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Automation Of Inventory Management Process

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Automation Of Inventory Management Process

BY
KATENDE KENNETH KIDONGE
B.COM (DR.B.R Ambedkar University, Agra, India)
Department of Computer Science
Faculty of Computing and Information Technology
Email: [email protected], Tel: +256 772 361 159

A Project Report Submitted for the Study

Leading to Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Award of the Postgraduate Diploma in Computer
Science of Makerere University

Option: Computer Information Systems

Supervisor: MR. NIYITEGEKA MICHEAL
Department of Information Technology
Faculty of Computing and Information Technology

August, 2006
Declaration

I, Katende Kenneth Kidonge, declare that this project is my own product and the work here in has
not been submitted in Makerere University or any other institution of learning for any award.

Signed: .......................................................... Date: ...........................................

Katende Kenneth Kidonge,
B.Com(India)

i
Approval

I certify that this project is the original work of the above named candidate and has been done un-
der my supervision. The work has never been submitted for any award of a postgraduate diploma
in any institution of higher learning.

Signed: .......................................................... Date: ...........................................

Mr. Niyitegeka Michael

Department of Information Technology
Faculty of Computing and Information Technology.
Supervisor.

ii
Dedication

I dedicate this manuscript to my parents (Mr. and Mrs. Serunjogi), Sam, Eve, Sylvia, Ann Mr. and
Mrs. Tumwesigye, Mr. and Mrs. Semakula, my fellow staff at Uganda-Case Research Collabora-
tion and all whose moral support has helped me complete this entire course.

iii
Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge the assistance of Mr. Niyitegeka Michael whose supervision and
guidance has enabled me bring this project to what I believe is a satisfactory completion. Extend
my thanks to those who have assisted me financially: my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Tumwesigye,
Mr. John Nanyumba, Miss Juliet Nabukalu. I would like also to thank the staff and management
of Victoria Insglass for all the support that was rendered to me through this research and to my
classmates Mr. Johnson Munaba, Mr.Mukasa David, Mr.Ssendiwala Julius and Mr. Sewankabo
for their support during my stay at the university. Finally, I wish to thank the Almighty who has
seen me through with this project

THANK YOU ALL.

iv
Contents

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.2 Problem Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1.3 OBJECTIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1.3.1 General Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1.3.2 The specific objectives include: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1.4 Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1.5 Significance of the study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.2 Management of Information Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.3 Inventory Control Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.4 Types of Inventory Manual Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

3 METHODOLOGY 8

3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3.2 Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3.3 Analysis and Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3.4 Development and Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

4 SYSTEM STUDY AND INVESTIGATION 10

4.1 System Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

4.1.1 Problem of the existing system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

4.1.2 User Requirements of the New System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

4.1.3 Functional Requirements of the Proposed System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

4.1.4 Non functional requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

4.2 System requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

v
 4.2.1 Hardware requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

4.2.2 Software requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

4.3 System Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

4.3.1 Design objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

4.3.2 Design features of the database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

4.3.3 Mapping relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

4.3.4 Final database schema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

4.4 System Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

4.4.1 Security and accessibility to the database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

4.4.2 Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

4.4.3 Software life-cycle model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

4.4.4 Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

4.4.5 User manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

4.4.6 Application Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

5 DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSIONS 30

5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

5.2 Achievements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

5.3 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

5.4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

5.5 Recommendation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

vi
List of Figures

1 Data flow diagram for the existing system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

2 Architectural design for the proposed system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

3 Data flow diagram for the proposed system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

4 Mapping out different Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

5 Entity Relationship Diagram for the proposed system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

6 Login Form:This form enables the user to login and have access to the system and
the database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

7 System User Form:This form enables the users in their capacity to perform various
functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

8 Managers Menu:This form enables the Manager to enter the necessary information
using this form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

9 New Business Form:This form enables the Data-entrant to register new businesses . 39

10 Accountants form:This form enables the accountant to register various details . . . 40

11 Licences Form:Used by the stocker to enter various inventories . . . . . . . . . . . 41

12 Alert Form:It alerts the stocker which various stock items need to be re-ordered . . 42

13 Report:This form shows the different available stock items and there numbers . . . 43

vii
List of Tables

1 Business Type Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

2 Transactions Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

3 Stock Item Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

4 Street Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

5 building Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

6 Customer Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

7 Bank Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

viii
Acronyms

DFD.................................................. Data flow diagram

ERD ..................................................Entity Relationship Diagram

