Integrating and extending IT Systems with LiveCode
As General Manager of Encres Dubuit, a French manufacturer of screen-printing inks, Christophe Dubuit knows all about the nearly unlimited IT needs of SMEs. Encres Dubuit is well established in a number of international markets and listed on the Paris Stock Exchange.
Dubuit chose LiveCode to extend the company’s new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
“RunRev’s LiveCode has been the perfect answer for us.”
“We recently changed our ERP system and went for X3 from the British publisher Sage. X3 relies on a MS SQL server. That was like opening a window for us because our previous ERP was hopelessly based on a proprietary database.”
“Because 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.”
“So one of the challenges was to make the new X3 system talk to our production system.”
“RunRev’s LiveCode has been the perfect answer for us.”
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.
Why LiveCode
We asked Dubuit exactly why they chose LiveCode for the job.
"It's a cost cutting tool that allows us to provide a far better experience to our users than the alternatives"
“It's 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. We then set automated scheduled tasks up on a server to launch those applications. We have a variety of these applications now. One of them computes the stock of raw materials going out from our production system and updates the X3 system. Another takes the stock coming in and mirrors the information from the X3 system to the production system. Then we have an application that checks the location of stock articles. It checks if a new article was created in X3. We also have an application that scans the bills of lading and automatically emails our customers to tell them that the shipment has left the factory. With LiveCode, we can create pretty much any application we can imagine, many of them in just an afternoon.”
Smart Front Ends for Smart End Users
“The stock entry function built into X3 did not have all the features we required and was not user friendly. We wanted to increase the amount of information that was given to the user, to simplify the process and to reduce the risk of errors. So we created an executable that reads the data from the X3 system and from our production system.”
“Creating these sorts of front ends is another place where LiveCode just can’t be beaten. It’s so easy and so fast to design an interface. By doing so we can interface with and extend the capabilities of both systems, bypassing interface and functional limitations.”
“LiveCode has a flexible set of delivery options for these 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. And a lot of money saved on software licenses and training. We’re currently adding a CRM system that perfectly fits our needs.”
Meeting the IT needs of SMEs in any economy
“The IT needs of SME’s are virtually unlimited. We have to stay competitive in an ever-changing environment. And the main barrier to doing that is cost. There is nothing new or fancy about that. But it has been a truth that was too easily forgotten when the economic situation was better. In these frugal times, we must leverage technology to reduce costs. We have to be able to do more with less.”
“What is missing for most companies of our size is a mixer an affordable tool toaggregate 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.”
“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.”