Doing the database Mambo-style

Shaun Cameron-Lee, operations manager at Mambo Graphics, said the manufacturer had realised that it needed to develop a system which enabled it to collate information for designing and producing its garments. This ranged from details such as colours, fabrication, trimmings which were required, prints or embroidery, and sizes.

Cameron-Lee said it had previously been using a system the surfwear manufacturer had developed in-house using FileMaker. Because the existing system had been developed by the company's staff, as needs arose, Cameron-Lee said the company knew what it wanted in a database solution.

There were inefficiencies that needed to be eliminated, such as problems with communication between the system used by the designers, purchasing, production and distribution. There were also issues with duplication of records, as well as managing, maintaining and processing data in different locations.

Mambo's first try at setting up a new database had to be abandoned, nine months into development, after the solution which had been recommended to Mambo by another third-party provider didn't handle the graphics appropriately. "It's a gut-wrenching position to be in--to realise that you've invested and then had to change [to another solution]," Cameron-Lee said.

Instead, a Style Design System (SDS) based on FileMaker Pro 5.5 was developed for Mambo by Key Software. Components such as style design, sample production of styles, and production information about suppliers were included. Reporting features also meant that staff were able to use the system to figure out the quantities needed to produce clothing items in the surfwear manufacturer's range.

One of the reasons Mambo opted to go back to using a FileMaker Pro solution were features such as the graphics storing power which it needed. This meant that the manufacturer could produce catalogues and other visual aids in-house.

Going with the FileMaker Pro solution also allowed it to interface with the primary business system, an AS400 system called BPCS, at its parent company, Cameron-Lee said.

When Mambo had initially started looking at moving to a new database system 24 months earlier, it hadn't known that this was possible, he said.

Synchronisation was carried out between the FileMaker 5.5 based SDS system being set up and the BPCS, to help create reporting efficiencies. This was achieved by issuing SQL statements which interacted with a series of tables in the BPCS, which had been specifically created to enable the transfer of data between the two systems.

According to Cameron-Lee, the new Filemaker Pro system is now up-and-running, apart from some minor problems with the interface which still need to be ironed out.

Among the benefits Cameron-Lee sees for Mambo is the fact that data now isn't double-handed, and the huge time savings the company's made in not having to manually key-in information.