Built After

6 Months, Delivered On Schedule

The Sector

Logistics, Supply Chain & Container Management

What We Did

Automation Architecture, Enterprise API Design, Azure Cloud Solutions

Case Study

Shipner Inventory Utility

Enterprise automation solution transforming manual Excel-based inventory tracking into a fully automated intelligent pipeline. Achieves 92% efficiency gains, 99.8% accuracy, and real-time visibility for 50k+ monthly container movements.

Enterprise AutomationLogisticsAzure CloudData Pipeline.NET Backend

Project Overview

What was happening

The Problem

Organizations faced critical challenges with manual Excel attachment processing from supplier emails, resulting in delayed decision-making and operational bottlenecks.
High risk of data entry errors and inconsistencies across multiple Excel files, leading to inventory discrepancies and unreliable reporting.
Complete lack of centralized visibility into container movements, warehouse stocks, and shipment statuses across distributed locations.

How we fixed it

The Solution

Architected an end-to-end automated data pipeline integrating email ingestion via Microsoft Graph API with intelligent Excel parsing using ClosedXML.
Developed custom background workers running on Azure with sophisticated business logic to validate, deduplicate, and normalize incoming data automatically.
Built high-performance REST APIs powered by Dapper ORM on SQL Server, enabling real-time container queries and seamless dashboard integration.

Impact Highlights

Results that stand out

A quick snapshot of the work's effect.

92%

Processing Time Reduced

99.8%

Data Accuracy Improved

50k+

Monthly Containers Tracked

Enterprise-Grade System Architecture

A highly available, fault-tolerant, and scalable architecture designed for enterprise-scale operations. The system integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructure while maintaining compliance and security standards.

Email Ingestion Layer

Continuously monitors supplier mailboxes via Microsoft Graph API. Implements intelligent filtering to identify relevant emails and securely extracts attachments for processing queue.

Data Processing Pipeline

Azure Functions and background workers execute parallel parsing jobs. ClosedXML handles Excel extraction while custom validation engines apply business rules for data quality assurance.

Core Database Layer

SQL Server stores normalized inventory data with optimized indices for rapid queries. Dapper ORM provides type-safe data access with minimal overhead. Automatic backups ensure data protection.

REST API Gateway

High-performance .NET Minimal APIs expose container data with comprehensive Swagger documentation. Implements caching strategies and request throttling for optimal performance under load.

Notification & Reporting

Scheduled jobs aggregate data into professional Excel reports. MailKit SMTP service distributes formatted HTML emails with attachments to stakeholders automatically.

Azure Infrastructure

Deployed on Azure App Service with auto-scaling capabilities. Azure SQL Database handles redundancy. Azure Pipelines enables CI/CD for continuous deployment and zero-downtime updates.

Key Features

Engineering excellence across the board

Automated Email Processing

Continuously monitors inbox for supplier emails with intelligent subject filtering. Automatically extracts Excel attachments and triggers processing workflows without manual intervention, reducing processing time from hours to minutes.

Intelligent Excel Parsing

Advanced ClosedXML-based parser handles complex spreadsheet structures. Validates required fields, detects inconsistencies, normalizes data formats, and maps records to database models with zero data loss.

Smart Filtering Engine

Configurable business rules engine applies sophisticated filters including port exclusions, activity filtering, and duplicate detection. Ensures only relevant, clean data persists in the database for accurate reporting.

Real-Time API Access

High-performance REST endpoints built with Dapper ORM deliver instant container queries and historical lookups. Sub-100ms response times enable seamless dashboard integration and third-party system connectivity.

Automated Reporting

Scheduled background jobs compile inventory data into professional Excel reports with formatting and charts. Automatically distributes to stakeholders via Microsoft Graph API, eliminating manual report generation.

Notification System

Real-time alerts notify stakeholders of data anomalies, processing completions, and container status changes. Custom email templates with HTML formatting ensure clear, actionable information delivery.

Technology Stack

The tools powering each product layer

Stack Summary

Built with pragmatic tools, grouped by responsibility

Total Tools

Backend

Business logic, APIs, and server orchestration.

9 tools

.NET 8

C# Programming

Microsoft Graph API

ClosedXML

Dapper ORM

Serilog

MailKit (SMTP)

REST API (.NET Minimal APIs)

Swagger / OpenAPI

Database

Storage models, indexing, and data integrity.

1 tools

SQL Server 2022

Cloud

Infrastructure, deployment, and runtime scaling.

4 tools

Azure App Service

Azure SQL Database

Azure Pipelines CI/CD

Azure Functions

Data Workflow

How each stage passes output to the next

Workflow Path

8 stage sequence

Step 01

Stage

Email Ingestion

Microsoft Graph API continuously monitors supplier mailbox, automatically detects emails with Excel attachments matching predefined naming conventions.

