1. Tree Nursery Inventory Barcode System Abstract A hardware and software solution will be designed and built for Hynek Tree Farms to allow them to keep track of the nursery’s inventory and to sell trees online and on-site. A barcode system along with a central database will be used to manage the inventory and sell the trees. Testing Approach Software Component Validation done by senior design team End-product testing by senior design team End-product review by client May02-08 Project Team Information Design Team Members Brownsberger Russell Wade rbrownsb@iastate.edu Hynek Joe Slee jhynek@iastate.edu Leong Chuan-Jid cj150279@iastate.edu Panska Anthony James apanska@iastate.edu Client Hynek Tree Farmswww.hytree.com Bill and Angie Hynekbhynek@iowatelecom.net Joe Hynekjhynek@iastate.edu Advisor Dr. Vijjay Vittalvvittal@iastate.edu Project Website http://seniord.ee.iastate.edu/may0208/ Design Objectives Design a system that can do the following: Act as a Virtual Shopping Cart Inventory Update System Online Catalogue of Inventory Functional Requirements The system must allow nursery customers to create a purchase order in the field Nursery customers must be able to access price information about a tree by scanning its barcode The system must allow client to update tree information The system must synchronize with central database Design Constraints Virtual Shopping Cart and Inventory Tracking system must fit into shirt pocket 10000 entry database is limited to 8 MB of memory on PDA Software is limited to 2 MB of memory on barcode unit Milestones Database layout completed Virtual Shopping Cart and Inventory Tracking System GUI layouts created Development software picked out and purchased for Palm OS development Code Development Completed Online catalogue ASP code up and working online catalogue posted to the Internet on a web host General Background A nursery presents a unique inventory situation. Trees are sold on an individual basis while still in the ground and can be delivered up to two years after being sold. Each year, some trees are lost to weather, machinery damage, or disease. The trees are priced according to caliper and grade. Each year the farmer will walk through the nursery and update the stock information. Hynek Tree Farms will have approximately 10,000 trees in their inventory within the next 2 years. A system is needed to handle this complex inventory situation. Trees are sold by two methods: on-site shopping and online catalogue order. For on-site shopping, a customer walks through the field and selects trees they wish to buy. To enhance the customer shopping experience, a barcode system that will provide price information and background data about each tree is needed. Hynek Tree Farm desires to have an online catalogue that will keep accurate track of stock on hand so that they do not oversell and can easily adjust prices for the growing trees. Customer’s will be able to see pictures of available trees and place orders online. The barcode system will be operated outdoors in mild weather. It is possible that the intended users will have minimal experience operating computers and PDA’s. End-Product Description The “Tree Tracker System” utilizes a Handspring Visor with a Symbol CS-150 barcode scanning unit to keep track of inventory, allow nursery customers to shop using the virtual shopping cart feature, and allows the client to synchronize field- collected data with a central database. The product allows Hynek Tree Farms to keep accurate records of their inventory so they can precisely calculate how much inventory is sold; calculate how many trees they will need to plant to meet their customer demand; make customer shopping experience fun, easy, and accurate; and provide an online catalogue for shoppers. Technical Approach Budget & Personnel Effort Estimated Personal Budget 828 hours Estimated Project Budget $600.00 Shopping for Trees Updating Inventory Managing Inventory Online Tree Shopping Central Database Client Customer General Background Abstract Design Objectives Functional Requirements Design Constraints Milestones Testing Approach Budget & Personal Effort End-Product Description