Mercanest Tech

One platform from the sensor to the shop owner’s phone.

Mercanest builds shop software and small connected devices on the same accounts, the same database and the same API. This is how the pieces fit, and what we are building next.

See the platformRead the roadmap
POST /v1/readings
{
  "device": "fridge-0417",
  "metric": "temperature_c",
  "value": 11.4,
  "at": "2026-10-07T05:41:12+01:00"
}
  1. Device buffers the readingThe shop's network was down for 9 minutes. The device kept 2 readings and sent them when it came back.
  2. API accepts it, in orderPlain HTTPS and JSON. The reading is stored against the shop that owns the device.
  3. A rule matchesAbove 8 °C for 10 minutes, the limit this shop set for its vaccine fridge.
  4. The owner gets the alertOn their phone and on the same dashboard that shows their stock.
Illustrative example, not live data.

How it is put together

This is the design we are building to. Each product lists its own status on the business site.

Devices
ESP32 boards, firmware in CCheap, well supported and easy to replace. Prototypes start in the Arduino IDE and move to ESP-IDF for production firmware.
API
Django and Django REST FrameworkOne backend serves the apps and the devices, with one set of accounts and permissions.
Data
PostgreSQL with row-level securityEach shop is a tenant. Isolation is enforced in the database, so a bug in application code cannot show one shop another shop's data.
Background work
Redis and CeleryRule checks, expiry warnings and alert delivery run in the background, off the request path.
Apps
Next.js, installable and offline-capableSales are written to the device first and synced after, so a dropped connection does not stop the till.
Hosting
Docker, Nginx and RenderThe same container runs on a laptop, in staging and in production.

Three rules we build by

Offline first

Networks drop. Apps queue what people record and devices buffer what they measure. Both sync in order when the connection returns.

Standards over inventions

ESP32 for devices, plain HTTPS and JSON between devices and the API, ArduPilot and MAVLink when drones arrive. Anyone who knows these can work on Mercanest.

One identity

Inventory, Market and Labs share accounts and tenants. A pharmacy sees stock, orders and fridge temperature under one login.

Devices

Small, replaceable hardware that reports to the same dashboard as your stock.

What comes first, and what waits

Each phase has to earn its keep before the next one starts.

  1. Inventory

    Accounts, tenants, stock, sales and offline sync. The base the rest builds on.

    Available

  2. Market and device ingest

    The shared online store, plus the API that receives readings from devices.

    In development

  3. Devices in real shops

    Power and fridge monitors in a handful of paying shops, tested through real outages and heat.

    Planned

  4. Drones

    Built on the same telemetry and tenant model, once the earlier phases earn their keep.

    Planned

Running a shop, not building software?

The business site explains what Mercanest does for your stock, your online orders and your power and fridge alerts, without the engineering.

Go to mercanest.com

Talk to the engineers

Building something that should talk to Mercanest, or want to work on hardware and platform engineering with us? Tell us what you have in mind.

hello@mercanest.com