Warehouse Management System for Used Auto Parts Business (eBay Integration Required)

Warehouse Management System for Used Auto Parts Business (eBay Integration Required)
Project Overview

We are a U.S.-based used auto parts company selling thousands of used auto parts on eBay. We are looking for either:

- A developer or development team to build a custom Warehouse Management System (WMS), or
- A company with an existing software solution that can be customized to fit our workflow.

We are seeking a long-term partner for implementation, support, maintenance, and future enhancements.

About Our Business

We purchase dismantled vehicles and inventory thousands of used auto parts.

Each part is photographed, assigned a barcode, listed for sale, and stored in a warehouse location. Our primary goal is to efficiently track, locate, move, and fulfill inventory while maintaining accurate warehouse records and synchronizing with eBay.

Existing Infrastructure

We already use barcode labels for both parts and storage locations.

We are not looking for a barcode generation or label printing solution. The system must work with our existing barcode workflow and barcode scanners.

Our primary needs are inventory location tracking, movement history, inventory aging, warehouse organization, and eBay synchronization.

Current Workflow:
- We receive used auto parts from dismantled vehicles.
- Each part is photographed individually.
- Each part receives a unique barcode label (example: 2102xxxxx).
- Every storage box in our warehouse has its own unique barcode.
- Each box is assigned a warehouse location (building, row, section, shelf, etc.).

Inventory Placement Workflow:
1. Scan Part Barcode
2. Scan Storage Box Barcode
3. Click "Place"

The system should record:

- Part ID
- Box ID
- Warehouse Location
- Date & Time
- Employee/User
- Complete Movement History

Whenever inventory is moved, the system must maintain a complete history showing all previous and current locations.

Inventory Lookup Workflow.

When a part sells on eBay or needs to be located:

1. Scan Part Barcode
2. System displays:
- Part Information
- Box Number
- Warehouse
- Row
- Section
- Shelf
- Current Location
- Complete Movement History
- Days in Inventory
- Inventory Status.

The goal is to allow warehouse employees to locate and retrieve parts quickly and accurately.

- Required Features.
- Inventory Management:
- Barcode scanning support
- Warehouse location management
- Box, row, section, shelf, and bin tracking
- Fast inventory lookup by barcode
- Inventory aging reports
- Inventory status management
- Complete movement history for every part
- Multi-location warehouse support (future expansion)

Inventory status examples:

- Available
- Sold
- Reserved
- Scrapped / Discarded
- Physically Present but Not Listed

Warehouse Operations:
- Receive inventory;
- Place inventory into storage locations;
- Move inventory between locations;
- Pick inventory for orders;
- Mark inventory as sold, picked, shipped, removed, or discarded;
- Full audit trail of inventory movements.

Mobile & Scanner Support:
- Zebra barcode scanners;
- Android devices;
- Apple iPhone/iPad devices;
- Mobile-friendly interface.

User Access:
-Multi-user access
-Employee activity tracking
-Ability to identify which employee placed, moved, picked, or updated inventory
-Administrator access for system management.\

Reporting:
-Inventory aging reports
-Inventory movement reports
-Sales and fulfillment reports
-User activity reports
-Dashboard with key warehouse metrics.

eBay Integration Requirements
The system must integrate with eBay APIs to:

-Import sold orders automatically
-Synchronize inventory with active eBay listings
-Mark items as sold when purchased on eBay
-Display warehouse location for picking sold items
-Import eBay Item ID, SKU, listing information, and order data
-Prevent overselling by updating inventory automatically.

Photo Management
-Store and display one primary inventory photo per part
-Associate the photo with the inventory record
-Ability to sync or import the primary photo from the corresponding eBay listing
-Display the photo when searching or viewing inventory records
-The system does not need to store multiple photos per part. A single primary image for identification purposes is sufficient.

Backup & Data Protection Requirements
Data integrity is extremely important.

The system must include:

-Daily automatic database backups
-Ability to back up inventory data, photos, and transaction history
-Automatic backup to local hard drive, NAS, or network storage
-Manual backup option
-Data restore functionality
-Backup retention history (30+ days preferred)
-Notification if scheduled backups fail

API & Future Integrations
-The primary integration requirement is eBay.

The system should:

-Integrate with eBay APIs
-Import sold orders
-Synchronize inventory status with eBay listings
-Import eBay Item ID, SKU, listing information, and order data
-Prevent overselling by updating inventory automatically
An open API is preferred to allow future integrations and custom development as business needs evolve.

Nice-to-Have Features:
-Vehicle Inventory Management
-VIN tracking
-Vehicle-to-part relationships
-Inventory by donor vehicle.

Optional Part Retrieval Request

Occasionally, office staff may need a warehouse employee to retrieve a part for additional photos, inspection, measurements, quality verification, or customer inquiries.

An optional feature would allow users to create a simple retrieval request containing:

-Part Number
-Current Warehouse Location
-Request Date/Time
-Request Status
-Assigned Employee
This is not part of our normal daily workflow but would be useful when additional information or photos are needed.

Additional Optional Features:
-Inventory forecasting
-Mobile warehouse application
-Advanced reporting dashboards.

Software Architecture & Maintainability Requirements
The system should be designed using modern development standards and best practices to ensure long-term maintainability and scalability.

Requirements:

-Well-structured and documented source code
-Modular architecture that allows future enhancements and integrations
-Standard, widely used technologies (avoid proprietary or obsolete frameworks)
-Clear database structure and documentation
-API documentation and technical documentation provided upon project completion
-Full source code ownership transferred to our company
-No vendor lock-in or proprietary platform restrictions
-Ability for future developers or IT specialists to easily maintain, modify, and expand the system
-Scalable architecture capable of supporting business growth and additional features.
Our goal is to ensure that any qualified developer or software company can continue development, maintenance, and improvements in the future without having to rebuild the system.

Technology Preferences
We are open to recommendations and interested in:

-Custom web applications
-Existing warehouse software that can be customized
-SaaS solutions designed for auto recyclers, dismantlers, or inventory management
Cloud-based solutions are preferred.

Please Include in Your Proposal
-Company or developer background
-Similar projects completed
-Experience with warehouse management systems
-Experience with barcode-based inventory systems
-Experience with eBay API integrations
-Screenshots, demos, or case studies
-Technology stack
-Estimated timeline
-Estimated project cost
-Ongoing support and maintenance options.

We are looking for a reliable long-term partner who can deliver a stable, scalable solution that can grow with our business.