Sales and Inventory System: Project Report

Categories: Technology

Introduction

The advent of new technology gave rise to easy and hassle free interaction between and among humans. Information Technology is a great tool for the improvement and advancement of business. Automation is now widely used because of its efficiency and accuracy. It helps to perform task in an easy way with less time consumed. Some companies are becoming fully automated while others strive for the similar setting. This allows a business to be more competitive. In business like merchandising, sales and inventory system plays an important role.

It is used to track all the transactions made by the business and responsible for monitoring the items supplies. All the business transactions must be properly recorded and must be fully secured by password. A computerized system is the best solution and most innovative answer for their needs. Sales and inventory system of stocks that are done manually actually requires a lot of time and effort. And using a computerized system as an implementation of computer technology would make it more advantageous.

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Using this, the employee will have a better performance and attend to the customer’s needs better. The system will provide an easier way of doing the sales and inventory of products. And this is the reason why every business should make sure they have their own computerized system for the security of data, reliability and data recording. In our innovative world, vehicles are really a trend. It has been a necessity and even a collection for some. This is the reason why auto supplies business began sprouting almost everywhere that led the developer’s to decide to implement a computerized sales and inventory system for an auto supply shop.

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Dylan automotive parts supply (DAPS) started on the year 2002. It is solely owned by Mr. Amado Ngo. It is located at No. 098 A Purok 1, Brgy. Tambo, Lipa City, Batangas. The auto supplies shop is actually on its 11th year and is still going strong despite of its rivals.

It was established simply because the owner is very fond of cars and he realized that he wants a business wherein he is knowledgeable of. According to the owner, its mission & vision is to be a leading automotive parts retailer and to give the customers the best value of what they pay. The auto shop offers every parts, may it be an inside or outside a car, the under, the doors, the locks, chassis, and many more. It’s usually a basic retailer and doesn’t do bulk deliveries to other business and just deals with walk in clients. In relation to this, the developers determined the problems that arise regarding the existing sales and inventory of the business so that this won’t be a hindrance for its effectiveness. The proposed sales and inventory system will monitor the sales of the business and keep records for each. The inventory will be automatically updated each time a transaction is made. It can also generate reports that can help the owner in monitoring the progress of the business.

Opportunities of the Study

The developers will provide the needs to aim the satisfaction of the client.

  • DAPS will conduct faster sales transactions and will have a record for each that can help them monitor their sales effectively.
  • DAPS will have an efficient way of updating stocks in the inventory giving them accurate records and it will save time and effort resulting to easy monitoring of stocks and inventory.
  • DAPS will avoid experiencing conflicts and confusions caused by bulks of papers for the records of their business.
  • Dylan will have a more effective service to their customers thus making it competitive with their rivals.

Objectives of the Study

The developers wants to develop a system that will solve the problems that the business faces. This will help them be more effective and competitive in the market industry. The developers aim to meet the specific objectives that follows:

  • To reduce the time consumed with each transactions by searching, finding and updating the stocks and keep records of each transaction for sales monitoring.
  • To design a system that will be useful in updating stocks in the inventory and to generate accurate records for easy monitoring.
  • To provide a system that will hold all the records and generate reports that can avoid confusions
  • To develop a system that will be greatly effective for the company’s sales and inventory with the help of a user friendly system that the employees can easily use and provide quality service.

Significance of the Study

The system that the developers will develop will benefit the concerned business. This is because a system proposed without any advantage is definitely useless. The business will benefit from the system because it will be of great help to the business because it will make their day to day operations easier. It will be an instrument to make it more competitive in the market industry that gives the possibility of increasing its income. For the customers, they will be given more quality service that will give them a good time and it will be more convenient for them. It will lessen the time consumed for them to buy the items they need. The business owner will also benefit from the system because he can manage the business with lesser difficulties because the system provides everything for the user. He will also benefit from the accurate records the system could produce.