GUI................................................. Graphical User Interface

HTML................................................. Hyper Text MarkUp Language

PGD...................................................Post Graduate Diploma

KCC...................................................Kampala City Council

Ltd...................................................Limited

IDNo .................................................Identification number

FK....................................................Foreign Key

PK ...................................................Primary Key

VIL...................................................Victoria Insglass Limited

ix
Abstract

Inventory management is one aspect of business that enhances a company is business perfomance
so as to reap big from the business venture being undertaken.Victoria Insglass Ltd use a manual in-
ventory record systems which have inconsistencies like entering products onto stock cards,increase
in volumes of stationery, making it hard for the workers to identify stock cards in time. The main
purpose of this automation of Inventory Management Process System is to help management have
a computerized storage system that produces stock level reports on time for important decision-
making. Data-flow diagrams,Entity relationships are some of the tools that will be used to develop
the required system.The Inventory database contains the inventory information for all the items
and the system will also capture inventory data that is to be stored and processed for the day to day
running of the Company. Once the quantity of an item in stock drops below the reorder value, the
alert level (flag) changes and indicates the item need to be re stocked. This flag is then checked at
the end of the day to determine whether more of the product should be ordered. The system has
forms that are used to capture and insert data into the database, delete records, view reports and
provide user rights to only authenticated users.

x
 CHAPTER ONE

1 Introduction

1.1 Background

The Ugandan government raises its revenue through the collection of taxes. There are very many
types of taxes collected by the government and one is trading licensing fees. The government of
Uganda entrusted Local governments (at sub county level) to raise revenue through the collec-
tion of trading licenses fees from business entities in their respective localities. Article 191of the
constitution of the Republic of Uganda (1995) (12), empowers Local Governments to levy taxes
in accordance with any law enacted by the Parliament. Section 79 of the Local Government Act
(1997) (7), the Fifth Schedule provided License fees among other revenues that can be levied and
collected by local governments.

Privatization of collection of trading license Fees

In 2000, Kampala City Council privatized the collection of trading license fees thereby awarding
contracts to private companies in 2001.In the Central division of Kampala District, the company
that was awarded the tender to collect trading license fees is called Victoria Insglass Limited.

Inventory Management in Victoria Insglass Ltd

Victoria Insglass Ltd has a special stock which is a licence and is sold inform of offering a ser-
vice.The licences that are sold to the public (the business entities) its the stock of this enter-
prise.This particular stock (licences)is managed manually by recording it in the manual stock cards.
The stock is requisitioned by the issuing officer and does forward it to the managing director. The
managing director checks the requisition which and hands over to the accountant to process the
payments to be made to KCC.When KCC receives the requisition it processes the required stock to
supply to VIL.The daily sales and stock (got from KCC) are recorded by the issuing officer in the
stock cards. The stocks are summarized weekly to ascertain stock at hand, sold stock, movement of
various stocks and the stock items needed to be ordered. The automation of inventory management
system will ease determining stock levels, purchasing time and type of stock to re-order.

1
1.2 Problem Statement

Victoria Insglass Limited uses a manual system for its inventory management i.e. the use of stock
cards.This has led to the delay to acquire inventory and having slow inventory on the shelf. The
company also runs out of some particular stock items that are in demand at crucial times.

1.3 OBJECTIVES

1.3.1 General Objective

The main objective of this project is to develop an automated inventory management system of
Victoria Insglass Limited.

1.3.2 The specific objectives include:

1. Develop an automated system that will be able to record, store, retrieve and generate reports
of inventory useful to management in decision-making.

2. Customer satisfaction by having the required stocks by there clients.

3. To enable management to know when,what and how much to order in terms of the required
inventories.

1.4 Scope

The project covers the automation of licensing inventory process of Victoria Insglass Ltd.It fo-
cuses on the stock of licenses a particular time, the value of the stock, the amount of stock needed,
details of the various entities that have so far received their licenses and those that have not re-
ceived their licenses and have paid up.Other companies dealing in the same trade will also be
covered e.g.Kisenyi Development Association.Supermarkerts will also be visited to ascertain the
management of there inventory.

2
1.5 Significance of the study

Inventory management is one aspect of business computing that enhances a company is business
performances so as to reap big from the business venture being undertaken .VIL depends on the
rapid turnover of inventory items with a limited shelf life at relatively small margins.

• The system shall generate inventory reports that will help management to come up with
timely decisions as regards planning and management of inventory.

• VIL will be able to manage its inventory effectively, thereby implementing strategies to meet
customer related to a products availability by maintaining a sufficient stock of each of stock
item.

• It will also help management maximize the convenience organizations profits.

• It is important to know what is available, where it is stored, how much is the monetary value
associated with the stock item and when will the items stock life expire.

• Inventory management also refers to the activities associated with the ordering of the inven-
tory, things like determining what to order, how much to order and when the supplier will
deliver the goods.

All these queries will be answered by the new system on time for management to come up with
the required decisions.

3
 CHAPTER TWO

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This chapter involves the systematic identification, locating and analysis of documents containing
information related to the research problem being investigated. It also sells at the relationship of
the proposed research to the previous concluded research.

