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Inventory Management System Using IOT

Chapter · January 2017

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-10-2471-9_20

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Inventory Management System Using IOT

S. Jayanth, M.B. Poorvi and M.P. Sunil

Abstract In this paper, we are presenting an efficient system for managing the
inventory for various applications dealing with solid or liquid assets. By imple-
menting the inventory management based on IOT, we eliminate the unnecessary
man power and make it automated between the measurement and order placement
stages, thereby improving the efficiency of inventory management. The idea utilizes
the ultrasonic transducer and a processing device with capability to connect to the
Internet, such as a Raspberry Pi, to measure the inventory and send a mail to the
supplier and/or to the company personnel for order placement, as well as display the
present stock availability on a Web page hosted by our system.

Keywords IOT ⋅ Raspberry pi ⋅ Ultrasonic transducer

1 Introduction

Inventory management refers to the calculation of the available stocks. Inventory

management is implemented in the various stages of the production line. It is a
necessary tool for the ever-growing industries, whose demands for products are
growing and delays cause a major problem [1–4]. This system is not only limited to
industries, but are extended to medical and other fields. The presented design is
cost-effective and can be implemented to address simpler or complex issues. The
complex issues involve the stock management of wheat, barley, and other cereal
manufacturing plants which require high efficiency. Our design can also be used for

S. Jayanth (✉) ⋅ M.B. Poorvi ⋅ M.P. Sunil

Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering,
School of Engineering and Technology, Jain University, Bangalore, India
e-mail: Jayanthsuresh09@gmail.com
M.B. Poorvi
e-mail: poorvimb83@gmail.com
M.P. Sunil
e-mail: mp.sunil@jainuniversity.ac.in

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2017 201

S.C. Satapathy et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the First International Conference
on Computational Intelligence and Informatics, Advances in Intelligent Systems
and Computing 507, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-2471-9_20
202 S. Jayanth et al.

stock management of liquids as well, such as in detergents, soft drinks, and more. In
medical applications, they are used in efficient storage and stock updating of drugs.
The technology used for this efficient stock management is based on Internet of
Things. IOT is basically a physical network of components with embedded soft-
ware, electronic concepts, and components. It allows various components to be
sensed and remotely maintained by a network infrastructure. It also facilitates
integration amidst the physical space and computer-like systems.

2 Literature Review

A typical inventory management system available in the market is built around

software, which monitors the stocks. The inventory details are updated by the
workers of the industry by various methods. One such method includes barcode
scanners. Such type of Inventory management system is suitable for industries
dealing with packaged cartons. However, when it comes for liquid stocks, it is
impossible to keep a track of its inventory using barcodes. Another method is using
RFID integrated along with ZIGBEE [5, 6]. The RFID readers themselves have a
limited detection range. If multiple consignments are on the same palette, it is
difficult for the RFID reader to read the signal precisely. The cost increases if there
is a lot of stock and they need to be labelled using the RFID, and multiple node
reflects to multiple RFID readers and cost [6]. The disadvantage of RFID is that it
can to used only to monitor packed goods and can be implemented only at the

Fig. 1 Functional block diagram of the proposed design

Inventory Management System Using IOT 203

packaging stage. By establishing a shared inventory for vivid departments of the

enterprise, it allowed them to timely and efficiently maintain and control their
inventory [7, 8]. While measuring inventory, there are several measuring sensors
that are available in the market, such as a load cell.

