Logistics
Replacing ten logistics spreadsheets with one system
A factory ran inventory and delivery on ten shared spreadsheets. I replaced them with one system with roles and an audit trail.
6 hours of data entry saved weekly
- Client
- Client asked not to be named
- Duration
- 4 months
- Engagement
- Fixed price
Context
The warehouse ran on ten spreadsheets shared over a network drive. Every shift somebody opened a stale copy, and nobody knew which file was current until the stock count disagreed with the shelves.
Twice in the preceding six months, goods left the warehouse before the paperwork was written. With no audit trail, nobody could tell who had edited which row, and each incident cost half a day to resolve.
What was built
I wrote no code for the first two weeks. I stood in the warehouse and recorded the process as actually performed, and found it differed from the documented process in three places that mattered.
The system was built around the real process, not the documented one. Every action writes an audit row with the person and the timestamp. Permissions follow the shift: storekeepers enter, supervisors approve, accounting reads only.
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
After handover, weekly data entry fell by six hours, mostly by removing the cross-checking step between files.
More important than that number: every stock movement can now be traced to one person and one moment. All source and infrastructure were in the client name from day one.