Customer stories


Lark in the Morning

Worldwide music retailer tracks orders and inventory with a series of FileMaker Pro databases

Distinctive melodies require distinctive musical instruments. And that’s the business of Lark in the Morning, a leading retailer and wholesaler of musical instruments and supplies. Lark in the Morning specializes in the unusual and the exotic, supplying unique instruments from all over the world, from hammered dulcimers to bagpipes. Keeping track of their orders and their vast inventory requires high-powered data management technology, technology that’s made simple by FileMaker Pro, the award-winning database software application from FileMaker, Inc.


Business challenges

For over thirty years, musicians have turned to Lark in the Morning for distinctive musical instruments. First through their mail order catalog and retail outlets, and now also through their online store, Lark in the Morning offers a wide range of hard -to-find musical products. “We’re an industry of one,” comments company database developer Tim Hall, “with customers on every continent.”

Early on, company founder Mickie Zekeley recognized the importance of keeping the business well organized, and that’s a challenge that’s only grown more critical as the company expands its product range. “We have over 3,000 suppliers,” Hall comments. “Those suppliers and all of the products we carry have to be tracked—and try and manage that on paper!


Successful solution

The company began looking at database options in the late 1980s. “We could have bought a custom solution to handle our needs,” Hall relates, “but that would have cost up to $200,000 just to develop, and it still wouldn’t have been all that versatile or easy to use.”

So Mickie Zekeley designed his company’s first FileMaker Pro database all on his own. “He had no prior experience with databases,” Hall continues, “and he chose FileMaker Pro simply because it looked easy.” Zekeley used that early version of FileMaker Pro to develop a simple point-of-sale database, and that was the seed from which the company’s entire database system would grow.

Hall joined the company about eight years ago, and immediately took an interest in the database system. “I modernized the original version as new versions of FileMaker Pro came along,” he says. “I’ve made suggestions for additions and improvements, and now I’m pretty much in charge of the whole thing. I can honestly say that working with FileMaker Pro’s been the most enjoyable and satisfying creative experience I’ve ever had.”


"When our new owner asks for special information or special reports, we don’t have to bring in some expensive outside developer to write the necessary application. I can just sit down and write a few lines of code for FileMaker Pro and there it is—and you can’t put a price tag on efficiency like that."

Tim Hall, database developer, Lark in the Morning


Customer benefits

Now, FileMaker Pro is at the heart of Lark in the Morning’s order processing and inventory systems, and it figures to remain there for a long time to come. “Our new owner was interested in looking into what other companies are using, and into what other database products could do,” Hall notes, “but I think we’re well on the road to convincing him that anything those products can do, we can do easier and more cost effectively with FileMaker Pro."

The system also means real savings in future development costs, with easy to use FileMaker Pro making customization a simple, straightforward process. “When our new owner asks for special information or special reports, we don’t have to bring in some expensive outside developer to write the necessary application,” Hall concludes. “I can just sit down and write a few lines of code for FileMaker Pro and there it is—and you can’t put a price tag on efficiency like that.”



Contact information

Tim Hall
Database Developer
Lark in the Morning
408-987-7227
tim@swing-thing.com
http://larkinthemorning.com


Filemaker Contact:

Kevin Mallon
Public Relations Manager
FileMaker Inc.
408-987-7227
kevin_mallon@filemaker.com
http://www.filemaker.com


Overview
  • Worldwide music retailer tracks orders and inventory with a series of FileMaker Pro databases
  • Based in Fort Bragg, CA
  • About 50 employees
Industry
  • Retail/Wholesale
  • Small Business
Solutions
  • Point of sale and order-tracking system
  • Inventory management system
Benefits
  • Ability to track merchandise orders from placement to shipping facilitates management of a large network of worldwide suppliers
  • Databases may be modified or customized by company’s on-staff developer without need of expensive outside consultants