For this project, we worked with a local IT staffing agency that placed contractors with major employers in need of supplemental technical talent and specialized expertise.  They work with businesses of all sizes, filling short- and long-term vacancies.

Problem

Our client was having a hard time requesting, receiving, sorting, and overall managing invoices from their vendors and contractors. They needed a solution to allow their vendors and contractors to submit and manage invoices, all the while having back-office access in case any unforeseen circumstances happen.  They also needed to be able to correlate these invoices with their clients, to make sure they bill properly for everything.

Solution

In order to allow our client’s vendors and contractors to create and manage their invoices that can be accessed by multiple people at the same time remotely, we created a small web app that provided a web interface for third-party vendors to access, as well as a FileMaker interface for back-office access, all backed by a MySQL database. For this project, we used PHP, MySQL, Symfony, JavaScript, jQuery, Twitter Bootstrap, and FileMaker Pro.

Results

The web app has enabled our clients’ vendors and contractors to not only create but also manage invoices on just a single platform and has been rid of the worry that they may have missed the last month’s invoice somewhere in an email thread. 

Our client is a leading asset liquidation company in Texas that provides data center decommissioning, e-waste recycling, and generator removal services that go above and beyond other liquidation companies.  They have serviced numerous businesses like hotels and large enterprises by helping them resell old but still functional equipment at a  good value. They are a green company whose aim is to reduce the e-waste footprints left when equipment upgrades are made within a company.

Problem

Our client handles a lot of e-waste recycling and reselling of used IT equipment, including PCs, laptops, and servers for resale after liquidation.  As part of their business model, they need to test all this equipment thoroughly, accurately documentation configuration and hardware specifications for each unit, and (most importantly) ensure all of their clients’ data is securely destroyed.

Once a unit has been tested and its data wiped, an eCommerce listing must be generated to tell prospective buyers about the machine so that it can be resold.

Solution

At Liquis, we built a script, which would run on a Linux live CD, or USB bootable thumb drive, to automate the processing of PCs, laptops, and servers for resale after liquidation.  The script used various Linux utilities to extract hardware specifications, format them into XML and insert that data into the company’s FileMaker database.

After this process was completed successfully, the script would also securely erase the machine’s hard drive using a process based on DoD standards, in order to ensure sensitive client data is not left on the machines upon resale.  For this project we made use of Linux Bash scripting; utilities like dd, dmidecode, and others; and FileMaker’s XML-based custom web publishing.

Results

Automation was the first step in simplifying what was originally a complicated system with a lot of manual data entry. Through automation, they were able to optimize the time and resources spent during the processing of PCs, laptops, and servers for resale after liquidation and reinvest that time better.

Our client is a leading asset liquidation company in Texas that provides data center decommissioning, e-waste recycling, and generator removal services that go above and beyond other liquidation companies.  They have serviced numerous businesses like hotels and large enterprises by helping them resell old but still functional equipment at a  good value. They are a green company whose aim is to reduce the e-waste footprints left when equipment upgrades are made within a company.

Problem

The client had a somewhat unique business model, in which they would inventory and process assets from numerous client companies.  They would ensure the destruction of any sensitive or confidential client information, test all equipment, resell it online, and then pay back a commission to the client who owned the equipment.

This model was very appealing to clients, but it presented certain complexities.  It meant the client was still the owner of the asset until final disposition.  Because of the sensitive nature of the arrangement, great care must be taken to protect client data and track all assets, and report inventory effectively.

Meanwhile, in addition to serving these clients, they were also running an eCommerce business, managing online listings, titles, shipping, and everything that comes with that.  They needed to track everything in a consistent manner while processing goods efficiently in order to maintain profit margins.

Solution

We built a custom FileMaker application that managed nearly every aspect of the company’s day-to-day operations.  This included tracking of incoming trucks, pallets, and assets; automatically importing product photos for online sales; ODBC import/export with MSSQL-based eBay listing tool; complex financial report generation; and automated pick and shipping systems.

We also built a web interface, allowing clients to log in and view the complete status of items entrusted to the company in real-time.

During this project, we used FileMaker Pro, PHP, MySQL, MS SQL, eBay Blackthorne, ODBC, rsync, Groovy, UPS Shipping XML API, Java printing APIs, among other technologies.

Results

With the improvements and automation implemented, our client was able to successfully streamline their business processes easily and efficiently and had greatly reduced (if not eliminated) basic system errors that usually came along with the process.