SME Real-Time Inventory & Stock Platform
High-concurrency inventory tracking, automated reorder notifications, and multi-warehouse management
Problem
Small and medium retail businesses across Lagos constantly lose revenue to unrecorded shrinkage, unexpected stockouts of high-demand items, and silent expiration of perishable inventory. Owners lack real-time visibility into what items are sitting on store shelves versus warehouse backups, and restocking decisions are driven entirely by guesswork rather than empirical sales data.
Solution
Designed and built a robust real-time inventory management web application tailored for multi-user retail operations. Tracks item quantities, batch numbers, and exact expiration dates across multiple storage locations, automatically alerting managers when stock levels breach customized reorder thresholds.
How It Was Built (Architecture & Implementation)
Transactional Stock Reconciliation Engine (Spring Boot)
Built the core backend stock processing APIs with strict ACID compliance. Implemented optimistic locking and row-level database transactions in PostgreSQL to prevent double-deduction race conditions when multiple cashiers check out stock simultaneously.
Automated Expiration & Low-Stock Alert System
Designed background scheduled tasks that continuously scan batch expiration dates and current inventory thresholds. Triggers instantaneous automated email notifications and dashboard badges when items approach expiration or hit critical reorder levels.
Hierarchical Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Architected a multi-tiered security system in Spring Security allowing store owners to assign specific operational permissions. Store clerks can only adjust stock during verified checkouts or deliveries, while inventory auditors and owners retain full administrative oversight.
Interactive Operational Dashboard (React + Tailwind)
Built a responsive, dark-mode enabled frontend dashboard with searchable product catalogs, instant CSV/Excel stock data export, and visual stock-level indicator bars.
How I Improved It Over Time (Evolution & Iteration)
[ V1 (Single-Store Stock Ledger) ]
Launched the MVP allowing shop owners to input stock counts and track basic sales deductions via clean REST APIs and React tables.
[ V2 (Multi-Location & Concurrency Hardening) ]
Upgraded the database schema and backend APIs to support multi-warehouse transfers and optimistic locking—solving concurrency bugs where simultaneous stock adjustments previously collided.
[ V3 (Automated Alerts & Expiration Intelligence) ]
Added the automated batch expiration scanning and reorder threshold notification engine, directly helping merchants eliminate product spoilage and maintain optimal shelf stock.
Outcome & Business Impact
Live and actively deployed across commercial retail and wholesale businesses. Enabled merchants to eliminate stockouts on best-selling goods and cut perishable inventory waste by over 35%. Demonstrates mastery of transactional data integrity, concurrency handling, and full-stack business software development.
My Role & Execution
Sole Full-Stack Engineer. Architected and developed the Spring Boot backend, designed the relational PostgreSQL schema and concurrency locks, built the React frontend dashboard, and engineered the automated alert cron engine.
Key Learnings
- Enforcing strict database concurrency control, optimistic locking, and ACID compliance in multi-user inventory software
- Designing reliable notification architectures and background job schedulers for time-sensitive stock alerts
- Structuring intuitive, hierarchical Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) schemas for retail operational environments