Critical Supply Network

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  Overall Workflow

Inspiration

The Covid 19 pandemic exposed many issues in the critical supply chain that are a threat to our country. As the owner of a Woman owned Medical Supply company, I witnessed all the barriers small business owners face trying to navigate a broken system. Small manufacturers are at a disadvantage because technology is not affordable for them and we need a better way to connect the suppliers of critical supplies to buyers, like hospitals and schools, in need. The Critical Supply Network utilizes technology to match the needs of buyers and sellers in the marketplace and give small manufacturers access to technology that will help them operate and compete in the marketplace.

What it does

The Critical Supply Network is a website that solves this problem by providing Real-Time Asset Monitoring to small manufacturers by using affordable microcontrollers and sensors that send live inventory updates to a national database of vetted critical suppliers. This database functions as a marketplace for buyers, such as hospitals, government and schools, can connect with suppliers, both large and small. The website then uses machine learning to make important insights about industry trends, so buyers and sellers can respond faster to a changing environment

Challenges we ran into

We wanted to build a feature, where non-traditional suppliers such as individuals could also upload products using a mobile device. During a crisis, supplies can come from unlikely places and we wanted to add the feature of allowing non-traditional suppliers the ability to upload products using mobile devices, but we ran out of time. We also wanted to build a working model, but we received the wrong device and were unable to.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Nicole- I joined this Hackathon because I was interested in learning more about IoT, despite having no experience with it. My team was very supportive and helped me understand the concepts and terminology. I feel that I have learned a lot over the course of this project and I am grateful to have such a great team.

Overall it was a great learning experience and we enjoyed working with each other on an impactful project. We learned about the problems with procurement and the supply chain and were also surprised to learn that many small manufacturers have no system for inventory management which leads to theft and loss. It's great to be able to use technology to solve these problems.

What we learned

Nicole- I learned about the role of sensors, webcams and microcontrollers in IoT. I also learned about Image cognition and Raspberry Pi devices.

Pow and Maria- We ordered a microcontroller online in an attempt to build the concept. Unfortunately, we received the wrong device and were unable to complete the task

Judi- I really enjoyed talking to the mentors that helped us. It was really great talking to knowledgable professionals iim the field.

Chelsi - I learned new concepts related to asset management and IoT.

Built With

• figma
• flask
• heroku
• iot
• python