Tree Nursery Inventory Barcode SystemAbstractA 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

ClientHynek Tree Farms www.hytree.com

Bill and Angie Hynek bhynek@iowatelecom.net

Joe Hynek jhynek@iastate.edu

AdvisorDr. Vijjay Vittal vvittal@iastate.edu

Project Websitehttp://seniord.ee.iastate.edu/may0208/

Design ObjectivesDesign 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 BackgroundA 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 DescriptionThe “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 EffortEstimated Personal Budget 828 hours

Estimated Project Budget $600.00

Shopping for Trees

Updating Inventory

Managing Inventory

Online Tree Shopping

Central Database

Client

Client Customer

Customer

General Background

Abstract

Design Objectives

Functional Requirements

Design Constraints

Milestones

Testing Approach

Budget & Personal Effort

End-Product Description