July, 2005

Customizing Business Information at F.E. Wheaton & Co.

By Noelle Creamer

Because each business operates differently, creating a technology solution for your business is not as simple as purchasing good business management software. These systems are a good start as they are relational databases, full of information. Developing systems to work along side of this core system is the next step in maximizing the return on your investment in technology.

F. E. Wheaton & Co., Inc., based in Yorkville, Ill., uses the ECS Pro system from Activant Solutions. Through the years, the IT team at Wheaton has supplemented this system by creating their own database, systems of their own and by developing ways to use the data from their core system in formats that work better for them.

Cheryl Reckamp is the systems manager at Wheaton. She says, "The ECS Pro system, like many others, is an Informix® database system. Anything in a database is extractable. We find ways to extract the data we want and use it in other packages.” Wheaton has a development license for Informix so that they can make changes to the database. Reckamp adds that other dealers users use ODBC for the same ends.

A comprehensive dispatch system is one of the "side systems” in use at Wheaton. Reckamp says, "This is more than a delivery tracking system. We use it to track order activities. All pages are bar-coded, scanned and include an order number and activity code. We can track paperwork all around the office to the actual delivery.” She has the system set up to automatically refresh every fifteen minutes.

Another way that Wheaton enhances their business management system is by adding their own battery of reports. Reckamp notes that they have written at least 100 additional reports, using information from their ECS Pro database and/or information from their own database. For example, they use in-house commission reports and track special order items on an Excel spreadsheet that everyone can access and understand easily.

Barcodes play a big role at F. E. Wheaton, too, supplementing the core system with a more efficient way to track items. The company writes barcodes using description lines; then, they scan and organize. Special order items are bar-coded using information from the system-generated receipt and then placed in bins.

Reckamp credits company president Jeff Brown with beginning the foray into supplemental Informix programming. She has a strong background in programming and database development, too, formerly working on the IPass system in Los Angeles. "One system probably won’t meet all of your needs,” says Reckamp. "You’ll either want additional reports or additional features - now or later. While paying for custom programming is always an option, we like to do it on our own!”

An off-the-shelf system is a great core for your technology solution; use your IT resources to adapt and improve it with supplemental tools, reports, or add-on programs to work specifically for your business and you’ll have a complete solution.