2.2 Management of Information Systems

Laudon,(2001) [9], Define Management Information System the study of Information system in
business and management. It also designates a specific category of information systems serving
management level functions. It does provide managers with reports or with online access to the
organization current performance and historical records. Largely they serve the functions of plan-
ning, controlling and decision making at the management level. They summarize and report on
company basic operation. These are well-documented advantages of a good information system.
The term inventory control refers to effective management and control of inventory items, which
have already been purchased and are in the convenience organization.

2.3 Inventory Control Systems

According to Moskowitz(19950 [11], Inventory control - in whatever sense it applies to your busi-
ness - can be done manually, of course but you can almost certainly do it faster, cheaper, and
better by automating some or all of the inventory control process. Moskowitz(19950 [11], found
that the four aspects of inventory control: counting and monitoring the items actually in inven-
tory; recording and retrieving the precise locations of items in inventory; recording changes to
inventory frequently and precisely enough so you make possible accurate inventory control; and
anticipating inventory needs well enough to re-order just in time and to plan for inventory handling
requirements. Computerising your inventory system brings you the potential for improving sales

4
and profits through better analysis of inventory trends, including patterns of delivery and demand.
It will almost certainly pay a significant return on your investment (4). This really spells why the
automation of inventory is apparently very much needed and not only computerisation but also
with the appropriate software.

2.4 Types of Inventory Manual Systems

Cameron Balloons Virtual Factory (2005) [4]came up with the following manual inventory sys-
tems:

• Fixed re-order stock level The fixed re-order stock level is whereby the business decides the
minimum level of stocks it can tolerate and then re-orders before the stocks reach this level.
The exact timing will depend how long the stocks take to arrive. This minimum level is set
so as to be able to give time to the suppliers.

• Fixed time re-ordering Fixed time re-ordering, the firm re-orders stocks at a fixed time each
month or week. Organisations set up different times depending on their convenience to
re-order stocks.

• Economic order quantity Economic order quantity, firms usually estimates what is needed
and order at once. This method is used at the beginning of each yearly quarter.

• Just-in-time production This method involves keeping stocks to an absolute minimum and
the raw materials are ordered only when they are needed. It was developed in Japan. It
deals in the production of goods. This can be wonderful for helping to reduce the need
for working capital, but requires a very high level of organisational skill and a very close
relationship with suppliers. These fours methods would suite the company that employs
them but still, the manual work is too much plus the related problems that come with it.
Combining the four methods and automating the whole inventory control process will give
that particular organisation a very big boast in managing its inventory.

Kakeeto(2003) [6] stated the problems that exist with manual inventory record system as being
inconsistencies incurred when entering products onto stock cards, increasing volumes of stationery

5
used, making it hard for the workers to identify the stock cards in time. Inventory management is
one aspect of business computing that enhances a company is business performances so as to reap
big from the business venture being undertaken. Maintaining too high e level of stock items with
a limited shelf life can only result in wastage and unsold stock.

According to Kibera (1996) [8],Inventory in most organisations is the largest single investment
.Its therefore sensible that the management understands what it is and also effectively controls
it. And due to this new era of system automation there is need to computerize every system in
the organisation to reduce on the problems associated with manual systems. Effective inventory
management is, therefore about implementing strategies to meet or exceed customer related to
a products availability by maintaining a sufficient stock of each of stock item, which will also
maximize the convenience organizations profits. How can one maintain this aspect or come up
with it? Automation of inventory will effectively maintain a sufficient buffer stock for the smooth
running of the organization.

AcaDemon (2005) [1], Inventory control in the store business is important because these businesses
depend on the rapid turnover of inventory items with a limited shelf life at relatively small margins.
The store must be able to satisfy the customers by being able to supply the desired commodities
when required. The stores shouldnt have a large amount of capital tied up in the inventory items
lying in the store. Inventory is the value of a firms current assets that are shown on the balance
sheet, generally at cost. Periodic Inventory System is a physically count inventory, usually made at
the end of the accounting period, which does not maintain a detailed record of the actual inventory
kept during the accounting period. Persons in charge of managing the inventories in a business
must follow certain steps and perform an accurate inventory control system in order to avoid highly
costs due to over stocking matters. Such is how important is inventory is to an organisation that it
must be really taken seriously.

Kanyanyuz(2005) [7], in her project Fixed Asset Inventory System, the main objective of the
project was to design and develop a database that will maintain the asset register.She developed a
Web based database system to register and assist in tracking the assets.The project emphasis was
mainly put on tracking the assets of the organisation hence development of a register that will
be used by the auditors who come to audit the organization.The main the objective was tracking
assests of the organisation whereas this project is looking at the managing of stocks meant to be

6
sold.

