Define inventory data:

Identify the types of inventory you need to track. This may include raw materials, work-in-progress items, finished goods, spare parts, packaging materials, consumables, etc.

Map key processes:

Use process mapping tools to identify key workflows, input, and output across procurement, production, and shipping for your business. These may include receiving and put-away, picking and packing, cycle counting, reordering stock, returns and reverse logistics, etc.

Then, visually map these processes into a diagram and identify corresponding web pages and custom fields required for your inventory system application. Here’s an example of a mapped process for a general inventory:

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Image Source: Overview of inventory to deliver business process and relationship to other business processes by Microsoft

As you map out the processes, also consider the data and integration requirements needed to support them. This might include:

• The specific data fields and entities (e.g., products, suppliers, customers) that need to be tracked in your inventory system.
• The integration points with other business systems, such as accounting, sales, or logistics software.
• The automation and workflow triggers that need to be built into the system (e.g., low stock alerts, order processing)

Optimize your processes to remove manual work and identify automation opportunities. Then, iterate your inventory process design and create a final specification sheet for no-code app builders to create the application.

Select the required software:

Using the mapped process diagram and specification sheet, explore which software can help with automation and integrations required to unify data. These can include Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, custom CRMs, eCommerce platforms, logistics planners, etc.

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Image Source: ScienceSoft

Here’s great news — instead of purchasing different software for each and shooting off your budget, you can create a custom CRM system, vendor management portal, contract management, and more to keep your systems and data in one no-code app builder, that is, Softr.

For our manufacturing company example, we will use Softr to create an inventory system that automates complete end-to-end inventory management.

Define key metrics:

Determine the key metrics and KPIs that you want to track and monitor using your inventory system. This may include stock levels, inventory turnover, order fulfillment rates, lead times, metrics for supplier performance, etc. Tracking these metrics helps design an inventory system that can capture the necessary data and provide the insights you need to make informed decisions.

Here’s an overview of some key metrics you can track for your inventory system:

You need to design your database such that you can successfully track the required fields to calculate these key metrics. We have explained in detail how to build a custom inventory dashboard using Softr to track and analyze these metrics.

Once you have all the above four requirements, you can proceed to design the inventory system on your chosen no-code app builder.

Copy template: 

First, sign up for Softr and copy the inventory template. You can create a free account and do not require any credit card details.

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Connect data source:

Choose a database source like Airtable, Google Sheets, HubSpot, etc. Softr helps you instantly integrate in a few steps.

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In our example, we will use Airtable as our data source.

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The Airtable base allows you to manage user, product inventory, manufacturers, and purchase order data. You can edit the template’s database sample with more fields as per your mapped processes and business requirements. Once you finish designing the inventory system on Softr, you can populate it with your existing inventory data.

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You need not do anything to sync data between the Airtable base and Softr app – it does so automatically as you use the inventory system app.

Airtable is a powerful software that helps you create complex data structures using formulas. For example, we found a custom formula to create an inventory count in the Airtable community.

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Edit user groups:

Softr’s template by default creates two user groups – administrator and employee.

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You can also limit access to certain users or a user group using the ‘data restrictions’ feature.

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Edit page design:

Softr provides you with 12 ready-made pages which include pages to manage orders, manufacturers, products, purchase orders, and sign-up/sign-in. First, edit the theme of the Softr app as per your brand guidelines by clicking on the ‘Theme’ option on the left panel. You can edit fonts, text weight, colors, and more.

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To edit individual pages, you can simply go to each page by clicking on the ‘Pages’ option on the left panel and selecting the desired page you wish to edit.

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For example, if you wish to edit the ‘Add product’ page — click on it and it will open the Softr editor on the right panel. You can edit the features, style, and visibility settings for each block as required.

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Automate by mapping and syncing data:

When you launch the inventory system, on the ‘Add Product’ page, the user will add product details and click on the ‘Add Product To Inventory’ button to save it. Now, you need to ensure this data gets saved in your Airtable database.

For this, go to the ‘Features’ section, and for each form field, you can edit the input type, select to which custom field the captured data gets saved, change the label and placeholder text. You can edit the form fields as per your inventory design. Make sure you include corresponding relevant fields in your Airtable base.

Once you map the fields, Softr automatically syncs data whenever any user adds a product to your inventory system! Now, do this for the rest of the template pages and you’ll have your inventory workflows mapped with the database.

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Automate workflows:

Let’s say you want to add custom automation in the inventory system app, like adding or updating product or manufacturer information — for this, Softr provides you with a feature called ‘Actions’.

Take the example of the ‘product inventory’ page — the template provides an action button ‘Add Order’ which helps you quickly add a new order without going back and forth over the Airtable database.

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To edit, click on the ‘Add Order’ button and navigate to the ‘Actions’ section on the right panel. The template already has included an action of ‘add record’ which you can explore and map to your Airtable database.

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You can customize the action with the input type, map to the relevant data type, sort, and toggle the ‘Sync options with data source’ to instantly update your Airtable database from the Softr front end.

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Add integrations:

If you’re looking to connect your existing software with the new inventory system app, Softr allows you to integrate them without code. Head to the ‘Settings’ option on the left panel and choose ‘Integrations’. Softr provides around 20+ direct integrations to choose from and you can also request integration from the Softr team.

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Softr also allows you to further customize the inventory template using custom code and create a mobile progressive web app (PWA) when you choose their paid plan.

Add custom domain:

Once you’re done designing the inventory app, Softr allows you to publish one app over a custom domain for free. Follow the steps here — to connect your custom domain.

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