Food and beverage
Shifts and stock for a six-branch coffee chain
Six branches reported stock in a group chat each evening. The owner did not know which branch was running out until somebody sent a message.
78% fewer mid-shift stockouts
- Client
- Client asked not to be named
- Duration
- 3 months
- Engagement
- Fixed price
Context
Every evening, six shift leads photographed their stock sheet and posted it to a group chat. The owner read six messages and did the arithmetic in their head to decide what to order.
Every week at least one branch ran out of milk or beans during peak hours. Each time cost an evening of trade and an emergency run between branches.
What was built
Stock is entered on a phone and takes about ninety seconds a shift. I deliberately did not build a full-featured stocktake screen: shift leads are busy, and a long form is a form nobody fills in.
The system works out consumption rate per branch and warns before a stockout rather than after. Alert thresholds differ per branch because footfall differs.
Data capture runs on a phone, at the place the work happens. The real user of this screen is standing up, busy and has one hand free, so it carries only the fields that are actually required.
Outcome
Mid-shift stockouts fell 78% in the first quarter.
Ordering moved from reactive to planned: the owner orders against the forecast instead of against an urgent message.