With the help of the system, the employees won’t be having a hard time searching, looking and updating the stocks. The system will be of great convenience and more accurate records are expected. Therefore, it will make the employees more productive. For the developers, the development of the system will enhance their capabilities and will make them a critical thinker by thinking of solutions to implement an effective system. And lastly, the future researchers can use this project as a guide if ever they want to develop a system related to this kind of system. This project can be a reference to them. Also, if other problems arises, the developers are looking forward that the future researchers can use the data gathered to solve it.

Scope and Limitation

The system that the developers are going to develop will have two types of account; the administrator and the cashier with different level of accessibility. The system’s database will hold all the items that they offer, suppliers list, returns list and also every transaction made. So once the items to be purchased is added in the cart, it will compute the total amount displaying it and like a cash registrar the amount given will be inputted so that the change will be computed and a receipt will be issued. Validations on the inputted values will be applied.

The system also includes an option if there would be discount for each transaction but with the administrator’s permission. The number of stocks in the inventory will be automatically updated and it will notify if the stocks are running out. This will be based on the owner’s defined number of critical stock level. And also, the system includes returns of products. It can also generate sales report for a certain period of time, item’s list, return’s list, supplier’s list and cashier report for the administrator. Specifically, for the sales report, the system will compute the total sales and total profit for the indicated period of time.

With all the said capabilities, the system still has its limitations. The system does not include wholesales and also deliveries. It also does not include if the customer would credit. Furthermore, the system is only for cash transactions. If also there are wrong inputs of the number of stocks, the system will not be able to detect it. And lastly, the previous sales record is not included in the system.

Definition of Terms

Developer. The one who programs computers or design the system to match the requirement of a system analysis. DAPS. Dylan Automotive Parts Supply.

System. Refers to a program or a software to be developed.

Sales. The act of selling a product or service in return for money. Inventory. The term used pertaining to the list of items and the number of stocks available. Stock. Number of items that are still available

Products. List of items that the business sells.

Report. Informational work made with the specific intention of relaying information or recounting certain events in a widely presentable form. Interface It refers to the display that the user interacts with to use the system. Microsoft Access. Files differ from other document types in that they inherently separate the data, or user information, stored in a document from the presentation of the information. Database. It is an organized collection of information or data in computer readable form. Information Technology. It is the use of system especially computer and telecommunications for strong retrieving and sending info. Administrator. A person legally vested with the right of administrations of a system.

Feasibility Study

Operational Feasibility

The system that will be developed will solve the problems that the business encounters. The necessary solutions are applied so that users will be more at ease in their day to day operations. The demanding tasks that are quite time consuming are minimized and lessen by applying efficient methods with the use of the system. Security measures is also applied in the system.

Technical Feasibility

The system that will be developed require users to have a background in using a computer. Fortunately, the employees of DAPS are familiar with computers and know how to use one. The owner is computer literate. They don’t have a computer in their business and is just planning to provide one for the system that will match the minimum software and hardware requirements that are specified in the appendix C.

Economic Feasibility

The one-time cost for the developer’s fee is 30,000.00 and the maintenance fee is 1,200.00 every month amounting to 14,400.00 per year to maintain its quality. The benefits that will be given by the system is that there will be a reduced amount for the overtime pay for the employees for about 36, 500.00 a year and also the paper usage is reduced saving 5,110.00 annually. This proves that the proposed subject will be a success because the costs will return in just a matter of 1.3 years.

LITERATURE AND TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

Review of Related Literature and some practices related to the study is included in this chapter. It also includes the discussion of the related technology used and the operational framework of the proposed system.

Review of Related Literature

In life, the people always want to find new ways to develop new technologies. The devices and services, in technology are already needed by men to have a better successful business. The fast growing economy which targets businesses to further improve their systems prompts the researchers to conduct studies about the system program. This chapter will have a review of literature and studies that is written by foreign and local authors which are related to the studies. Stephen Bronack Ph.D(2001) once quoted that "Inventory management is primarily about specifying the size and placement of stocked goods.

