MiniZone is a catalog sales business, in transition to an online business, which retails books, compact disks and DVDs. Although MiniZone's current database system is manually intensive, it was satisfactory in fulfilling previous catalog orders. However, statistical projections suggest that, within four years, MiniZone's online business will require a 200% increase of the current order fulfillment. In support of this anticipated growth, MiniZone requires an automated inventory tracking system. This document outlines the proposed business requirements and data structure for MiniZone's tracking system. Additionally, it includes the database problem definition and proposed solutions for accurate management of inventory levels.
             The current MiniZone inventory management system is antiquated and largely manual. It requires a significant amount of physical paperwork to connect the other record keeping systems in the company. For example, whenever a customer places an order, the order department enters the order, then prints out a "pick list" for the warehouse(s). Once the order has been shipped, the warehouse personnel deplete the inventory count of the items shipped, and then send a copy of the pick list with shipping notes back to the customer relations department. Each order requires at least three separate manual forms, routed between three different departments.
             When MiniZone was supported exclusively through catalog sales, we were able to sustain this process without considerably delaying our shipments. However, now that we moved our catalog online, and are striving to have 90% online sales, our existing process is simply too cumbersome and inaccurate. The existing system often reports that an item is out of stock when the item is available, or that stock is on hand when stock is not on hand. Both situations are frustrating to customers, and they cause a loss
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