Passing to next stage

Step 02

Stage

Attachment Extraction

CSV and Excel files are securely extracted from emails and temporarily stored. File validation ensures format compliance before processing begins.

Passing to next stage

Step 03

Stage

Data Parsing

ClosedXML and Pandas-based parsers read raw data and normalize column mappings. Complex data type conversions and format standardization occur at this stage.

Passing to next stage

Step 04

Stage

Validation & Filtering

Business rules engine validates required fields, checks for duplicates, applies configurable port/activity exclusions to ensure data quality.

Passing to next stage

Step 05

Stage

Database Sync

Validated data is persisted to SQL Server using Dapper ORM with transaction support. Historical records are maintained for audit trails and analytics.

Passing to next stage

Step 06

Stage

Report Generation

Automated jobs compile processed data into professional Excel templates with charts, summaries, and KPI dashboards.

Passing to next stage

Step 07

Stage

Distribution

Generated reports and notifications are automatically sent to stakeholders via Microsoft Graph API email service with formatted HTML templates.

Passing to next stage

Step 08

Stage

API Accessibility

Real-time REST API endpoints expose processed container data for instant queries, enabling dashboard widgets and third-party system integrations.

Outcomes & Impact

Measurable results driving business growth

Operational Efficiency Boost

Eliminated 200+ hours of manual data entry monthly. Processing pipeline now handles 10x data volume with same resource footprint. Report generation automated from 4 hours to 5 minutes.

Data Accuracy & Integrity

Eliminated 98% of human data entry errors. Duplicate records reduced from 12% to <0.1%. Standardized validation ensures 99.8% data consistency across all reports.

Scalability & Performance

System seamlessly handles 50k+ containers monthly without performance degradation. API response times consistently sub-100ms. Scalable architecture supports 10x growth without infrastructure changes.

Cost Savings

Reduced operational costs by 65% through automation. Eliminated expensive manual FTE requirements. Infrastructure costs optimized via Azure reserved instances.

Decision-Making Speed

Real-time visibility enables instant container queries and historical lookups. Stakeholders access up-to-date inventory data within seconds, enabling faster business decisions.

Future Enhancements

What's next on the product roadmap

AI-Powered Predictive Analytics

Implementing Machine Learning models to forecast inventory depletion, predict shipping delays, and optimize warehouse allocation strategies using historical data patterns.

Advanced Analytics Dashboard

Building Power BI integration and custom React dashboard with real-time KPIs, trend analysis, anomaly detection, and customizable reports for different stakeholder roles.

Mobile Manager Application

Native iOS/Android app for warehouse managers enabling floor checks, real-time updates, barcode scanning, and offline synchronization with cloud backend.

Multi-Format Support

Extending parser to handle CSV, XML, JSON, and PDF formats. Intelligent format detection automatically routes data through appropriate extraction pipeline.

Global Multi-Region Deployment

Scaling to multi-region Azure infrastructure with geographic redundancy. Localized data processing ensures compliance with regional regulations and lower latency worldwide.

Advanced RBAC & Audit

Implementing granular role-based access control with department-level permissions. Complete audit logging for compliance and dispute resolution capabilities.

Project Highlights & Key Achievements

Shipner Inventory Utility represents a significant technological achievement in logistics automation. The solution successfully transforms labor-intensive manual processes into a seamless, intelligent workflow that operates autonomously with minimal human intervention.

Technical Excellence

Built with .NET 8 for maximum performance and reliability

Integrated Microsoft Graph API for enterprise email connectivity

Implemented sophisticated data validation and deduplication logic

Achieved sub-100ms API response times under peak load

Leveraged Dapper ORM for optimal database performance

Deployed on Azure with auto-scaling and high availability

Business Value Delivered

Eliminated 200+ hours of monthly manual work

Reduced data errors from 12% to less than 0.1%

Enabled real-time visibility into 50k+ monthly container movements

Scaled operations 10x without infrastructure changes

Saved 65% in operational costs through automation

Improved decision-making speed from days to seconds

Why This Solution Stands Out

Unlike generic inventory management systems, Shipner Inventory Utility was built specifically for logistics organizations facing Excel-based data silos. The architecture elegantly bridges legacy spreadsheet workflows with modern cloud infrastructure, ensuring minimal disruption to existing processes while maximizing automation benefits.

The solution demonstrates expertise in enterprise automation, API design, document processing, and scalable .NET architecture—capabilities essential for organizations seeking digital transformation in supply chain operations.