Development of an IoT Platform for Managing Promotional Products in Commercial Establishments

Currently, the massive waste of paper and ink used for price and offer identification on products in commercial establishments not only represents an economic burden for the company but also contributes to the alarming global environmen-tal footprint. This classical approach often involves labels made from non-recycled materials and does not allow for the automated management of products in commercial establishment. With the aim of avoiding the economic waste associated with paper usage and addressing logistical issues related to the management of promotional products, it is proposed to implement a platform based on the Internet of Things (IoT), This platform seeks to optimize both inventory control and the management of such products. The proposed IoT platform integrates a web interface developed in the XAMPP environment and a mobile application implemented in Ionic for the efficient management of promotional product handling in commercial establishments. The platform utilizes a Raspberry Pi 3 as a Broker/Server that can be accessed through the Intranet or the Internet. Information such as the promotion end date, price, and item name, among others, is transmitted, processed, and stored on the Broker/Server, and from there, it is sent to a backup server located in the Internet cloud. The platform also includes configurable IoT nodes equipped with a display to visualize product information. These nodes are constructed using ESP8266 Wifi cards that communicate with the Broker/Server via the router through the local area network. The platform uses the web interface and a mobile application to send push notifications and emails to both administrative departments and employees responsible for the products located on the shelves.