Customer stories


Progressive Solutions

A growing printing-mail service-fulfillment company builds continuing efficiencies with FileMaker Pro.

Information in motion is the business of Progressive Solutions, a growing printing-mail service-fulfillment company serving the corporate marketplace for the past decade and a half. Keeping that information in motion puts big demands on the Progressive Solutions database system, but those challenges are easily met by FileMaker Pro 7, the latest version of the award-winning database software solution from FileMaker, Inc.


Business challenges

Based in Santa Clara, California, Progressive Solutions provides services to a growing roster of clients. “In fourteen years in business we’ve grown from 20 jobs a month to as many as 300,” explains company President Mark Sarpa. Whether it’s the preparation of an attractive corporate brochure or coordination of a mass mailing, Progressive Solutions prides itself on timely, efficient service.

But efficiency requires careful planning, and detailed data-management. “We have a very complex transaction system which needs to be monitored at every level,” Mark continues. “We produce and inventory materials for our clients which exit our inventory in many ways. What that means is that if a client orders 400 copies of a publication or brochure, they might have 200 copies sent directly to them, 95 might be built into assembled kits, and the remaining105 will be added to inventory for future distribution. So we have a fairly complex bill-of-materials structure and we need to be able to track inventory on all these levels to see where all the materials end up.” The result, for Progressive Solutions, is an elaborate system of about 50 FileMaker Pro database files containing thousands of individual records, dealing with everything from order tracking to real-time inventory.


Successful solution

Progressive Solutions turned to FileMaker Pro in 1991, beginning with version 2.0 and continuing right to the present day. “We chose FileMaker Pro for flexibility,” says Mark. “In the old days, our databases were hardcoded, and we tended to let needed changes accumulate for months before we were able to manage a rebuild, because rewriting code was so much work. But with FileMaker Pro, if we need to make adjustments in a database to suit a client’s particular needs, we’re able to do that very quickly and easily.”

With such a solid track record in FileMaker Pro development, Progressive Solutions is excited about the new FileMaker Pro 7. “The way it looks now,” Mark declares, “we’re going to rebuild our system from the ground up, because we’re that confident FileMaker Pro 7 will improve our workflow.”


"We’re very excited about the ability to handle multiple files within a file and also about the ability to store documents electronically within FileMaker Pro 7 itself. This is something that’s very important to us."

Mark Sarpa, president, Progressive Solutions


Customer benefits

Added power and greater flexibility are always welcome in any database environment, and Mark expects there’ll be plenty to look forward to with FileMaker Pro 7. “We’re very excited about the ability to handle unlimited tables within a file,” he enthuses, “and also about the ability to store and export documents electronically within FileMaker Pro 7 itself via new flexible container fields. This is something that’s very important to us.”

In the past, Progressive Solutions stored electronic documents for clients on a series of five servers. This system complicated access to these materials, and when a Progressive Solutions representative needed to consult a particular document, it often took time to locate the requested file. “But with FileMaker Pro 7,” says Mark, “we’ll be able to bring up those documents with just a double-click, and if a client calls us with a question about some specific item, we can give a ten second answer instead of asking to call back with the information later.”



Contact information

Mark Sarpa
President
Progressive Solutions
408-982-1790
mark@printhq.com
www.printhq.com


Filemaker Contact:

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


Overview
  • Printing, mail service, and fulfillment needs for corporate clients are the focus for this growing company.
  • Based in Santa Clara, CA
  • About 15 employees
Industry
  • Creative Services
  • Printing/Publishing
  • Small Business
Solutions
  • Order tracking database
  • Real time inventory database
Benefits
  • FileMaker Pro applications are easily customized to suit the specific needs of clients.
  • Real-time inventory allows instantaneous tracking of print materials.
  • Easy-to-use document storage feature replaces a less-efficient multi-server file storage system.