InStock

Link

GitHub

Role

Web Development

Year

2025

Managing inventory across multiple warehouses can be a nightmare. Outdated systems struggle under heavy traffic, spreadsheets get messy, and before you know it, stock is either missing or overordered. My team was tasked with building InStock, a full-stack inventory management system designed to help retail warehouses track, update, and manage inventory efficiently. This was part of an Agile project simulation where our five-person team had one week to complete 34 Jira tickets, handling both front-end and back-end development using React, Express, Node.js, MySQL, and Knex.js.

Building for Efficiency in High-Traffic Warehouses

Warehouse employees don’t have time to deal with slow or complicated systems. They need to update inventory fast and trust that the data is accurate across all locations. The Figma designs gave us a solid starting point, but it was up to us as developers to bring them to life in a way that made sense for real users.

One big challenge was ensuring real-time accuracy across multiple warehouses. If inventory changed in one location, it had to reflect everywhere without delay. We built a backend API using Express and MySQL to handle updates efficiently, optimizing queries so data retrieval and modifications were fast even under heavy use.

Navigating 34 Jira Tickets in an Agile Workflow

With five developers and a packed sprint, we had to be smart about how we tackled work. One of the biggest challenges was coordinating front-end and back-end tickets. If someone was working on the "Add Inventory" page, we made sure they also grabbed the backend ticket for the API that handled adding new inventory. This paired approach helped us avoid bottlenecks and kept the project moving smoothly.

We followed an Agile Scrum process, starting every morning with a 10 AM standup to go over blockers and progress. These weren’t just routine meetings—they were essential for keeping everyone on the same page and catching potential roadblocks early. At the end of the sprint, we did a full code review to clean up any issues before merging everything into production.

Real-World Development Challenges

This project wasn’t just about writing code, it was about making smart decisions under tight deadlines. A few key things that stood out:

Testing APIs with Postman – Before integrating the backend, we ran everything through Postman to catch errors early.
Optimizing MySQL Queries – Making sure our database handled large-scale inventory updates without lag.
Version Control & Git Flow – We had to stay disciplined with Git, managing branches, handling merge conflicts, and doing proper pull request reviews.

Final Outcome & Key Takeaways

By the end of the sprint, we had a fully functional inventory management system that could handle real warehouse operations. This project reinforced how important clear communication, structured API development, and user-first thinking are in building scalable applications.

More than anything, it showed me how to work effectively in a fast-paced team environment. When you only have a week to build something this complex, there’s no room for guesswork, you have to move fast, adapt quickly, and make sure every decision serves the end goal.

InStock wasn’t just an academic project. It was a real-world simulation that strengthened my ability to work in an Agile team, problem-solve under pressure, and build full-stack applications that scale.