WEBVTT 00:01.459 --> 00:03.044 Window furnishings is 00:03.044 --> 00:07.924 actually an inherently complex and challenging thing to do. 00:07.924 --> 00:11.136 People look at curtains and blinds and go, oh, how hard can that be? 00:11.845 --> 00:16.182 But the reality is you've got to combine a lot of elements. 00:16.182 --> 00:21.938 So the ability to be able to simplify some of the approaches has been, I think, 00:21.938 --> 00:25.734 one of the most transforming things about our FileMaker app. 00:27.444 --> 00:30.071 McKenzie and Willis has been around for quite a long time. 00:30.071 --> 00:33.658 It was started originally by my great grandfather in 1906. 00:33.658 --> 00:37.996 We’re essentially an interior design and retail business. 00:38.788 --> 00:42.250 We looked at a the window furnishing side of our business. 00:42.584 --> 00:46.921 It was an enormously paper based, data based, 00:46.921 --> 00:50.175 mistake ridden but significant part of our business. 00:50.175 --> 00:54.679 I mean, we saw them using pieces of paper and spreadsheets when we first arrived, 00:54.679 --> 00:58.141 and you could tell by the pieces of paper that were just obliterated 00:58.141 --> 01:01.811 with handwriting all over them that it's a way complex problem. 01:01.978 --> 01:03.772 For this project we went out on site, 01:03.772 --> 01:07.400 I got to see what it's like to be a window furnishing consultant, 01:07.567 --> 01:09.819 measuring out for curtains and blinds. 01:10.195 --> 01:13.198 From a technical standpoint, I quite like working with numbers. 01:13.198 --> 01:17.702 So the calculation side of things was it was quite challenging and eye opening. 01:18.244 --> 01:21.081 Who knew that there would be so many calculations 01:21.081 --> 01:25.627 going into making just a curtain, even a simple curtain. 01:26.044 --> 01:28.963 The beauty of the app is that 01:29.255 --> 01:33.176 right at the beginning, once you've established how you're going to cover that window, 01:33.176 --> 01:37.263 that information is plugged in before you start any measuring 01:37.430 --> 01:43.311 so that it actually talks you through what you need to record for that solution. 01:43.394 --> 01:44.813 One of the things that makes FileMaker 01:44.813 --> 01:48.525 uniquely capable for this type of solution is that it can work online or offline. 01:48.733 --> 01:51.736 We're even able to compile it as a standalone app 01:51.736 --> 01:53.363 so that it has a native feel. 01:53.363 --> 01:55.156 It's fast and easy to use. 01:55.156 --> 01:57.367 Having the digital app that can be accessed 01:57.367 --> 02:01.246 from remote locations means that we can teach 02:01.246 --> 02:05.208 and consult and assist from here, 02:05.208 --> 02:07.001 where we never used to be able to in the past. 02:07.001 --> 02:10.213 We were fascinated watching the productivity lift 02:10.547 --> 02:14.759 and what we saw it do to the amount that an individual consultant 02:14.759 --> 02:16.219 could actually process. 02:16.219 --> 02:18.972 We've integrated with their accounting system 02:18.972 --> 02:22.350 and the tools that Claris FileMaker give us, 02:22.350 --> 02:26.146 allow us to integrate with those third party APIs quite easily, 02:26.354 --> 02:30.733 and that's helped streamline their admin processes more as well. 02:30.900 --> 02:33.486 I've never been part of anything like this before. 02:33.486 --> 02:36.906 So to be able to take what's in my head 02:37.073 --> 02:40.660 after 30 years of, you know, being in the industry 02:40.994 --> 02:44.330 and get all of that data into one simple, 02:44.664 --> 02:47.584 portable little app, 02:47.584 --> 02:52.046 you know, on an iPad, and know that my consultants are going into homes 02:52.297 --> 02:56.050 with so much of what's in here already prepared for them. 02:56.384 --> 02:59.429 I mean, it's just game changing and it makes me feel great. 02:59.637 --> 03:01.848 I just hope it's come across how much I love it. 03:01.848 --> 03:04.684 I honestly love it.