3 Functional Block Diagram of the Proposed Design

In our design, we strive to improve the performance, yet maintain the simplicity of
the system. Here, we use the power of IOT to simplify and make it efficient by
eliminating any unnecessary human interference and automating the entire network
responsible for inventory management. The dividing line between the pre-existing
design and the proposed design is the use of dedicated hardware for Inventory
management. The other ingenious idea incorporated in our design that sets it apart
is the effective utilization of the ultrasound transducer to measure the inventory.
Since our design has a dedicated hardware, it can run on batteries. This is effective
when the system is installed in industries that do not depend mainly on electric
power for its operation. In the presented design, an ultrasonic transducer is
implemented to measure the stocks available. The design is generalized as shown in
Fig. 1. There is no need for modification for change in inventory type. The same
transducer can be used to manage both solid and liquid stocks with no changes.
This is achieved using the ultrasonic transducer. The transducer is used to measure
the time taken for a pulse to travel from the top of the container to the surface of the
filled container and return back. This time is used to determine the distance from the
top of the container to the surface of the inventory. By assuming two values, i.e.,
max and threshold, where max is the distance for full inventory and the threshold is
the distance for acceptable minimum inventory. It is clear that max < threshold,
since the distance increases with decrease in stocks. The threshold value to be so
chosen that the industry should be capable of functioning till the new goods arrive.
The stock measurement occurs as shown in Fig. 2. The heart of the system is a
Raspberry Pi, which is used for two purposes. First, it is interfaced to the ultrasonic
sensor to determine the time (Fig. 3).
Speed = Distance/Time.
where speed refers to the speed of sound in air
Speed = 330 m/s
Hence, the above equation becomes
34000 = Distance/(Time/2)
17000 = Distance/Time
Distance = Time * 17000
204 S. Jayanth et al.

Fig. 2 Ultrasonic distance

measurement

Second, the system is connected to the Internet through an LAN cable or using a
suitable wireless Wi-Fi module. Figure 1 shows the system connected to the net-
work via Wi-Fi. The presented design lets that the system sends an e-mail to the
supplier as well the company’s inventory manager. The inventory management
based on IOT eliminates any human interaction with the system, thereby
automating it with high efficiency.
As we can see, when the stocks reach the threshold value determined in the first
stage, the system sends a mail directly to the supplier with the required amount of
stocks as shown in Fig. 4. It also alerts the inventory manager by sending him a
mail about the new order.
Using the multitasking ability of the Raspberry Pi, we run two programs nec-
essary for our design. First, the code required for measuring the distance and
sending the mail is executed. Second, a Web server is installed and made to run in
the background to host a Web page. The Web page contains information, regarding
the inventory and whether new stocks are added. This is achieved by installing
Apache Web server on the Raspberry Pi. The apache Web server runs on boot,
thereby one can access the Web page by entering the local IP address of the
raspberry Pi in their browser. The IP address of the Raspberry PI can be made static,
so as to fix the Web page address, else every time, the Raspberry Pi boots the IP
address changes.
The distance is calculated every 10 min and compared with the threshold value
to decide whether to generate a mail or not. After the mail is sent, the system waits
until the inventory crosses the threshold value. This is necessary, because the
system would continuously send a mail every 10 min if not.
Inventory Management System Using IOT 205

Fig. 3 Flow chart of the proposed design

4 Hardware Implementation and Its Components

4.1 Raspberry Pi

The heart of the system is based on the infamous Raspberry Pi. There are various
models of Raspberry Pi available in today’s market. This design was implemented
on the Raspberry Pi Model B. The Raspberry Pi Model B boosts a 1 GHz processor
with a 512MB RAM. It also has two on board USB ports, an Ethernet port and a 26
206 S. Jayanth et al.

pin expansion header with GPIO, I2C, etc. The raspberry Pi GPIO works on 3.3 V
logic, and it is necessary to use a level shifter when interfacing it with a 5 V Sensor.
The Raspberry Pi loads its required operating system from the SD card. There
are various OS available, but we are particularly interested in the debian Raspbian
Wheezy. The Raspberry Pi can be accessed through a monitor, mouse, and a
keyboard or use it headless via SSH. The availability of the Ethernet port and the
USB port helps the Raspberry Pi connect to the Internet. When the Raspberry Pi is
connected to the Internet, using mail transfer protocols, we can send mails auto-
matically through our program Python.

4.2 Ultrasonic Transducer

The ultrasonic transducer used is HC-SR04 which operates on 5 V, which consists

of a transmitter and a receiver. The sensor has three input pins and one output. The
output is the echo, which is connected to the Raspberry Pi using a suitable logic
shifter. Out of the three remaining inputs, two are 5 V and GND. The other input is
the trigger, which can be connected to the Raspberry Pi without a level shifter.
When a trigger pulse of suitable width approximately 10us is applied to the trigger
pin of the transducer, the voltage at output pin drops to zero. The transducer
transmits 8 40 kHz pulses of ultrasonic pulses which travel through the air until it
meets an object that these pulses are reflected back by the object. Once the wave is
reflected and received by the transducer, the output is set to high. The duration of
the output was low, which is the time taken for the sound wave to hit the object and
return which we consider as delay. The range of measurement of ultrasonic sensor
is 2–400 cm with up to 3 mm accuracy.

