#4.;$* +ramewor, is used, then the
programming language +or the application will be 8icroso+t C> with a 8icroso+t #:(
#erver database. *he 8icroso+t .;$* +ramewor, includes built.ins +or easy database
inter+acing and .;$* 1ramewor, Remoting 5analogous to s,eleton and stub6, which has
the ability to also use H**4#.
%
Database
(MySQL)
Cash Register Client
1igure %. Client.server architecture model o+ the Inventory Management System
application.
4. (i+ecycle 4lan
4.& )b?ectives
*he main goal o+ Inventory Management System is to ensure consistent
availability o+ supplies +or consumers. *hus, Inventory Management System is directed
toward owners o+ small to large stores and stoc, managers who are responsible o+
maintaining su++icient goods on hand in a retail or manu+acturing business. -t can scale
+rom a single computer running both client and server so+tware up to multiple stores and
warehouses.
4. #chedules
*he time estimated to complete the Inventory Management System pro?ect is
+airly short. *here will be three ma?or @in.@in #piral 8odel cycles through our
prototyping stage, beta release, and +inal release. @e will need two wee,s o+ designing
the architecture and implementing core +eatures and +ive wee,s o+ adding +unctionality
and testing. *he pro?ect can be completed by ".A people in at most B wee,s.
0. 1easibility Rationale
0.& Assumptions
*he above design should wor,s +or the Inventory Management System
application. However, we are emulating a cash registers inter+ace to wor, with our
so+tware by simulating barcode inputs. A more realistic design o+ cash register inter+ace
can be done to suit the integration, as the inter+ace does not inter+ere with the data
4
Web
Server
(Tomcat)
Cash Register Client
Cash Register Client
Stock Manager Client
JDBC ConnectorJ
RM! "TT#S
RM! "TT#S
RM! "TT#S
RM! "TT#S
collected. @e e/pect that the cash registers clients are able to update their data to the
current point o+ sale in case o+ loss o+ connection to the server. *he particular restoc,ing
procedure adopted by each store does inter+ere with the +easibility and accuracy o+ the
application as it does not remind the stoc, manager to update the data each time they had
done any restoc,ing. @e also trust that that the #ecure #oc,et (ayer 5##(6 is reliable in
creating a secure connection between a client and a server.
0. Ris,s
)ne o+ the ma?or ris,s covered by this application is the+t brea,s synchroni=ation
between the inventory and the database. *he in+ormation could be generated by the data
stored in this application. *he con+idence level o+ trusting data generated depends on the
accuracy o+ the restoc,ing procedure. *here+ore, we are +acing a ris, o+ rec,less stoc,
manager who could detriment the accuracy o+ the data. As o+ the reliability o+ the ##(
encryption, a resolution +or this could be by developing ##( and digital certi+icate policy
and con+iguration guidelines. -n addition, giving a choice to the user to set the minimum
level o+ ##( used by not violating the policy should convince them the trustworthiness o+
the application.
Another ris, is the competition +rom other 4oint o+ #ervice so+tware. *here are
several large competitors in this +ield including a solution +rom 8icroso+tC however, all o+
these tend to be e/pensive. Inventory Management System will be a low cost solution
mainly targeted at smaller businesses while including the possibility o+ later e/pansion.
0