A similar project was done on Stores Management Information System by Bwire(2004) [3].The
project is main objective was to determine the stock levels by computing the received and dis-
tributed commodities and also to account for the stores rental goods by calculating the rented date
and date of return.The aim of the study was to provide an Automated Computerised System for
securing,quick evaluation and manipulation of records of goods received and distributed at the
store.He also looked at the system to be able to collect,store,retrieve,communicate and use data for
the purpose of efficient and effective management.The project mainly deals with stores looking at
the aspect of goods whereby the control of services is not tackled.Since Victoria Insglass Ltd deals
in some form of different inventory (offering of service by selling licences)and its bought from
only one organisation i.e. KCC.

Amoro (2004) [2]in his project Automation of Business Transaction, whereby he focused on the
system to be able to track the records of customers, orders and drugs as well as providing the reports
on business transaction. His system further focused calculating the discount on large purchases
of drugs and also able to carry out registration of drugs and customers particulars. The project
was mainly to deal with production and sale of drugs in the organisation putting emphasis on
production organisations. Data and system have no meaning till put into context of what business
or organization does. This mainly tackled issues concerning organisations dealing in production
and able to offer discounts unlike Victoria Insglass Ltd that cannot offer dicounts and does not deal
in production but it offers services by selling licences.Inventory control in the convenience store
business is important because these businesses depend on the rapid turnover of inventory items
with a limited shelf life at relatively small margins. This particular inventory information is what
managers base on to make vital decisions of an organisation. The automation of the inventory
system will hence help managers make the right decisions because information will be rightly
available and in a correct format. Computerizing your inventory system brings you the potential
for improving sales and profits through better analysis of inventory trends, including patterns of
delivery and demand. It will almost certainly pay a significant return on your investment hence the
significance of Victoria Insglass Limited automating its inventory management system.

7
 CHAPTER THREE

3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This section describes the methods that were used to gather the requirements for the system. It
covered Data Collection, Analysis and design tools, and Development. The methods highlighted
the existing system in its current state and the automated system.

3.2 Data Collection

This phase does describe the techniques that were employed to gather the requirements for the
proposed system. The various requirements gathering techniques that were employed included the
following:

• Reading:This particular technique was employed to be able to read some of the guiding
documents that the company does use to come up with the required rates of the various
business entities in Kampala Central Division e.g. The Local Governments Act, 1997 and
the Rates manual provided by City Council of Kampala. These are used for assessing and
also explained duly to the tax payers (those who are not conversant with the tax) the general
purpose of license fees.

• Questionnaire:This technique was used to attain the format of the current system because
it provides the chance to collect information from respondents who are conversant with the
whole system understudy.

• Observation: This method was also employed so that researcher acknowledges the flow of
activities in the licensing process i.e. the capture of data and the steps one goes through to
acquire the license.

8
3.3 Analysis and Design

The requirements of the proposed system were derived from the data that contained in the system
inputs like businesses information and the data contained in the outputs like the stock cards reports.
The data flow diagrams, context diagrams and entity relationship diagrams were fully employed.
All these models will give the conceptual view and validate analyzed end-user requirements. As a
major modeling tool, entity relationship diagrams helped in organizing the data in the project into
entities and also define the relationships between the entities. This process enabled the analyst to
understand database structure so that data can be stored and retrieved in a most efficient manner.
DFDs showed the flow of data from external entities into the system. It also showed how data
moved from one process to another as well as its logical storage.

3.4 Development and Implementation

The system was developed using application software, which is called Mysql; that was used in the
creation of a database and tables. HTML, which is Hyper Text Markup Language, was used to
design the graphical user interfaces. Java servlets were used as a server side scripting language. .
A servlet is an object that receives a request and generates a response based on the request. The
Java servlets will also provide added advantages to the database that once put online would enable
communication between the database and the web browser. It will also allow a software developer
to add a dynamic content to a web browser using the java platform.

9
 CHAPTER FOUR

4 SYSTEM STUDY AND INVESTIGATION

4.1 System Study

The chapter gives a detailed description of the project area of Victoria Insglass Limited.It looks
particularly to how one obtains a license and the inventory process of those particulars licenses of
the organization. There are generally five steps one ought to follow to obtain a trading license from
Victoria Insglass Limited They are the following;

• Step 1: Walk into the offices of the organization so as to get the field staff.

• Step 2: The field staff moves with you or goes to your particular business premise for
assessment.

• Step 3: Pay the assessed amount into the respective bank.

• Step 4: Return a copy of the bank slip to the organization next day.

• Step 5: Obtain your Trading license.

