Real-Time Inventory Management with Cloud Spanner

Sep 15, 2024

Building a Real-Time Inventory Management System with Google Cloud Spanner

Introduction

  • Presenter: Stephanie
  • Topic: Building a real-time inventory management system using Google Cloud Spanner
  • Context: Rise in consumer expectations for omnichannel shopping experiences

Case Study: Maxim Modish

  • Company Background: Premier retailer with hundreds of department stores
  • Challenge: Transitioning to meet increasing online demands
  • Customer Engagement Channels: Online, social media, in-store, in-app

Challenges Faced

  1. Inconsistent Data Views: Across silos
  2. Cost Inefficiencies: Management overhead, seasonal scaling
  3. Inability to Adapt: Antiquated systems difficult to modernize

Issues with Existing Systems

  • Large data integration from siloed sources
  • Lack of real-time consistency
  • Costly on-premise infrastructure
  • Difficulty in evolving with new business needs

Solution: Google Cloud Partnership

  • Approach: Build an inventory ledger solution with Cloud Spanner
  • Components: Modeled as a series of retail events (e.g., items shipped, price updates)
  • Technology Used:
    • Google Cloud Spanner for inventory event ledger
    • BigQuery for analytics
    • Looker for modeling and reporting
    • AutoML and BigQuery ML for machine learning

Features of Google Cloud Spanner

  • Managed Database: Strong consistency, no downtime, scalable
  • Event Ledger: Append-only, immutable, guarantees consistent inventory changes
  • Real-Time Consistency: Keeps inventory views consistent across channels
  • Integration: Easily connects with other Google Cloud services

Benefits for Maxim Modish

  • Real-Time Inventory Views: Across hundreds of data sources
  • Scalable Solutions: Support peak traffic during major shopping events
  • Managed Services: Reduce operational burdens
  • Modernization & Adaptability: Through integrated cloud services

Outcomes

  • Real-time decision-making capability
  • Seamless omnichannel shopping experience
  • Efficient operations and reduced costs

Conclusion

  • Result: Maxim Modish achieves a single source of truth for inventory management
  • Further Learning: Link for more information on Spanner

By implementing Google Cloud Spanner, Maxim Modish has successfully modernized its inventory management system, providing a seamless customer experience across multiple channels.