Inventory management is required at different locations within a facility or within multiple locations of a supply network to protect the regular and planned course of production against the random disturbance of running out of materials or goods". According to him the scope of inventory management also concerns the fine lines between replenishment lead time, carrying costs of inventory, asset management, inventory forecasting, inventory valuation, inventory visibility, future inventory price forecasting, physical inventory, available physical space for inventory, quality management, replenishment, returns and defective goods and demand forecasting. Balancing these competing requirements leads to optimal inventory levels, which is an on-going process as the business needs shift and react to the wider environment.

The company needs an inventory system that will make it easier for them to manage the items in their stock room. This will involve their daily process of buying and selling inventory and they have to count the inventory because they must keep track of their products daily. One example of an inventory system is the QISS. Quality Inventory Support System (QISS) is a Window-based inventory software that is easy to use, easy to implement and highly customizable. It is designed to provide small and medium sized businesses the efficiency of sophisticated inventory systems without the cost or complexity of larger inventory tracking systems. The system can be used both for retail and wholesale transactions. The software is also ideal for businesses with multiple branches and warehouses as it employs Internet standard protocols so data can be accessed anywhere and in real time.

The system is programmed using Visual C# 3.0 and .net framework 3.5. It runs on Windows with IIS, WCF (for online data synchronization) and MS SQL server. Harsh, (n. d.) said that the importance of management information systems is to improve management and has long been understood by business owners. Financial and inventory records have long been used by these business owners as an instrument to measure and evaluate the success of their businesses. However, when computer technology became more widely available in the late 1950s and early 1960s, there was an increased enthusiasm for information systems to enhance management information processes.

Management Information Systems will generate information for monitoring performance and maintaining coordination within the company. This means that the administration of the company (at any level, meaning top management or middle management) monitors the information coming in and going out from the office through the use of a management information system. Zhang (2007) stated the sales management information system work is one key stage in the whole enterprise operation, which importance is more and more obvious in the tide of market economy. “Market surrounded by enterprises” fully shows the sales center position in the enterprise activities. At present, the enterprise sales management level and marketing system directly influence the sales situation of products and the benefits of productive operation. The traditional sales flow and management mode still have time colors of planned economy and many disadvantages that are mainly represented as follows.

Traditional sales flow and management mode have too many stages and low efficiency and are easy to make mistakes, which brings many inconveniences to clients. The business management cannot be standardized, and management function and operation function have blurry borderlines, so it is difficult to balance strengthening management and servicing clients. Business personnel are immersed in the business works and cannot bind up to market development. The capital return and sales operation situation have bad diaphaneity and real-time character, which is not convenient to supervise and control, and is easy to produce leaks and unnecessary capital occupation. The statistical report forms have large quantities and different sources and formats, which often induces mutual conflicts because of different provenances.

The applied level of computer is low, which only limits to bill prints and material management, and the sharing degree of information is very low, and the diaphaneity and real-time character are bad, so the leaders lack reliable references to make decisions. Through this, the company will now have an enhanced management. They don't have to exert much effort in their sales invoices that takes a lot of time. The workers will improve their work and will be more efficient in doing their jobs like avoiding mistakes and accommodating the customers. In 2000, Tanwari said that usage of a database or other software can make the inventory management systems much easier by quickly and efficiently cataloguing all the information, including the quantity on hand, cost of the item, and location within the warehouse. Using a large database where the data are saved the company will have an easy access in monitoring their sales and inventory thus avoiding miscalculations and mistakes.

Ronald Pachura wrote in an article that whether the problems incurred are caused by carrying too little or too much inventory, manufacturers need to become aware that inventory control is not just a materials management or warehouse department issue. According to him, it is nearly impossible to overemphasize the importance of keeping inventory levels under control. The purchasing, receiving, engineering, manufacturing, and accounting departments all contribute to the accuracy of the inventory methods and records. It is little wonder that business experts commonly cite inventory management as a vital element that can spell the difference between success and failure in today's keenly competitive business world. An automated inventory management is a vital component in how will the company become successful or will be a failure, having an inventory control will make it a very accurate in line of purchasing, receiving , manufacturing of the products of records.

Janes (2011) stated that computers are extremely reliable device and very powerful calculators with some great accessories applications like word processing problem for all of business activities, regardless of size, computers have three advantages over other type of office equipment that process information because computer are faster, more accurate more economical.