The Issuing officer before he does issue out the license, has to first check if all the business entities
assessed for that particular trading name have been fully paid up. This enforces to license the
business, which has fully meet its dues. When the issuing officer issues the license he does record
it in the book and the person who has collected signs before he does take the licenses. At the end
of the day the Issuing officer does collect all the duplicates license copies to record them in the
stock cards.

10
4.1.1 Problem of the existing system

The problem with the existing system is that its a manual system that is used for managing in-
ventory processing leading to time wasting (i.e. stock taking and updating of the stock cards on
daily basis). The bulkiness of the stock cards wastes office space and stationery. It faces the task
of monitoring its stock levels in accordance with its demand on a daily basis and has led to the
organization purchasing licenses that are not in demand thus affecting the capital flow. At times
stocks of particular licenses have run out mainly those in demand at a very crucial time, affecting
the organisations operations. Though the existing system has the above weaknesses, it also has
some strength in that it enables the management count the physical stock at hand on weekly basis.

11
 The data flow diagram below shows how information of inventory does flow in Victoria Insglass
Ltd.

Figure 1: Data flow diagram for the existing system

12
4.1.2 User Requirements of the New System.

1. The system shall provide easy storage retrieval and access of inventory information.

2. The system shall offer security to stored inventory data through use of passwords to control
data access.

3. The system should be able to aid management make weekly inventory reports

4. The system shall have a user-friendly interface.

5. The system is expected to give results in a reasonable small time interval.

6. The system shall accept, update, deletion and alteration of data.

4.1.3 Functional Requirements of the Proposed System

The proposed system will be designed to perform the following functional requirements:

1. The system should be able to provide the required figures of the inventory at hand at any
time.

2. The system ought to have ability to produce inventory licenses reports that managers can
apply in decision-making process.

3. The system should be able to accept data from users through use of interface and interactive
forms.

4. The system should be able to give a summary licenses and their categories weekly.

5. The system should be able to provide all the above efficiently and fast enough.

6. The system will validate input data.

13
4.1.4 Non functional requirements

The non-functional requirements of the system are:

1. The system should be easy to maintain and adapt to by users.

2. The system should enable backup and recovery be performed at specific times (manually or
automatic).

3. The system should provide security to the database by use of passwords.

14
4.2 System requirements

This particular section does specify the requirements for the Automation of Inventory Management
process; thus these requirements serve as a basis for the acceptance of the system.

4.2.1 Hardware requirements

The proposed system will need a computer with 512MB random access memory absolute with
windows 2000.It should be an Intel Pentium 4 processor at 2.26GHz using a 533MHz system bus,
a 31/2 inch floppy drive, US system of keyboard and a hard disk of 40GB with spindle speed of
7,200RPM with a colored monitor screen. A printer preferably an hp LaserJet 1300n, sound card,
network card, mouse and pad will also be needed.

4.2.2 Software requirements

The database system together with the interfaces would run on a window-based operating system.
Mysql data manipulating language will be used as the query language .The graphical user interfaces
have been designed using HTML. The system to run therefore must be an installed on windows
operating system. The graphical user interfaces have been designed using HTML. Therefore for
the system to run, there must be an installation of windows or Linux operating system, java (java
servlets), and query language such as Sql.

15
4.3 System Design

The design phase a relational database model was employed to be able to accomplish the tasks
involved in designing the new database of the system due to the following reasons:

Minimization or elimination of data redundancy thereby minimizing or eliminating wastage of

storage space probability of contradiction between the values of the data items in different files
and problems of updating identical data items so that the database files are all equally valid.

A relational database model, the data and the programs are mutually independent, this means that
the data can be moved or updated without the need to make alterations to the programs involved
.It includes all interrelations of data and has a common approach to the retrieval, insertion and
modification of data. Relational database model, by normalization does put data into tabular form
by removing repeating groups and then removes duplicated data from the relational tables. The
goal of normalization is to create a set of relational tables that are free of redundant data and that
can be consistently and correctly modified. It eliminates redundant data, which in turn saves space
and reduces manipulation anomalies.

The relational model was necessary to effectively use relational database software such as Mi-
crosoft SQL Server, which will support the database. The entities were identified and data ele-
ments organized in relational tables, consisting of rows and columns whereby a row represents a
record and a column represents an attribute of a record. On purpose, this project was designed
to provide an effective automated inventory management process for Victoria Insglass Limited for
easy monitoring and control stock flow for the organization.

4.3.1 Design objectives

• The database system was designed to help the management of Victoria Insglass Limited to
monitor and control the flow of stock.

• The output of the system should be able to meet the user requirements by providing the
necessary reports to management for decision-making e.g. weekly reports on stocks.

• It should have security and access controls in order to prevent unauthorized users from ac-
cessing the database, through the use of passwords.

