The situation
A manufacturer tracking raw material, work-in-progress, and dispatch on paper registers and one monolithic Excel sheet. Reconciliation happened at the end of the month, by hand. Ownership saw the numbers a week later, if at all.
The specific problem
- Floor staff wrote material movements in a bound register. The register sometimes walked.
- A single Excel file tried to be inventory, WIP tracker, dispatch log, and production report all at once. It broke every third month.
- Ownership could not see WIP without calling the supervisor.
- Nothing that happened on the shop floor was visible at the owner's desk until someone typed it.
What we built
An inventory and production tracking system with a barcode workflow for floor staff. Role-based access — shop-floor operators have a minimal scan-and-submit interface, supervisors see WIP and throughput, ownership sees a reporting layer with real numbers. One source of truth. No more monthly reconciliation spreadsheet.
Shape of the build
- Barcode scan for raw material receipt, WIP transitions, and dispatch.
- Role-based access (floor operator, supervisor, ownership).
- Reporting layer ownership actually uses — WIP, throughput, aged inventory.
- Audit trail on every stock movement.
- Offline-tolerant on the shop floor (queued sync when the Wi-Fi drops).
Where it is now
Live. The bound register is retired. Ownership sees WIP in real time from their desk. The monthly reconciliation spreadsheet is gone.
Why this shape fits the pilot
Three working modules in 30 days — raw material receipt, WIP tracking, dispatch. Reporting layer and supervisor views were follow-on sprints after the pilot landed.