4.3 Wi-Fi Dongle

The Wi-Fi module with Realtek 8188EU chipset was implemented. The necessary
drivers should be added to the Raspberry Pi. The Wi-Fi router can be any 2.4 GHz
router. In our design, we have used the Wi-Fi dongle instead of the LAN con-
nection, because of the mobility criteria. Hence, we used Leoxsys Wi-Fi dongle to
enable wireless connectivity [9].

5 Software Implementation and Its Tools

The Raspberry Pi requires an operating system (OS) to boot. The Raspbian Wheezy
was our choice in the presented system, because of its simplicity. In order for the
Raspberry Pi to run on this powerful OS, we require a suitable capacity micro SD
Inventory Management System Using IOT 207

Fig. 4 A typical mail received by the supplier from the system

Fig. 5 Prototype of the presented design

card with an adapter. To install the OS, we require software capable of creating a
bootable disk from an OS image. This is achieved using the win32disk imager
software which runs on a windows PC. Once the memory card is prepared, it is
inserted to the Raspberry Pi and is booted.
Once the Raspberry Pi boots, it is necessary to tweak certain functions. One such
function is to expand filesystem, which is necessary to completely utilize the
memory of the SD card. All the packages should be updated and upgraded using the
terminal. This can be achieved by connecting a monitor, keyboard, and a mouse, as
shown in Fig. 5 or install an SSH application, such as on a PC running windows,
and do necessary changes to the raspberry pi, as shown in Fig. 6.
208 S. Jayanth et al.

Fig. 6 Win32disk imager software window

Fig. 7 Web page hosted by the system

Raspbian Wheezy comes along with Python. The program for the presented
system is written using python and is added to execute at the boot time. Hence,
when the system boots, the application automatically runs. To send an e-mail to the
supplier and the inventory manager, it is necessary to install mail transfer protocol.
We have used SMPT in our design due to its ease of configuration. The SMPT and
GPIO functions can be accessed and controlled using python libraries.

6 Results and Discussions

With the above-described hardware and software implementation, the system was
realized and tested. The graphical user interface can be enhanced if necessary to
visually display the estimated amount. The presented design is meant to be com-
pact, cost-effective, and simple to implement. Hence, a lot of effort was not con-
centrated on the GUI. This system is not limited to a single sensor. Multiple sensors
can be connected to the same Raspberry Pi due to the availability of multiple GPIO
pins and I2C. If storage containers are separated by great distance and multiple
sensors are required, multiple systems can be installed due to their low cost. Our
Inventory Management System Using IOT 209

system detects the amount of inventory every 10 min, which can be varied
according to the rate of inventory consumption. When an e-mail is sent to the
supplier, the mail is delivered within 15 min. This delay is caused due to the refresh
rate of new mails.
The Web page is hosted by the inventory management system is illustrated in
Fig. 7. The Web page displays the inventory percentage for information and also
shows if new stocks are allowed. One can access the inventory through any
computer connected to the same network. The Web page can be developed further
to add more details and display stocks of various storage containers in the same
facility. The Web page can be made available on the Internet by acquiring a static
IP from the ISP, which can help people monitor the stocks from remote location.

7 Conclusion

It is evident that this system is cost-effective. The Raspberry Pi is a 35$ computer,

which is the fractional cost of the pre-existing software to track the inventory. Using
ultrasonic sensors to measure the stocks, we have simplified the system which can
be used for both solid and liquid stocks. Since the ultrasonic sensor needs to be
placed on the top of the container, it is simpler and easier to mount. As we can
clearly see, the system directly sends a mail to the supplier, thereby reducing human
errors. Since the threshold value is so chosen that the stocks is sufficient for
operation till the new stocks arrive, the system is self-sustained and there is no delay
caused due to insufficient inventory. Because of the low cost, easy implementation,
and efficient design, it can be implemented in hospitals, small-scale industries, and
large-scale industries, where the limitations are our imagination.

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