16
4.3.2 Design features of the database

With the features of the database, we did first define the tables and the fields that were contained
in the tables. The data types to be stored in each field of the tables were then defined. The
relationships between the various entities in the database were identified and defined i.e. one-to-
one, one-to-many, and many-to-many. A relationship is an association between two entities. The
creation of relationships between the various tables, we had to ensure data integrity. Data integrity
is one of the cornerstones of relational model. It is enforced in the relational model by entity
and referential integrity rules. These rules where applied to the database through the following
measures:

• Every instance of an entity, the value of the primary key must exist. The incorrect data input
and duplicate data in the primary key field will be rejected by the system and a message be
sent to the user to notify him/her of the mistake that has been made. This is achieved through
the proper defining of data types, the fields of the tables and enforcing the rules of primary
key.

• Data integrity ensures that the primary key doesn’t accept null values. This is an entity
integrity rule that goes hand in hand with the primary key.

• The entity integrity rule also specifies that values in the primary key must be unique. This
rule helps in uniquely identifying records in the tables. The application of this rule does also
help in fast data retrieval.

• The referential integrity rule states that every foreign key value must match a primary key
value in an associated table. Referential integrity ensures that we can correctly navigate
between related entities.

17
The Architectural design for the proposed system meant to be designed

Figure 2: Architectural design for the proposed system

18
The dataflow diagram below does show how information will flow in the proposed system.

Figure 3: Data flow diagram for the proposed system

19
4.3.3 Mapping relationships

The entities were identified with attributes and were duly put in relationships accordingly. The
identifier of an entity becomes primary key.

Customer (customer IDNo, type of business, amount, street, plot no., building, address date of
assessment)

Business type (Business type , Type of business, amount)

Stock ltem (Stock Item ,Batch, Quantity, Date)

Street (Street , Name)

Building (Building ,Name,Street)

Bank (Bank Account No ,Name)

20
 The diagrams below do map out the different relationships between entities for the system
under study.

Figure 4: Mapping out different Relationships

21
4.3.4 Final database schema

Customer (customer IDNo, type of business, amount, street, plot no., building, address date of
assessment)

Business Type (Business type IDNo, Type of business, amount)

Stock ltem (Stock Item IDNo,Batch, Quantity, Date)

Street (Street IDNO, Name)

Building (Building IDNO,Name,Street)

Transaction (Transaction IDNO,Customer,Assessment Year,Bank,Stock Item,Payment Date)

Bank (Bank Account No IDNO,Name)

22
 The Entity Relationship diagram shows the different entities and the relationships for the pro-
posed system.

Figure 5: Entity Relationship Diagram for the proposed system

23
Data dictionary

ATTRIBUTE DATA TYPE LENGTH KEY DESCRIPTION

Business type IDNO Integer 11 Primary Identifies the business type
Business type Characters 50 Business type name
Amount numbers 11 Amount associated with business type
Table 1: Business Type Table

ATTRIBUTE DATA TYPE LENGTH KEY DESCRIPTION

Transactions IDNO Integer 11 Primary Transaction identification number
Customer name Characters 15 foreign Refernces customer table
Assessment year numbers 4 Year of assessment
Bank Interger 11 foreign References the bank table
stock Item Integer 11 foreign References the stock Item
Payment Date date 8 date of payment
Table 2: Transactions Table

ATTRIBUTE DATA TYPE LENGTH KEY DESCRIPTION

Stock Item IDNO Integer 11 Primary Stock Item identification number
Batch Integer 4 Batch identification number
Quantity Integer 4 Quantity of stock brought
Date In date 8 date of payment
Table 3: Stock Item Table

24
ATTRIBUTE DATA TYPE LENGTH KEY DESCRIPTION
Street IDNO Integer 11 Primary Street identification number
Street name Characters 50 Street name
Table 4: Street Table

ATTRIBUTE DATA TYPE LENGTH KEY DESCRIPTION

Buiiding IDNO Integer 11 Primary Building Identification number
Building Name characters 50 Name of building
Street Integer 11 Foreign References Street table
Table 5: building Table

ATTRIBUTE DATA TYPE LENGTH KEY DESCRIPTION

Customer IDNO Integer 11 Primary Customer identification number
Customer Name Characters 50 Name of customer
Assessment year numbers 4 Year of assessment
Building Interger 11 foreign References the building table
Plot No Integer 20 Plot number of building Location
Address Characters 30 Address
Phone Integer 20 Telephone
Payment Date date 8 date of payment
Table 6: Customer Table

25
ATTRIBUTE DATA TYPE LENGTH KEY DESCRIPTION
Bank IDNO Integer 11 Primary Bank identification number
Bank name Characters 15 name
Table 7: Bank Table

26
4.4 System Implementation

This section guides system users about this software application and explains how the implemen-
tation of the system was done and also how it executes its functionalities. The system application
was implemented using a Linux environment and MySql was used to develop the database man-
agement system. Java servlets were used to develop the code that links the database to the web
browser to create forms and Html was used to create the graphical user interfaces for the client

4.4.1 Security and accessibility to the database

This is done through use of passwords to access the database .(Refer to appendix B).When access-
ing the database the dialogue box request one to enter the user name, password and user group.

