Start with the step that keeps needing another check
Take one recently completed transaction and walk through it: who received the goods, who recorded them, who confirmed the quantity and who needed the result. Look for information being copied more than once, and whether a stock change can be traced to its source document.
If people keep asking around, searching chat histories or copying data between spreadsheets, improving the record-keeping may help more than adding another AI tool.
- Recording: can each transaction be entered once?
- Reconciliation: do documents, stock balances and movement records agree?
- Corrections: can you trace what changed after an entry error, return or cancellation?
What I actually did in two inventory projects
For an inventory management system in the sanitary ware industry, I independently handled requirements, workflow analysis, adaptation of an existing software foundation and delivery. The scope connected product specifications, purchasing, returns and stocktakes, with PC and mobile access. Reviews checked documents, stock balances and movement records together, rather than relying on an on-screen success message.
For a furniture brand barcode inventory project, I led requirements analysis, workflow design and development across receipt, transfer, dispatch and reversal. Duplicate requests, insufficient stock and retries after cancellation needed explicit checks. Transfers also required agreement between the source location, destination and total quantity.
These projects show which workflows were implemented and checked. The public records contain no measured customer time savings. Quantity changes in the barcode case come from historical virtual-stock tests, not the customer's operating data.
The project notes also record that the sanitary ware system was delivered but was not yet in full customer use, with no conclusion on operational effects. This is the documented project status; delivery alone does not establish efficiency gains.
Set a small scope for the first trial
Choose one clear path, such as receipts and dispatches for one product in one warehouse. Record the input, owner, quantity change and handover on a single workflow checklist.
Then decide whether an existing spreadsheet or tool is sufficient, or whether barcode screens, permissions or system connections are needed. Quantity validation and duplicate submission handling follow explicit rules; they do not all need AI judgment.
- Normal operation: record a transaction and check the document, stock balance and movement record.
- Exceptions: what happens after a duplicate submission, insufficient quantity or entry error?
- Human responsibility: who confirms an exception, who can reverse it, and is the reversal recorded?
- Delivery scope: which functions will be built, which examples will be checked, and who maintains the result?
Estimate the time involved before deciding to invest
Hypothetical calculation, not measured results from these customers
To illustrate the calculation, assume 30 records need checking each day, averaging 3 minutes each, across 20 working days a month. These are invented example inputs. Replace them with your own observations.
- Current effort (assumed)
- 30 records × 3 minutes = 90 minutes a day
- If a trial measures 2 minutes per record
- 30 fewer minutes a day
- Monthly time difference
- 30 minutes × 20 days = 10 hours
The last two rows only apply if a trial actually measures 2 minutes per record. Add time spent learning, correcting errors and maintaining the process. Time saved does not automatically mean cash costs have fallen.
There is no need to promise an efficiency percentage first. Compare similar tasks before and after the change, keep the records and check that the results remain correct.
Include corrections in acceptance checks
A useful workflow must handle more than the normal path. Ask the people who will use it to try exceptions: can an error be corrected, does a repeated submission create a duplicate entry, and can a colleague trace what happened?
Removing one spreadsheet may not help if another employee spends more time reconciling the result. Compare the effort across the whole workflow before continuing, reducing the scope or keeping the current approach.
Bring one concrete problem to the first conversation
You might say: “We record receipts in a spreadsheet, then enter dispatches separately. Checking the quantities each day takes the most time. Could we look at a small improvement?”
The initial conversation is free. Implementation services start at CNY 500, with scope and fees agreed before work begins. That starting price does not cover an entire inventory system. Tool subscriptions, development, training and maintenance are agreed separately according to the need.
You can start with anonymized examples. There is no need to share account passwords, customer personal information or complete business datasets.