Using computers we already know has a lot of advantages, it can save a lot of time and can efficiently save all your records with just a click away. having it in a company makes it a lot more easier for the people to manage their time and be more productive. According to Shanker (2013), the main difference between manual and computerized systems is speed. The processed data through accounting software can create reports much faster than manual systems. A calculation through automation minimizes errors and increases efficiency. The inputted data can easily be summarized in just a few clicks. While the manual computing with paper and pencil is much cheaper than a computerized system, which requires a machine and software.

Speed is a key to success for any company which strives to be the best, with automated systems everything can be processed in an instant without the hassle of thinking what might be wrong, can also avoid errors where in the manual system is very likely to happen. Review of Related Technology

C♯ is a multi-paradigm programming language encompassing strong typing, imperative, declarative, functional,procedural, generic, object-oriented (class-based), and component-oriented programming disciplines. It was developed by Microsoft within its .NET initiative and later approved as a standard by Ecma (ECMA-334) and ISO (ISO/IEC 23270:2006). C# is one of the programming languages designed for the Common Language Infrastructure. C♯ is intended to be a simple, modern, general-purpose, object-oriented programming language.[5] Its development team is led by Anders Hejlsberg. The most recent version is C♯ 5.0, which was released on August 15, 2012. C# is a well-designed and type-safe that allows C Sharp developers to build a wide array of secure and robust applications that run on the .NET Framework.

The developers chose C# because it is a more high-level approach than C++. It is usually faster to develop with. It comes with a large framework of predeveloped components, which makes it particularly useful for server-side programming. It is full of features that make development faster and easier, usually at the cost of flexibility and/or runtime performance. C# language is projected to be a simple, modern, general-purpose, object-oriented programming language. It helps to import a namespace and use the classes in a component—no COM plumbing or registry lookups required. It also provides operator overloading which is not available in VB.NET. Access to memory using unsafe code blocks is allowed directly. C# also allows implementation to an interface in a base class and re-implement the interface in the derived class and provide a new definition for it. C# permits nested classes which are not allowed in C and C++. Better event management is established in C# using delegates and it supports conditional compilation & cross-language interoperability with any .NET language and lastly it is based on reflection mechanism which is its biggest advantage.

Crystal Reports allows users to graphically design data connection(s) and report layout. In the Database Expert, users can select and link tables from a wide variety of data sources, including Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, Oracle databases, Microsoft SQL Server databases, Microsoft Access databases, Business Objects Enterprise business views, and local file system information. Fields from these tables can be placed on the report design surface, and can also be used in custom formulas, using either BASIC or Crystal's own syntax, which are then placed on the design surface. Formulas can be evaluated at several phases during report generation as specified by the developer. Perhaps the greatest benefits of using Crystal Reports for report creation are its simplicity and ease of use that result to rapid report development.

The report design interface is extremely user friendly and accommodating for users of different skill levels. The Crystal Reports application is extremely visual based, allowing users to intuitively construct reports with the support of several Explorers or development components per se. Microsoft SQL SERVER is a very stable, fast, extremely popular and affordable database engine. There is a tremendous amount of support and resources available on the web and from information technology (IT) providers. Plus, it’s relatively easy to work with. The main advantage of using SQL Server is the use of stored procedures. Stored procedures are lines of code that are called by the application. They are placed on the server, and they are pre-compiled for quicker response times. Stored procedures require the knowledge of SQL Server syntax, which is called T-SQL (transaction SQL).

The use of stored procedures also centralizes code, so troubleshooting bad database requests can be observed by a database administrator. The other one is scalability. The term scalability is used to describe the ability to grow when the business becomes bigger. When businesses grow quickly, a small database application like Access can be a bottleneck for a website or desktop software. Microsoft SQL Server is quick for large and small businesses, so as the business grows, the SQL Server can handle the new volume of database requests. SQL Server can handle millions of records and transactions.