4.4.2 Implementation

This stage involves installing all components of the system that include hardware, software and
training users of the system. The conversion plan for this system is parallel conversion given the
advantage of low risks and being able to compare performance between the new system and the
old one.

4.4.3 Software life-cycle model

A software life-cycle model is series of steps through which the product progresses. During the
development of this system the waterfall model was employed. The approach has enforced disci-
pline, documentation is a must and you cannot proceed to another phase without approval from the
SQA group i.e. the FCIT.The use of the waterfall model provided us with a software application
which is easy and cheap to maintain.

4.4.4 Testing

Since the software application is working prototype model, two types of testing were used i.e. ex-
ecution based testing and non execution testing .Execution based testing is the process of inferring

27
certain behavioral properties of the product based in part on the results of executing the product
in a known environment with selected inputs. Non execution testing for the specifications and this
involved validation. Validation helped to determine whether the application as a whole satisfied
the specifications or objectives.

4.4.5 User manual

In this section we look at information that is needed to utilize the application by the end user. It
focuses on the user learning how to start application, use the application and close the application.
The user to be able to start the application does need to log on the system using a valid user name
and password and there are three options of Login, clear and close.

In addition to that if other users log on to the application, they can have access to the authorized
user screen with many options including register patient, delete patient, update patient and the
reports option.

4.4.6 Application Interfaces

LOGIN FORM:(Refer to appendix B).It enables the user to login and have access to the system
and the database.

USER FORM:(Refer to appendix B).Enables users in their capacity to enter data accordingly.

MANAGER MENU:(Refer to appendix B).The manager performs the various duties as required
of him/her.

NEW BUSINESS FROM:(Refer to appendix B).This form is used by the data entrant to register
new business entities.

ACCOUNTANTS FORM: (Refer to appendix B).The accountant uses this particular form to enter
data for business types,bank accounts information,payments and assessments.

LICENCE FORM: (Refer to appendix B).The stocker uses is form to make all the necessary up-
dates on the invetory (licences).

28
ALERT FORM: (Refer to appendix B).Flags the stocker to remind him/her of stocks needed.

REPORT FORM: (Refer to appendix B).It shows the varoius numbers of inventory items in stock.

29
 CHAPTER FIVE

5 DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSIONS

5.1 Introduction

This chapter summarizes the achievements of the project, limitations encountered as well as the
recommendation thereafter. The main objective of this project was to design an Inventory manage-
ment information system for Victoria Insglass Ltd. The project also meant to create a more secure
way of storing inventory data and an efficient way of generating monthly inventory reports.

5.2 Achievements

The system is user friendly hence little difficulty is expected in running this application. It will
greatly reduce on the time that it takes capture inventory information and the time it takes to
prepare monthly health reports will reduce considerably. This will be achieved with only a click
of the button, all the required procedures for generating reports on the will be executed with the
assumption that all inventory information exists in the system.

The utmost achievement of the project has been to develop an online inventory information man-
agement system to cater for inventory and that can quickly enable managers generate monthly
health reports. For example its possible for managers to know the amount of stock item left at the
shelf plus its monetary value.

Information systems do play an enormous role in data management of organizations that employ
them. In organizations that deal in vast inventory, information systems play vital roles i.e. the
do improve on your inventory data accuracy, reduce on your lead time, increase the velocity of
your operation, eliminate misalignment from your process, eliminates variations in inventory and
replenish based on market demand.

The researcher did establish the strengths and weaknesses, and it is from this that software was
designed that is implemented to input inventory information, retrieve and generate the necessary
reports. The system can allow future adjustments to integrate future demands. The project will

30
serve as a knowledge base to other researchers and interested parties. It will also be used as a
template for developing the real database system for Victoria Insglass Ltd. The designer does hope
that the online system will help Victoria Insglass Ltd will minimize the problems with the manual
inventory system being employed.

5.3 Limitations

In the early stages of development of the database, PHP was sought of to be used to implement the
code but due to the fact that the researcher had diminutive knowledge about the scripting language,
he had to change to java script which he had learned in the his first semester.

This called for the learning on how to use java servlets hence the time taken for implementation
was longer than the planned time for the researcher to be able to complete the project.

The other limitation was that of the finances to fund the all project in terms of printing, stationery,
research assistants plus other needed materials.

