Poster
Client Context
North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC) is a nonprofit organization serving families across Roswell, Alpharetta, Milton, Johns Creek, and Mountain Park. Its food pantry operates on a "client choice" model, allowing customers to select items that fit their needs using a monthly point-based allocation within SmartChoice, a commercial pantry management software. NFCC processes donations from community partners, grocery stores, and businesses, and relies on volunteers to sort, store, and distribute food daily to over 200 families. The current system involves largely manual workflows and inventory is tracked only when items reach pantry shelves. NFCC is also preparing to open a satellite location that will rely on shared inventory from the main pantry, increasing the need for consistent tracking and efficient processes.
Project Objective
The main objective of this project was to strengthen NFCC's operational systems so the pantry can continue providing high-quality service while scaling to support a new satellite location. Through observations, data collection, and meeting with staff and volunteers, we identified opportunities to reduce order inaccuracies, streamline customer interactions, improve the SmartChoice ordering experience, and enhance visibility into storage inventory. The project aimed to deliver feasible, low-cost, and transferable solutions that reduce customer frustration, minimize unnecessary volunteer workload, and build standardized processes that can be replicated.
Design Strategy
Our design strategy centered around addressing three operational challenges: limited inventory visibility, inefficiencies in customer ordering and ticketing workflows, and physical layout constraints within the pantry. To improve inventory accuracy, we developed standardized volunteer roles and introduced barcode scanner workflows for real-time intake and restocking. To improve the customer ordering process, we created automated ticketing and digital queuing tools and redesigned SmartChoice's category structure, item naming, and point system using NLP-based cleaning and Walmart pricing data. To reduce volunteer travel and congestion, we redesigned the floor layout using AutoCAD and developed a data-driven shelving optimization model. All solutions were validated through site visits, time studies, regression analysis, and layout simulations to ensure effectiveness and feasibility within NFCC's constraints.
Deliverables
This project produced a comprehensive set of tools, process improvements, and operational guidelines. For inventory management, we developed defined volunteer roles, process maps, and a barcode scanner based workflow to track inventory from intake to shelving. For customer ordering, we created a web-based automated ticket printing app and a digital queue board to replace manual ticketing and reduce congestion. SmartChoice improvements included redesigned item categories, a consolidated and cleaned item list generated through NLP clustering, and a standardized point system based on real-time Walmart pricing. For physical operations, we delivered updated AutoCAD floor plans for both the current and satellite locations and a shelving optimization model that recommends box size adjustments and SKU reductions to maximize usable shelf space. Together, these deliverables form a cohesive, scalable system for NFCC's future operations.
Value and Impact
This project generated value across several different areas, such as more than $4,500 and 7+ hours of work saved per pricing cycle through item standardization alone. The layout redesign provides a 21% reduction in travel time and a 30% increase in main aisle width, improving experience and throughput for both clients and volunteers. The optimization model increases usable shelf space by 16.4%, reducing the frequency of empty shelves and improving product availability. The broader impacts of the solutions as a whole include improved customer experience for families, more established operational groundwork as NFCC expands to a new satellite location, and higher variety of choice provided to clients with the implementation of real-time inventory management.
Project Information
Student Team
Samhith Aravind, Sachin Bharadwaz, Shaktik Bhattacharyya, Elyse Daniel, Erin Hinnegan, Emma MacGregor, Zora Ripkova
Faculty Advisor
Faculty Evaluator
