AutoPartsDB - Enterprise Inventory System

Analyzed the existing Excel structure and identified the core entities: parts, suppliers, clients, and part types. Designed a normalized PostgreSQL schema with proper relationships and junction tables to replace the repetitive supplier columns. Created migration scripts to extract and transform the Excel data into the new relational structure, preserving all historical data while eliminating redundancy.

The legacy Excel file had significant data quality issues - suppliers typed inconsistently (some with slashes, some without), duplicate column names for different data, and text values in numeric fields like price and weight. Initially made parsing errors that skipped malformed supplier entries. Built robust data cleaning and validation pipeline that identified these inconsistencies, created mapping rules, and migrated the data correctly. The new SQL schema with strict type checking and enum-based status fields (TBA/STOP/Disc) now prevents these errors entirely - no more searching for text in price fields to identify part status. While hard to measure, these data entry errors are now completely eliminated from the client's daily operations.

Implemented user-created work tables using AG-Grid Enterprise where users can build custom order sheets and save/load them via sync up/down functionality. The key improvement over Excel isn't just scrolling performance (which is close to AG-Grid's official demo, since their demo doesn't feature the rich cell renderers we use) - it's the custom cell renderers that provide instant contextual data. Clicking a part cell dynamically pulls up all suppliers' pricing, archive data, or client information without manual searching. While Excel might be faster for pure scrolling, the work table UI dramatically speeds up the actual workflow by eliminating repetitive lookups across multiple sheets or files.

Supabase's standard backup solution costs $20/month, which was unnecessary for the client's needs. Instead, built a custom backup system using a $4/month Digital Ocean droplet that connects to the database, performs automated daily dumps, and uploads them to Supabase storage. Added a simple UI for one-click manual backups and restores from any saved dump. This protects against accidental deletion of critical parts, clients, or supplier data while saving the client significant recurring costs - a practical solution that delivers the same safety at 80% cost reduction.