Operational framework

There are two types of users that can access the system, the administrator and the cashier. The administrator is the one that can modify the information in the system. The administrator will be the one to add the item and supplier details. And also the item details that will be gathered from the supplier. Everything will eventually be installed in the database. The cashier in return will be for the invoice. The item purchased will be encoded and in return the system will generate a receipt that will be given to the customer. Different reports will also be generated by the system for the administrator.

Analysis Of The Existing Client Practices And Trends

Dylan Automotive Parts and Supply has been implementing a manual sales and inventory system since the start of their business. They promote their business only through referrals with the use of their friends and relatives. Their practice has been the same since day one when it comes to their transaction. They manually check the availability of the product the customer wishes to purchase, compute for the total amount, and then issues a receipt. They just check their sales with the duplicate copy of receipt that they have. Due to so many records, they wasn’t able to manage their inventory records properly. After the information gathering about their existing system, the developers concluded that they have poor and unorganized system. However, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats were identified.

The advantage of their manual system include saving money and major errors. It is cheaper in terms of cost as it allows them to do everything to themselves. On the other hand, when handling something to themselves, it is easier to notice any errors hence it will be advantageous to use a manual system. But in relation to this, it is time consuming. A manual system does not update at the end of the day with updated inventory counts meaning the number of stocks are not identified. This means they must go through the inventory items each time they need to place an order for new raw materials, products or supplies for the inventory. This can be a time consuming process, as they will physically have to go through each product box and browse through the items.

Keeping track of daily purchases is another difficult controlling measure with manual sales and inventory system and lastly confusing records cannot be avoided. The opportunities of their system is that they can manage their own sales and inventory business. They can also check the quality of the product if they are always checking it. But a manual system has a great threat. It is dangerous to be exposed to accidents like fire and there are no back up files. There will be no means of retrieving the data. Loss of data is really a threat because it’s essential in a business.

New Software

The proposed system will be a major change for the business. All of the transactions will be automated. With the use of the new system, it will be much easier to modify information because the database of the system holds all the information and a user friendly interface is provided in modifying the data. It automatically records each sales transaction and updates the inventory record. It also issues receipt and generate reports. Return of products, discounts and notification if stocks are running out are added to the functionality of the system. This will all result to a faster transaction and accurate records.

There will be easy access to inventories and no redundant information will exists. It is also secured because it is password protected and less work is needed. Validations are also applied in the system to avoid errors. An effective service will result to happy client that can increase their sales. Different modules were developed to address to the existing problems of their system. The sales module automatically computes and record their day to day transaction and the inventory module is for updating the stocks. The report module eases the user from confusing records because it generates reports for monitoring. And the item module, is for the easy look up for the items. And lastly is the return module which is for the returned products.

Coding

The programming paradigm or the style or "way" of programming that the developers decided to use is the object oriented programming paradigm. OOP provides a clear modular structure for programs which makes it good for defining abstract data types where implementation details are hidden and the unit has a clearly defined interface. OOP also makes it easy to maintain and modify existing code as new objects can be created with small differences to existing ones. The four pillars of OOP is very useful for the system to be developed. Inheritance allows the developers to reuse the existing class to derive a new class such that the redundant code is eliminated and the use of existing class is extended. This saves time and cost of program. Also, the principle of data hiding helps the developer to build a secure program that cannot be invaded by any code in other parts of the program. And lastly, the same function or same operator can be used for different purposes with the use of polymorphism. This helps to manage software complexity easily. Security Features

The system is password protected that is why it has its login form. This is where proper login credentials must be inputted to access the system. Password masking is used to avoid unauthorized person in accessing the system. If username/password is incorrect, a prompt message will be displayed. Authorization also exists in the system because an administrator permission is needed, with the use of his/her password to allow the cashier to perform the some functionalities of the system.

Project Development

The programming paradigm used in the system is object oriented programming. The project development started once the project was approved. The graphical user interface was first done for the program flow. The database was then created afterwards. After it the functionality and the processes of the system were developed. The generation of the reports was the last module that was developed. The codes were constantly debugged and there were risks that the group encountered. The hardware and the software requirements were met so there were no problems regarding it. The incremental model was implemented in the development system. For the project schedule, there were some instances that there were a one to three days delay that is why the completion of the project had been delayed for one week.

