AN INTELLIGENT MODEL FOR SALES AND INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYLVANUS O. ANIGBOGU, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Computer Science Department of Computer Science, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, 420001, Nigeria dranigbogu@yahoo.com OLADIPO ONAOLAPO FRANCISCA, Ph.D. Department of Computer Science, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, 420001,Nigeria onaolamipo@yahoo.com KARIM USMAN, M.Sc. System Analyst Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Benue State University, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria www.karimkomputing.com , usmank4real@yahoo.co.uk ABSTRACT This work involved developing an intelligent model for sales and inventory management aimed at bridging the substantial gap between the theory and the practice of inventory management. The system developed has the capability of providing automatic demand and lead time pattern identification for inventory management. The intelligent inventory model was formulated using the concept of fuzzy logic. The identified patterns and the formulated model were translated into a rule based package developed with Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE). The developed system can work perfectly with any small scale and medium enterprise, but NOBIS super market (a reputable super market within Makurdi metropolis, Benue State of Nigeria) was used to test run the working principle of the system. The multi-branching nature of the system and its client server relationship even made it deployable for manufacturing and airline industries around the globe. Keywords Inventory control, Rule-based system, Pattern identification, Fuzzy logic, J2EE 1.0 Introduction Inventory is the stock of some kind of physical commodity while inventory management is the determination of optimal procedures for procuring stocks of commodities to meet future demand. [1] Inventory can also be seen as a firm’s totality of stocks of various kinds. Inventory management therefore takes care of anticipated demand, bulk purchase, absorbing wastages and over ordering associated with inventory. [2] Inventory can also be seen as the quantity of product that a merchandising firm has available to sell at any given time. Inventory management system again, monitors the quantity of each product available for sale and help to ensure that proper stock levels are maintained. [3] Inventory does not necessarily refer exclusively to physical merchandise or to goods available for immediate delivery. In airline passenger reservation systems, for instance, inventory corresponds to the number of seats available on flights; in the registration system at a typical university or college; inventory corresponds to the openings available in each class. Sylvanus O. Anigbogu et al./ Indian Journal of Computer Science and Engineering (IJCSE) ISSN : 0976-5166 Vol. 2 No. 5 Oct-Nov 2011 785