A Demand Prediction and Group Purchasing System to Solve Inventory Shortages and Waste for Local Cafes

The Problem

Unlike franchises, independent cafe owners lack systematic demand forecasting and rely on intuition for ordering ingredients. This leads to issues where short-shelf-life items like milk, beans, and desserts are either wasted or run out, causing missed sales opportunities.

Why Now

With rising inflation increasing ingredient costs, small business owners have a peak need for cost reduction. Additionally, advancements in POS data integration and data analysis models have created an environment where even small shops can adopt sophisticated demand forecasting and automated ordering systems at a low cost.

Recommended Talent

Service Planner/PM: Analyzes the ordering process and pain points of small cafe owners, defines MVP specs, and designs the group purchasing matching logic. Backend Engineer: Builds a secure pipeline to collect/process POS data from multiple stores, and develops a location-based group purchasing matching algorithm and automated ordering system.