Make my own inventory and production management software. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Rat_Patrol
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2025, 07:36:13 pm
content: Screenshot from the desktop. Here is an AI made sales pitch for the softwarePick'nTrace — Modern, fast, and reliable electronics inventory and job trackingPick'nTrace is a lightweight, production-ready app for electronics shops and labs to track parts, reels, jobs, and build processes with speed and accuracy. It unifies barcode-driven intake, BOM mapping, and job logs into a single, simple workflow—so you spend less time chasing parts and more time building.Who it’s forSmall-to-mid electronics teams needing clarity over reels, components, and builds.Manufacturing and R&D environments that want traceability without the ERP bloat.Makers and labs who value speed, simplicity, and local control.Core value Barcode-first workflows reduce friction at the bench. Connect reels and components to parts, BOMs, and jobs with clean audit trails. Low-stock thresholds and logs help you avoid surprises mid-build. Local-first with packaged desktop app—your data stays on your machine/network.Key features[Inventory mastery] Parts, components, reels, and feeders in one place.[BOM tooling] Import, map, and validate BOMs; link to in-house parts and vendor MPNs. Custom parsing profiles for different supplier barcode formats. Configure jobs, set default logs location, and maintain per-profile output. Low-quantity warnings per part to prevent build interruptions.[Logs and exports] Easy access to debug logs and job logs for reviews and audits.[Desktop experience] Packaged Electron app with tray controls and focus hardening for reliable input.[Admin-friendly] Installer with clean uninstall options (including full data removal).Why Pick'nTrace[Built for electronics] Not a generic inventory tool—optimized for reels, MPNs, and BOMs.[Simple UI] Clean Bootstrap UI for fast adoption on the shop floor. Profiles, directories, and config are easy to adjust as you grow.[Local-first] No forced cloud—works offline, runs on your PC.[Fast deployment] One installer, auto-included backend, and minimal setup.Outcomes you can expectFewer line-stops thanks to proactive low-stock signals.Faster kitting with barcode-driven intake and smart mappings.Better traceability from incoming reels to finished jobs.Higher throughput by reducing context switching and manual data entry.

author: Rat_Patrol
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2025, 01:32:55 am
content: Well, just working out a few bugs from the last set of added features and utilities.Going to be building it up for the new line, so we will see how it goes.

author: loki42
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2025, 05:30:47 am
content: Inventree is really good if you want to improve an existing solution. Works well with bar codes.

author: Rat_Patrol
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2025, 06:31:42 pm
content: Quote from: loki42 on October 04, 2025, 05:30:47 amIt didn't have a lot of utilities that I wanted.

author: kripton2035
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2025, 07:18:09 pm
content: Quote from: loki42 on October 04, 2025, 05:30:47 amstill I don't understand why they don't use some local sqlite database. the whole system is overly complicated.

author: loki42
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 05, 2025, 05:52:59 pm
content: It's very easy to add things in with plugins. We added a few things we needed. The code is pretty easy to modify. You can then submit a pull request or have them as plugins so it's easy to maintain.

author: pastaclub
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2025, 01:22:29 pm
content: I also built my own. Among other things it doesmanage component inventory, footprints, packages, etc.meta parts / equivalent componentsimport CSV / JSON from Mouser, Digikey, LCSCtrack orders, component cost, freight cost, customs dutiestrack ownership (I have multiple companies), transfer and re-sell parts between companies, generate invoicesprint labels for reels and PnP feeder slots, with optional QR codesBOM management, part reservation, production planningcalculate panels, estimate PCB cost, handling time, labor costcalculate PnP feeder slot usageoptionally include or exclude DNP parts from calculationsfavorite parts, deprecated partsstatistics (e.g. cost per part category in a product)export inventory and part use reports for accountingIt's certainly not perfect and not complete, but it does exactly what I want, I know it in-and-out because I built it, and I can easily add features when the need arises. Commercial solutions might be great in many aspects, but will always lack a few features that I need. I don't think many tools can handle the situation that you have multiple companies buying and owning parts and you transfer parts between them as needed but have one overview over the whole inventory across companies, you can track import duties, etc. Having my own custom tool for my specific needs was worth the time. But it's been a few weeks.Some things I have learned along the way:spreadsheets are okay, but having a proper database you can query is magnitudes betterimport functions for distributer specific CSV invoices almost instantly amortise by saving you way more than the time it took to build themthere's always need for something quirky, e.g. LCSC put a discount into an invoice which is actually a credit from a previous refund. For accounting purposes, you have to track the discounted price, but for business purposes you care about the price you really paid, and the average price of equivalent components across orders) - with your own tool, it's a matter of 1-2 hours of coding to build that functionality. Want to sell parts to your other company with a margin and then switch BOM views between marked up purchase prices and original purchase prices? Your custom software can do.

author: Rat_Patrol
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2025, 02:32:35 am
content: I put another couple nice-to-halves and an export/import profile utility, did some other small stuff. NOW I'm done with it for now, see if I add anything later.