One inventory engine for pharmacies and clothing stores
A pharmacy tracks expiry dates. A clothing store tracks sizes. We stopped writing code for each.
On this page
Key takeaways
- Put tracking, costing and accounts on the category, not in the code.
- Screens read the category at runtime and adapt their fields.
- Test every combination of settings from day one.
Three businesses, three code paths
Pharmacies need batches and expiry dates. Clothing needs size and colour. Electronics need serial numbers. Each costs stock differently and posts to different accounts.
Move the difference into data
Each item belongs to a category whose settings define tracking, costing and accounts. Purchase, sale and stock-count screens read that setting and adapt.
The difference between businesses became data, not code.
What we’d do earlier
Build the test matrix on day one. Every new setting multiplies the cases you must check.
- ERP
- Architecture
- Inventory
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Software & AI Engineer in Riyadh. I write about building systems where mistakes are expensive.