LiveCode has been the perfect answer for us. We recently changed our ERP system to X3 which relies on a MS SQL server. Our processes are quite complex, we’ve developed our own systems over the years to manage every aspect of production within our company. We’ve based much of that production system on FileMaker Pro Server and one of the key challenges was to make the new X3 system talk to our production system.
Encres Dubuit uses LiveCode for a number of tasks. These include the deployment of batch processing tools, the creation of automated process robots that are launched on a daily basis and a set of smart front ends for specific types of end user within the organization.
LiveCode is a cost cutting tool that allows us to provide a far better experience to our users than the alternatives.
For example, it would have been very expensive to buy an X3 license for each member of the sales team and even if we had done that it would have had a very limited range of use. Sales people are obsessed with sales and by using LiveCode we could give them a tool focused on serving their needs. The front end we created for our sales force has a really short learning curve and is ideally suited, it meets their exact requirements.
Development of Batch Processing Tools
Our system had a number of requirements. We needed it to be able to handle large files, add data, modify data based on test results and do a variety of analysis and calculations. None of this was a problem with LiveCode. LiveCode’s rich text crunching capabilities using its “chunk” expression functions made this task easy. It helped us to format files and to migrate data from the old ERP system to the new one.
One of the key advantages of LiveCode in this process was the ability to design small “disposable” tools that are used only once. That’s practical to do with LiveCode because they are so quick and easy to create.
Automated Process Robots
Here, we used the ability of LiveCode to create executable applications. With LiveCode, we can create quickly pretty much any application we can imagine and set up automated scheduled tasks on a server to launch those applications. These include stock control and stock location, scanning bills and automatically emailing customers to tell them that the shipment has left the factory.
LiveCode has a flexible set of delivery options for our front end applications. We used the LiveCode Player to deliver the sales applications using a browser. That way our sales people can consult the latest figures; access orders, invoices and customer history, then download the results or upload sales visit reports. They can do this from anywhere – whether they are on the road or at home. The LiveCode Web application is just 150KB to download and works wonderfully.
We are constantly expanding our system. We recently added an application with a number of alert functions. For example, it sends out SMS or email if a customer sends in a PO that is over their limit. The cost of this addition? A couple of days of in-house development saving a lot of money on software licenses and training. We’re currently adding a CRM system that perfectly fits our needs.
Unlike really large companies we can’t afford to employ whole IT teams with dozens of consultants and developers. And we can’t afford to outsource everything. The solution has been to do it ourselves in-house. But traditional programming languages are out of the question, they are too time-consuming and not flexible enough.
What is missing for most companies of our size is a mixer: an affordable tool to aggregate data, to apply some clever formatting and calculations and then convey those results to people through a simple interface. LiveCode is our solution to that and it’s very efficient.
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