Goodman Brothers, distributors of premium watch brands Omega, Tissot, Longines, and Swatch and cosmetic houses Dior, Guerlain, and Givenchy, has deployed D3 Linux on all its business management systems. The system upgrade has provided Goodman Brothers with improved management information reporting systems and the ability to respond more rapidly to customer queries.
The D3 Linux database management system, worth R900 000 handles debtors, creditors, stock, general ledger, order processing, bank deposits, bonded stock, workshop job tracking and dispatch.
"The new system provides management with timely access to month-end information. We are now able to extract accurate and reliable information on any queries within a short space of time," says Jack Shishler, financial director at Goodman Brothers.
Goodman Brothers have been using Pick products including the earlier R83 version for over 15 years and were using D3 SCO prior to migrating to D3 Linux.
"It was primarily Y2k concerns that compelled Goodman Brothers to re-evaluate its D3 SCO system which was running on Compaq hardware. Key to the decision making process was that Goodman Brothers recognised the need for a less proprietary solution. Thus we opted for Pick` D3 Linux running on N Acer Altos 1100," says Tom Power, one of the partners at Power Business Systems-the VAR that developed the bulk of the systems at Goodman Brothers.
The database system provides 25 concurrent users with easy access to information and the current investment in terminals was retained by purchasing a Digiboard Portserver which also facilitates a quick changeover to the backup machine should the production machine fail.
"We intend to link our Cape Town and Durban branches into the system. The system has been very instrumental in cutting administrative costs as we now able
to control the total movement of stock items and have access to whatever information we require," adds Shishler.
According to Power, the use of the Linux operating system has provided Goodman Brothers with a cost-effective solution and will facilitate web-based Intranet applications to be developed using Pick Systems FlashCONNECT.
"The combination of Pick`s D3 DBMS with the Linux operating system provides a very robust and cost-effective solution," says Adrian Oxborrow, managing director, Pick Systems Africa.
"D3 offers proven technology, high-performance and scalability along with relatively low-cost hardware requirements. Coupled with Linux`s exceptional performance and the flexibility of the its open source code, the D3 Linux solution boasts a total cost of ownership far below competing database solutions."
"There has been a recent upsurge of support for Linux. However, Pick recognised the value and benefits of the operating system as far back as 1994 and one was of the first companies to port to Pick. Our early adoption has enabled us to smooth out the obstacles, which occur in porting to a new operating system and consequently, we offer a very stable robust D3 Linux product," concludes Oxborrow.
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Pick Systems Africa
Pick Systems Africa is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pick Systems Inc., based in Irvine, California. Pick Systems is a leading developer of multi-user, multi-value database management system (DBMS) software. A pioneer in the industry, the Company introduced its first multi-value DBMS in 1973. Pick Systems markets its database solutions worldwide through a network of more than 250 value-added resellers supporting 2,000 VAR-developed applications. Pick Systems` primary markets, served through the Company`s network of VARs developing industry-specific vertical applications, are: manufacturing, distribution, medical, financial services and wholesale/retail.