Say Lance Armstrong and sports fans say cycling. Say Lance Armstrong's rig and serious cyclists say Trek. Based in Waterloo, Wisconsin, the Trek Bicycle Corporation began in 1976 as a manufacturer of bicycle frames — and two years later added complete bikes to their product line. Since then, Trek bicycles have emerged as the clear choice of serious riders, whether for racing or off–road adventure — carrying such well–known competitors as Armstrong and Roland Green to victory in races as prestigious as the Tour de France and mountain biking's Sea Otter Classic. "We manufacture bicycles, bicycle clothing, and accessories that we sell through authorized dealers around the world," notes graphic design production manager Tricia Burke. In the United States alone, over 1500 dealers carry Trek products, with additional outlets in Canada and overseas. One of Treks secrets is its detailed attention to the retail end of its business — providing dealers with a comprehensive catalogue of parts and accessories. A serious catalogue requires a serious database — like FileMaker Pro, the award–winning database software application from FileMaker Inc.!

Business Challenge

This network of authorized dealers is essential to Trek's sales philosophy — stressing personal dealer–to–consumer service. And it's Tricia's job to oversee the production of an essential tool in keeping this network in motion. "We've been using FileMaker Pro for about 5 years," she explains. "We started using it to create our 'TCG Catalog' which features all of our parts and accessories for dealers to buy."

Originally, the catalog was assembled manually, with a staff of data–entry people keying each product, page by page, into the layout software — a tedious, time–consuming process. But FileMaker Pro allows the necessary information to be exported directly into QuarkXPress. "By storing all of our information in one place we have gained many efficiencies from a production standpoint," Tricia comments. "Having the ability to export information directly into a graphics layout program saves us time — which saves us money!"

Successful Solution

With over 8,000 records in the TCG Catalog database, it's easy to see the savings in data entry work alone — and it's equally easy to see why other uses are being found for the power of FileMaker Pro. "We have since developed databases for image tracking, product tracking, personnel information, and print information," adds Tricia. "We're still trying to communicate the power of FileMaker Pro to other groups within the company — I think if they took the time to see what the program could do for them, they would benefit more. Right now, they tend to just enter the information like we ask — and not think about how they could use that information in other aspects of their daily work."

Having the ability to export information directly into a graphics layout program saves us time — which saves us money!

— Tricia Burke, Graphic Design Production Manager, Trek Bicycle Corporation