Test Results

Different tests were conducted to make sure that the system is free of bugs and errors. This includes performance, unit, smoke, regression, and other testing procedures. It turned out good because the expected results came out to be the actual results of the program.

The unit testing is done every time a snippet of codes is added in the system. There are times that the expected results happen, but there are also times that it don’t. But the developers keep on improving the set of codes and constantly unit tests to know if it is already correct. The assembly testing is applied every time a module is finished and another module is to be added to check the interaction between the two modules. The assembly testing is caused no problem for the developers except for it just had a little conflict in the sales module. Every time the developers modify the codes, regression testing is expected to be done after. Regression testing had been a great help to the developers because modification of the codes affects other areas.

Smoke testing also played an important role in the development of the program. It is because with the use of it, the developers was able to detect some errors in the program that was unexpectedly affected when a module is updated or changed. The performance test tracked the speed of the system. It goes with the unit testing in the situation of the developers and here they were able to gather results. The system testing were used by the developers in the mid of their development and when the system is already finished. This testing went on smoothly because there were no errors that appeared. After each module, an integration testing is done. This also helped the developers to fix the flow of the program and make it more effective.

Risk Management

There were many risks that the group encountered. But luckily, some of the listed risks didn’t happen and the mitigation strategies were very useful. For the development of the program, the source codes were constantly debugged. The group encountered file corruption which was a serious risk but the recent backup files had done a great part to resolve the situation. The client did ask for sudden changes in the system but it was a minor change so it wasn’t a big deal. Some risks are inevitable, but the group managed to overcome and solve it. In Appendix D, the risk management plan is provided for more information.

Training Results

The training conducted were successful because the attendance that were very significant were met and the end-users cooperated well. Each module were thoroughly explained. The functionalities and the validations applied in each module were demonstrated to make them have an idea of it and after it, they were asked to personally do it so they can familiarize themselves better with it. The skills that they were required to have are already acquired by them so there were no major problem that occurred during the training.

Deployment/Implementation Plan

Once the developers ensured that the system is ready to be deployed after the training, the implementation plan was executed. Everything went according to plan. The requirements for the hardware and software were reached. The direct changeover implementation were used and it was effective because the end-users of the system were able to easily adapt with the new system.

Summary

The automated sales and inventory of DAPS had been the solution of the group in resolving the existing problems of the business. After this, a feasibility study were conducted and once proven the project is feasible the group decided to pursue with the project. In relevance to it, a project planning was arranged and the requirement specifications were prepared. Once everything were identified, different measures were designed that will be implemented in the system. It started with the interface, then the database and the functionalities were then developed. The programming paradigm that they decided to use were OOP and C# is their platform with MS MySQL as their backend. A risk management and testing plan were also done so that the possible risks can be avoided and to make sure that the program will be running smoothly. During the development, these plans had been of great help. After the program is ensured to be in good condition, the training plan that was also prepared were executed and after it the deployment or the implementation plan were finally accomplished.

Conclusion

By using a computerized system, the processes of the business had been simplified, improved and modernized resulting to a more productive, effective and less expensive operating expenses. The proposed system had met their stated objectives. It has been an instrument to conduct faster sales transactions and kept track of all the records. The updating of stocks in the inventory were also efficient that resulted to accurate records. Conflicts and confusions were also avoided because the system had reduced the existence of the bulk of papers for the records of the business. And lastly, it is foreseen that this will make the employees more effective that will make it more competitive with their rivals.

Recommendation

The developed system’s functionalities are still limited and these is what the developers are recommending to be done in the future. Adding more functionalities to the system such as the delivery module and credit module would be a great thing. And also using hardware such as barcode scanner and fingerprint scanner would make the system more innovated and effective. The group also recommends this paper to future researchers that might propose the same system.

Updated: Jan 10, 2024
Cite this page

Sales and Inventory System: Project Report. (2024, Jan 10). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/document/sales-and-inventory-system-project-report

Sales and Inventory System: Project Report essay
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