Integrating many operations

Instead of clipboard based note taking on the aging process of Sea Breeze Farm cheeses and barreled wines, George Page now relies upon FileMaker Go for iPad to keep close track of this important data.

For the dairy operation, FileMaker Go for iPad allows Page and his staff to understand the production levels of cows on the farm. Page created several custom business solutions based on FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Server, and is now providing them through FileMaker Go 12 on employees’ iPads. Free to download from the App Store, FileMaker Go 12 securely connects to databases on FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Server. As employees go about their daily tasks on and off the island, the information they enter on iPad is instantly synchronized and updated on the back-end in FileMaker Server.

For the cheese business, employees note which types of milk are used in making cheese rounds and identify how long each round has been aged. In the wine cellar, FileMaker Go 12 for iPad has replaced clipboards for entering alcohol levels, pH readings, sulfite additions and historic data related to wine lots, while replacing paper notes with “all on the same page” database entry. Employees can note when barrels have been topped off, racked or which grapes make up a blend.

The butcher shop tracks orders and deliveries of custom cuts of meat—a Sea Breeze Farm specialty! Does a customer want a four-pound, Frenched pork rib roast or a shank-on leg of lamb? Where and when will the meat be picked up? Page and employees keep the details organized using FileMaker Go for iPad. These details were previously available from a centralized FileMaker database, but were not available to employees on the go, wherever crucial details were needed.

The form factor and flat screen of the iPad are especially important in the cramped butcher shop, where touch screens must be resistant to the marking of greasy fingers. “We have to track production for internal and regulatory purposes, constantly logging temperatures, refrigeration times, ingredients, recipes and weights,” says Page. “We need to do it in a tiny space and on a system that we can keep clean instead of running the risk of getting food stuck in a keyboard.”

Holistic business philosophy

Page’s FileMaker Go 12 business solution even tracks livestock. Employees log blood samples, vaccination records and changes in each animal’s weight. These vital statistics are analyzed, linking the cost of feed the animal has consumed to the value of the animal’s production in the form of milk and cheese—or, once butchered, ribs, chops and roasts.

Page notes that FileMaker Go 12 for iPad is reducing paper use and improving productivity among employees. The FileMaker Platform is also making it easier for Page to gain business insights through visual features such as charting. With FileMaker Pro 12, Page has the tools he needs to create elegant solutions, specifically tailored to the business. This saves time previously spent moving data into and out of a separate graphics package.

Says Page, “FileMaker Pro 12 helps me easily create custom business solutions for the iPad. The systems we have now are pleasing to look at, as well as highly functional—and that means our employees genuinely want to use them.”