A Comprehensive Inventory Management System for UPVC Companies: Optimizing Cutting, Simplifying Ordering

This research paper focuses on building a complete inventory management system for a UPVC company that includes material consumption optimization. It specifically addresses the issue of reducing waste and enhancing material use efficiency, especially when cutting metal bars for windows. The problem of cutting stock is the basis of the study, and after searching for the best algorithms to solve this problem, Google OR is the best to solve it to prove its efficiency in finding the best solution with the least use of materials. The inventory management system is the primary data source for optimization, with two distinct backends: a Flask backend that solves the cutting stock problem using Google OR-Tools, and a NestJS microservice that communicates with a MongoDB database for CRUD operations. These backends are contacted by the React frontend through their individual APIs. The effectiveness of the suggested method is thoroughly examined by a comparison between Google OR-Tools and two heuristic algorithms: Shortest-Fit and First-Fit Decreasing. The results demonstrate that Google OR-Tools provides practical solutions and illustrate the system's ability to significantly cut down on material utilization in the UPVC sector. With its significant operational and financial benefits, this streamlined approach paves the way for future developments in inventory management for UPVC businesses. Index Terms: material optimization, Google OR-Tools, cutting stock problems, and microservices