IshaSQL
Interview Core Track · Hard · 35 min
Find Stores with Inventory Imbalance
Table: stores +-------------+---------+ | Column Name | Type | +-------------+---------+ | store_id | int | | store_name | varchar | | location | varchar | +...
Company labels are directional practice context, not official interview guidance.
Objective
Practice aggregation through a IshaSQL-tagged business scenario.
Approach
Use this track to improve speed, edge-case handling, and accuracy under timed conditions.
Company context
Company labels are directional practice context, not official interview guidance.
Table: stores +-------------+---------+ | Column Name | Type | +-------------+---------+ | store_id | int | | store_name | varchar | | location | varchar | +-------------+---------+ store_id is the unique identifier for this table. Each row contains information about a store and its location. Table: inventory +-------------+---------+ | Column Name | Type | +-------------+---------+ | inventory_id| int | | store_id | int | | product_name| varchar | | quantity | int | | price | decimal | +-------------+---------+ inventory_id is the unique identifier for this table. Each row represents the inventory of a specific product at a specific store. Write a solution to find stores that have inventory imbalance - stores where the most expensive product has lower stock than the cheapest product. For each store, identify the most expensive product (highest price) and its quantity For each store, identify the cheapest product (lowest price) and its quantity A store has inventory imbalance if the most expensive product's quantity is less than the cheapest product's quantity Calculate the imbalance ratio as (cheapest_quantity / most_expensive_quantity) Round the imbalance ratio to 2 decimal places Only include stores that have at least 3 different products Return the result table ordered by imbalance ratio in descending order, then by store name in ascending order . The result format is in the following example. Example: Input: stores table: +----------+----------------+-------------+ | store_id | store_name | location | +----------+----------------+-------------+ | 1 | Downtown Tech | New York | | 2 | Suburb Mall | Chicago | | 3 | City Center | Los Angeles | | 4 | Corner Shop | Miami | | 5 | Plaza Store | Seattle | +----------+----------------+-------------+ inventory table: +--------------+----------+--------------+----------+--------+ | inventory_id | store_id | product_name | quantity | price | +--------------+----------+--------------+----------+--------+ | 1 | 1 | Laptop | 5 | 999.99 | | 2 | 1 | Mouse | 50 | 19.99 | | 3 | 1 | Keyboard | 25 | 79.99 | | 4 | 1 | Monitor | 15 | 299.99 | | 5 | 2 | Phone | 3 | 699.99 | | 6 | 2 | Charger | 100 | 25.99 | | 7 | 2 | Case | 75 | 15.99 | | 8 | 2 | Headphones | 20 | 149.99 | | 9 | 3 | Tablet | 2 | 499.99 | | 10 | 3 | Stylus | 80 | 29.99 | | 11 | 3 | Cover | 60 | 39.99 | | 12 | 4 | Watch | 10 | 299.99 | | 13 | 4 | Band | 25 | 49.99 | | 14 | 5 | Camera | 8 | 599.99 | | 15 | 5 | Lens | 12 | 199.99 | +--------------+----------+--------------+----------+--------+ Output: +----------+----------------+-------------+------------------+--------------------+------------------+ | store_id | store_name | location | most_exp_product | cheapest_product | imbalance_ratio | +----------+----------------+-------------+------------------+--------------------+------------------+ | 3 | City Center | Los Angeles | Tablet | Stylus | 40.00 | | 1 | Downtown Tech | New York | Laptop | Mouse | 10.00 | | 2 | Suburb Mall | Chicago | Phone | Case | 25.00 | +----------+----------------+-------------+------------------+--------------------+------------------+ Explanation: Downtown Tech (store_id = 1): Most expensive product: Laptop ($999.99) with quantity 5 Cheapest product: Mouse ($19.99) with quantity 50 Inventory imbalance: 5 < 50 (expensive product has lower stock) Imbalance ratio: 50 / 5 = 10.00 Has 4 products (≥ 3), so qualifies Suburb Mall (store_id = 2): Most expensive product: Phone ($699.99) with quantity 3 Cheapest product: Case ($15.99) with quantity 75 Inventory imbalance: 3 < 75 (expensive product has lower stock) Imbalance ratio: 75 / 3 = 25.00 Has 4 products (≥ 3), so qualifies City Center (store_id = 3): Most expensive product: Tablet ($499.99) with quantity 2 Cheapest product: Stylus ($29.99) with quantity 80 Inventory imbalance: 2 < 80 (expensive product has lower stock) Imbalance ratio: 80 / 2 = 40.00 Has 3 products (≥ 3), so qualifies Stores not included: Corner Shop (store_id = 4): Only has 2 products (Watch, Band) - doesn't meet minimum 3 products requirement Plaza Store (store_id = 5): Only has 2 products (Camera, Lens) - doesn't meet minimum 3 products requirement The Results table is ordered by imbalance ratio in descending order, then by store name in ascending order
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