01 · The problem
What problem does it solve?
A busy supermarket bills on an old desktop program. Items without barcodes are looked up in a printed list, discounts are worked out on a calculator, and UPI payments are checked on the owner’s phone before the customer can leave.
When the internet or the old server goes down, billing moves to a notebook, and stock never quite matches the shelves again. At closing, someone adds up cash, UPI and card by hand.
Walk-outs at peak
Customers leave full baskets when the queue doesn’t move.
Slow look-ups
Loose and unbarcoded items are hunted for in a list.
Stock that drifts
Notebook bills from outages never reach the system.
Day-end guesswork
Cash, UPI and card totals are added up by hand.