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2007 - Sales Analysis Database For Manufacturer
A privately held manufacturing company with several hundred employees had an extensive manufacturing and accounting database running in a legacy mainframe (Unix) database environment (Reality/PICK). They needed sophisticated sales analysis information and found that their legacy database was ill-suited for this role. They were reluctant to tinker with a mission-critical part of their operation, so we designed a SQLServer database to house the information they needed. A set of automated applications were developed to periodically extract information from various portions of the legacy database and update the SQLServer database. Sales and margin information can then be extracted and presented in report and/or spreadsheet form. A standard group of SQL Queries are run automatically to produce weekly data distributed to geographically dispersed sales reps via the company's intranet. Ad hoc queries can be run at any time. Client contact information available on request.
2006 - Mailing List Management Database And Application Suite For Information Company
An information company specializing in the insurance industry with a nationwide mailing list database of more than 1,000,000 insurance agents was struggling to support multiple list sales reps from a desktop database with a very flat table structure. Simple count requests could be satisfied by sales reps using a spreadsheet that was often out of date, and more complex count requests had to be submitted on paper for processing by production staff. Response time was often measured in days and the system suffered from significant discrepancies between counts quoted and the size of orders actually delivered leading to customer confusion and sales rep frustration. We developed a SQLServer database and application suite that enable sales reps to retrieve accurate count estimates in seconds, email quotes to customers in PDF and spreadsheet formats right from the application, and request fulfillment of a quote by selecting output type and setting a status. Production staff then release the order when accounting approves it and the file is created and emailed automatically to the customer. Sales rep frustration is down, customer satisfaction is up, and mailing list fulfillment cost is greatly reduced. Client contact information available on request.
2005 - Automated Credit Card Recurring Payments Process
A directory publisher with a new and growing monthly subscription product offering was looking for a way to automate the several hundred monthly credit card charge actions required to support their subscriptions. We designed, developed, and implemented an automated process that ran each day after business hours and extracted information from the client's subscription database to determine which credit cards should be charged and for how much. A batch was then prepared and sent via FTP to the credit card merchant services company (Paymentech) for processing. Another portion of the process checked back periodically for completed batches on Paymentech's FTP site for posting back into the clients subscription database. This process required certification by Paymentech that it satisfied credit card processing security standards. All sensitive information was stored in strongly encrypted formats, and all access was strictly controlled. Required reports were built on the fly into PDF files and distributed to appropriate recipients via email. The process ran trouble-free for 2 years until it was discontinued when the client's financial systems were merged into their parent company's systems. Client contact information available on request.
2005 - Direct To PDF Directory Composition System and Print-On-Demand Directory Fulfillment
As print directory press runs declined in favor of electronic directory products, a major nationwide publisher was looking for a way to reduce the high cost associated with the production of print directories. We assisted in the selection of an in-house OCE high speed page printing system to replace outsourced printing. We also developed a "Direct to PDF" composition system for them that brought previously outsourced composition services in-house at a substantial reduction in cost along with a color laser printer application for the production of soft covers. This "Direct to PDF" process allowed them to maintain a library of directory images that can be printed on demand avoiding inventory carrying costs. Client contact information available on request.
2004 - National Consumer And Business Directory On The Web
A publishing company with 300 print titles and extensive CD directory products wanted to offer a nationwide web version of their publications to their customers. We designed a web interface for their product building on their existing CD-ROM database engine. In order to discourage the unauthorized capture of data displayed on the screen, we developed an innovative rendering engine that converted text into a series of image stripes on the fly. Using images in this fashion prevented users from "scraping" valuable data from underlying HTML and the "striping" technique made image capture and OCR far more difficult. Client contact information available on request.
2004 - Automated Monthly National Database Update Process
A publishing company, acquired by a large publicly held information company, wanted to convert their product line to use information provided by the parent company in place of their internal compilation processes. We developed an automated process to build a suitable combined business and consumer database for the entire nation each month by merging several databases owned by the parent company. The processing of 750,000,000 records each month was accomplished in two to three days by utilizing the excess capacity of locally available servers and workstations during off-peak hours avoiding the need for any new hardware purchases to support the process. Extractions from the resulting database were used for the following month to support all of the publishers products increasing consistency between product lines and greatly reducing costs. Client contact information available on request.
2000 - Windows OCR White Page Data Capture System
A directory publisher needed to upgrade its DOS based telephone white page data capture operation to increase capacity and reduce cost. The company had been one of the first to utilize OCR in the mid-1990's but wanted to take advantage of advances in PC computer power, OCR software, imaging technology, and user interfaces (Windows). We developed a new white page data capture system based around Prime Recognition's multi-engine OCR. Custom image handling and archiving was developed along with a suite of Windows GUI post-OCR processing applications to convert the OCR text stream into usable telephone listing data records. Direct labor content was halved (to about 1 cent/listing) and capacity doubled (to about 30,000,000 listings/year). At the conclusion of the project, full cost per listing captured was less than half of offshore (Indian) keying services rates for comparable data.
1999 - CRM and Pervasive SQL
As Y2K approached, the mainframe housing a CRM and accounting system was going to need a substantial upgrade to ensure that the OS would handle the century change. We led the effort to re-locate the entire system in a Windows client/server environment using Pervasive SQL to house the database and re-writing the user interface as a Windows GUI to replace the previous mainframe character based interface. The project was begun in early 1999 and completed on schedule allowing the mainframe to be abandoned without any further investment in mainframe technology. The cost of the development project was only slightly more than the projected costs of upgrading the mainframe leaving the CRM system's owner much better positioned for future growth.
1996 - Windows Based Directory Compilation System
A directory publisher that had been utilizing mainframe based technology for compiling the information published in their directories wanted to take advantage of the increasing power of PC based networking. We designed and developed a complete Windows client/server solution that greatly improved productivity and information quality while substantially reducing cost.
1994 - Industry First OCR White Page Data Capture
We designed, developed, and deployed the cross-reference directory industry's first successful telephone white page data capture system using an early OCR technology. We developed a DOS based data formatting system to extract usable directory listings from the unformatted text stream created by the OCR process. This included tracking thousands of phone book pages thru the system to ensure complete processing, automatic error correction for many common scanning/OCR errors, and formatting the text from the OCR process into data records suitable for submission to the publisher's directory compilation system. The system was able to reduce data capture headcount from 35 to 12 while maintaining the publisher's reputation for high quality information and meeting a demanding production schedule of 15,000,000 listings annually.
1993 - CD-ROM White Page Database Search Engine
In the early 1990's, the CD publishing market for telephone white page information was dominated by software supplied by Dataware. A group of independent directory publishers wanted to produce their own entry in the market, so we developed a proprietary database designed for high-speed performance even on the slow CD devices of the day. It allowed highly compressed data to be accessed very efficiently from CDs, allowing up to 7,000,000 listings to be stored on a single CD volume complete with search software, indices, and support data. We also developed a very flexible DOS user interface, and later a Windows interface. The database engine is still in use today powering a popular CD title.
1989 - CRM And Accounting System
A direct marketing company with 50,000 customers wanted to update their customer service application so we developed a mainframe database and transactional application suite with a number of batch support applications (invoicing, billing, direct mail renewals, sales reporting, etc). This system was deployed in 1989, updated to Windows in 1999, and stayed in service until the spring of 2007 when it was retired as part of the consolidation of the company into a large publicly held parent.