Merchandiser Assistance Mobile App

Software tool for merchandisers

I want an app that helps merchandisers find the items they merchandise. The app must accurately display the locations of each item no matter how small or big it is through either its article number or its barcode. I want the app to be able to link to multiple company databases but never without the proper authorisation from the company itself. It must only pick up items once scanned in by that companies stock controller and must work in synchronisation with the company system to track where the stock is at all times up until it is scanned by the till point. Once checked out by the till point, it must no longer display where the item is.

The app must be able to work seamlessly with whatever company system it comes into contact with. Your job will be to figure out a solution as to how this must done in the best way possible. As I don't work hand in hand with these companies in any way, I would like the person I hire to be able to showcase their skills by finding solutions by tackling these problems. The best solution I can think of would be to send a request using data to the companies servers whereby someone else would need to give permissions to the system you design but feel free to tackle this problem in any way you think would be best. With this way at least their IT department or whoever can see who the request is coming from and they can investigate for themselves to test whether the request is safe or not to provide permissions to and ask me directly as to what this is or if the request really came from me or not.

Since I work in a company with a lot of security measures, tight budgets and overseas partnerships, I wont be hard to find and since I've been there for a while, the right people will know where to find me. I might consider just asking someone to point me to their IT department though to liaise with them on whether this idea would be safe to implement into their company system and what can possibly be done to work on the initial architecture to improve on it. That's where you come in.

Also, nothing physical must be implemented or introduced to any of these stores. A lot of these companies dont want to spend money because it comes with a lot of risks to their security and expenses. Some of them are under mergers and partnerships with other companies as well which for the company could lead to a lot of paperwork, etc. This idea must only use a smartphone and data.

Picture this, I walk into the store. I open my phone and go to the app. I send a request. The company acknowledges I do in fact work there based on a different app on my phone which can verify that I have in fact had a history of logins tied to this company. It does another fact check with its own system and find out I have a ID under their system with fingerprints and an employee number. Once the system acknowledges I work here, Im given access to information pertaining to me being a merchandiser. As there are multiple merchandisers working under the same brand at a time, the architecture needs to focus on sorting out which info is relevant to which merchandiser and know which products they merchandise.

For this the UI must list each product according to the companies information on what stock they handle, not other merchandisers stock or info. Along with stock count info, the stock must be able to be found, even if hidden in layers upon layers of stock. It must also display a basic interface when locating items, mainly to accommodate for current limitations on smartphone technology and space. But the system architecture behind it must be complex enough to find a needle in a haystack. I want this app to also be used whether online or offline. Online should only really be to connect with cloud services of the company and to display the most to date info the company has with relation to the stock. Offline should really be to display any info the merchandiser needs to see that isn't necessary to be updated like the last info seen before it went offline, dispo docs of that merchandiser, etc. Preferably anything that can be seen at a moments notice and sensitive info that needs the permissions of a manager to change if required.

Your architecture in this aspect must be built on requesting permissions from the manager in certain aspects and be able to send it to the right departments manager as there are many while also later focusing on not trying to overwhelm the manager with too many requests from multiple merchandisers at a time while also trying to take into account of emergencies whereby the information needs to be accessed as fast as possible in cases whereby the manager may not readily be available to give the ok to such permissions but the merchandiser might be aware that something is not adding up and needs someone with the right authority to give the ok to such action.

The ideal I can think of for this idea would be to initially have multiple copies of the same info in certain instances like for example, one being to the merchandiser and then one that's sent to the manager. The manager reviews the information on his end and oks the request for a count and the access is given to the merchandiser to do a recount. If the information checks out, the manager maybe comments that "everything's ok, false alarm" but if the system conflicts with the count, the manager checks to see what could be the issue. Maybe the merchandiser counted incorrectly or maybe there's something wrong with the system. If the manager finds that something is not adding up, he takes further action on his side.

When the manager sits with two copies of the same report, one must list the original, uneditable report and other, the editable report. When opened, it must preferably display the two side by side showcasing which info the merchandiser counted that isn't adding up with the system's by highlighting the information showing which info doesn't add up with the originals.

Problem is, I want the idea to be that the manager doesn't have to do much other than check his computer, send screenshots and send notes to the merchandiser as to what actions they must take. Basically not to take away too much of their time so they don't feel like its an inconvenience to deal with while also not being confused with something like an email. They must know which merchandiser this comes from in future through maybe colour coding or through the merchandisers title or have a level of hierarchy that shows as to which requires their utmost attention, maybe by level of quantity or how much it would cost to their budget to turn a profit down the line preferably. The manager in charge must clearly understand its importance.

To continue this idea, the app must be accessed only when within a certain proximity to the company and during workhours unless given permission by a manager. Unless the info accessed can always be accessed through cloud where the company can investigate later what company info was accessed, where and for what purposes.

If this part wasn't obvious by now, I work in one of these companies but not in a high enough position to have them place their trust in me or for me to know enough about how these systems work or what you would need to get this project done. The idea comes with a lot of risks and a lot of questions and I don't have all the answers as to the whys and how's but that is again where you come in. Give me your questions and Ill see what I can do on my end to assist but ask with the understanding of the above.

Ultimately, I want someone on this who shows potential for future hireability. Someone who I can share my idea with and for them to implement. Again, the difficulties of tackling the issue I leave to you. Someone with exceptional talent in tackling difficult ideas and who is willing to develop the idea until its to my liking is who I am looking for. I'd like my part to be focused on how the app looks mainly, not with things I have no experience in. This idea doesn't have to perfect but I want it to show potential not just to me, but to this store and many others across the country preferably.

If the idea is received well enough and yields more value in the execution rather than problems, I will highly consider using you for future projects until I feel your services are no longer required. I'll pay you to develop the architecture but as much as I want to pay you what you deserve to be paid but as it stands right now, I exist on tight budgets and Im based in SA so our currency is pretty low but if this initial project is a success, the goal is to compensate you better as times goes on.

The goal is to show this company that its an idea worth implementing as part of their vision for how they want their company moving forward. The idea doesn't have to be perfect, it just needs to convince them to integrate this idea within their system for now. In the event this is a success, send me the full quotation of what you need to get the rest of the architecture working and I will do my best to accommodate you according to the needs of myself and the company.

I may also need to contact you on WhatsApp or through calls in the future to explain your architecture to myself or someone who has more experiennce understanding your architecture so keep that in mind.

I look forward to working with you on future projects