We're building an AI curation + rules-based order processing engine for a subscription box brand shipping ~500 boxes a month.
We pre-build hundreds of kit SKUs monthly and fulfill through VeraCore.
The problem
Today, our team manually matches customers to pre-built kits across Shopify + Cratejoy.
This creates:
Wrong trimester / wrong size errors
Duplicate items sent to the same customer over multiple months
Newer inventory used before older inventory (waste + inefficiency)
What we need
An AI-assisted curation + deterministic rules engine that automatically assigns the correct pre-built kit SKU to each order while enforcing strict business rules and producing fully traceable decisions (not a black box).
Core Requirements
1) Order Assignment (Primary)
When a new order arrives (Shopify + Cratejoy), the system must:
- Calculate trimester from due date
- Match size (S/M/L/XL from quiz/metafields)
- Enforce NO duplicate items across that customer's full subscription journey
- Use oldest inventory first (FIFO by kit group: CB → CG → CJ)
- Output decisions to Google Sheets for human approval (VeraCore automation can come after MVP)
2) Customer "Memory" (Critical)
The system must "remember" everything a customer has received (across Shopify + Cratejoy) to prevent duplicates for the duration of their subscription
3) AI Use
AI can be used for:
Ranking between multiple valid kit options
Plain-English explanations
Curation suggestions
But all hard rules must be deterministic and testable.
Suggested Tech (you propose)
We're open to your recommendations, but we prioritize:
Reliability, speed, and clean rule logic
Cost-effective architecture
Persistent "memory" layer OR ability to pull cleanly from our existing datasets
Team visibility/editing (not a black box)
To Apply, Outline:
Your approach to this problem
Expected timeline and hours needed to complete the project
Your proposal and milestone plan
What Your Proposal MUST Include
Please include:
Recommended architecture + tech stack
Backend, DB/storage, hosting, job scheduler
Timeline
Cost (hourly or fixed) + milestone breakdown
Team (who's building it + roles)
Testing approach for:
No-duplicates rule (customer across many months)
Oldest-inventory-first rule (CB before CG before CJ)
Idempotency + webhook retries
Relevant experience (any of these):
Shopify webhooks
Fulfillment systems
Decision engines / allocation logic
Inventory + SKU mapping
Data We Will Provide
Shopify + Google Sheets access / API keys
Field mapping (due date, size, quiz preferences)
Existing kit SKU lists + kit composition legend
Historical fulfillment data (Pirate Ship labels and/or spreadsheets)
Nice-to-Have
Simple admin UI beyond Google Sheets
Monitoring/logging (Sentry/Datadog/etc.)
Reconciliation tools for inventory drift
Screening Question (Answer Required)
Briefly describe how you would design this system so we can guarantee no duplicate items across both Shopify + Cratejoy customers over 12 months.
Contract duration of less than 1 month. with 30 hours per week.
Mandatory skills: Shopify, Inventory Management, API, PHP, Web Development, Automation, n8n, JavaScript