5.4 Conclusion

The database will enable the update, retrieval, deletion, and generation of Inventory reports ac-
cordingly. The complete and appropriate implementation of this Inventory management system on
stock items will yield significant advantages to the organization.

5.5 Recommendation

Victoria Insglass Ltd should establish an automated inventory process to manage inventory data
and ease on the process of generating monthly reports. Computerization of services and processes
is required to effectively benefit from this application. There are other aspects that the researcher
did not put into consideration like the people who assess the various businesses, where the stock
comes from etc hence future researches can put all those considerations in order to come up with
an efficient and a more representative functional automated inventory information system.

31
References

1. AcaDemon,(2005) Inventory Control Systems-Inventory control systems as related to overall

production for a company. [Online] http://www.academon.com/lib/paper/57872.html [Re-
trieved] 15th September 2005

2. Amoro, P. (2004). Project report entitled Automation of Business Transactions of FRIECA

Pharmaceuticals Limited

3. Bwire,S.(2004),Project report entitled Stores Management Information System

4. Cameron Balloons Virtual Factory on Biz/ed. Cameron Balloons Virtual Factory on Biz/ed.
Stock Control Systems. [Online]httpwww.bized.ac.uk/virtual/cb/factory/purchasing/theories2.htm
[Retrieved] May 24th, 2005

5. Constitution of The Republic of Uganda (1995).Article 191of the constitution of the Republic
of Uganda (1995) (12).LDC Publishers Printing Press.

6. Kakeeto,K. (2003),Project report entitled Inventory Management System for Graphic sys-
tems Uganda limited.

7. Kanyanyuzi,R. (2005),Project report entitled Fixed Asset Inventory System for Makerere
University.

8. Kibera,N. (1996),Introduction to Business, A Kenya Perspective. Kenya Literature Bureau.

9. Laudon,K.(2001),Management Information Systems, Managing the Digital Firm. The 7th

Edition: Prentice Hall.

10. Local Government Act (1997) Section 79 of the Local Government Act (1997) (7).P.P.P.C
Entebbe.

11. Moskowitz,R.(1995)The Small Business Computer Using your computer for inventory con-
trol. [Online] http://knowledgetree.com/computerarticles/inventory-control.htm. [Retrieved]
The 29-July 2005.

32
12. Public Relations Unit Kampala City Council (2005),To provide and facilitate the delivery of
Quality, sustainable customer oriented services efficiently and effectively.The New Vision,
Monday, May 2,2005 Press Release.

33
 APPENDICES:

Appendix A: Interview guide

Am in the process of designing an Automation of Inventory Process for Victoria Insglass Ltd, i
therefore request you to fill and answer the questions there in. Your cooperation will be welcome.
What method is being used to control/monitor the stocks of license

What system is being used to manage the stocks of the organisation?

————————————————————————————————————-

————————————————————————————————————–

————————————————————————————————————–

What are the problems and difficulties do you meet in the process of capturing and storing of
information using the above system?

—————————————————————————————————————-

—————————————————————————————————————-

How do you determine the stocks that are to be purchased?

—————————————————————————————————————–

—————————————————————————————————————–

When and how are the stock levels of various items determined?

——————————————————————————————————————

——————————————————————————————————————

34
NAME

———————————————————————————-

DESIGNATION

——————————————————————————-

SIGNATURE

————————————————

Thanks very much,

KATENDE KENNETH KIDONGE(Researcher)

35
 Appendix B: Application Interfaces

LOGIN FORM:Login form that enables the user to login and have access to the system and the
database.

Figure 6: Login Form:This form enables the user to login and have access to the system and the
database

36
 USER FORM:System user form enables users in their capacity to be able to enter data.

Figure 7: System User Form:This form enables the users in their capacity to perform various
functions

37
 MANAGER MENU:The manager performs the various duties as required of him/her.

Figure 8: Managers Menu:This form enables the Manager to enter the necessary information using
this form

38
NEW BUSINESS FROM:This form is used by the data entrant to register new business entities.

Figure 9: New Business Form:This form enables the Data-entrant to register new businesses

39
 ACCOUNTANTS FORM:The accountant uses this particular form to enter data for business
types,bank accounts information,payments and assessments.

Figure 10: Accountants form:This form enables the accountant to register various details

40
 LICENCE FORM:The stocker uses is form to make all the necessary updates on the invetory
(licences).

Figure 11: Licences Form:Used by the stocker to enter various inventories

41
ALERT FORM: Flags the stocker to remind him/her of stocks needed.

Figure 12: Alert Form:It alerts the stocker which various stock items need to be re-ordered

42
 REPORT FORM: It shows the varoius numbers of inventory items in stock.

Figure 13: Report:This form shows the different available stock items and there numbers

43

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