Platform: Custom PHP MySQL ♦ My Role: Development ♦ From/To: 2013 to Present
The Requirement
Hayes Shutters — based in Ellijay, Georgia, and owned and operated by David Hayes — manufactures blinds and custom plantation shutters for wholesalers and retail vendors who design and install those window treatments for homeowners. For years David received and processed shutter orders using an Excel spreadsheet he created.
David's customers would download and print out a PDF of the form, fill in dimensions and other specifications by hand, and then fax it back.
Upon receiving each fax, someone from Hayes — usually David — had to transfer all of the data into the master spreadsheet that automatically generates cut lists and calculates costs for each order.
It should come as no surprise that the potential for problems — namely, data that is either invalid or illegible or both — was great.
The Solution
My job was to create an online form for order entry and all the other "stuff" that allowed David to process and fulfull orders.
That "stuff" involved, primarily, (a) programming scripts for validating submissions and transforming them into files to be imported into Hayes’ master Excel spreadsheet; and (b) an administrative notification system and interface for downloading orders.
As a second phase of the project, we built a customer portal through which customers can view, print, and clone saved orders. Hayes personnel use the portal to view, print, search, download, and update the status of orders.
The customer portal and form are integrated into Hayes’ existing WordPress website, which was designed by a colleague of mine.
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