Automated Photo Retrieval and Order Entry

The Positive Image, an aerial photography company located in Houston, Texas, maintains a library of more than 12,000 photographs. This massive collection, combined with a customer base located throughout the country, added up to a huge retrieval and order-management problem for the company.

Company officials wanted a solution that would automate the order-management process, deliver high-quality client transactions, and reduce research demands on its staff. The company selected Ken Golding Software to help them solve the problem.

The result is ImageWrangler, a complete photo-retrieval and order-entry system that encompasses four types of transactions: electronic searches of photographs, rapid delivery of previews to remote clients, order entry, and order tracking. With ImageWrangler, support staff can find, annotate, compress, and transmit a picture or group of pictures in less than five minutes. Customers can preview a high-quality image on their own computers and then call the company to place their order.

Installing ImageWrangler allowed the research staff to cut customer-response time in half. This rapid turnaround is very attractive to clients, leading to increased orders. And, with the status of orders instantly available, staff can respond to inquiries quickly and avert potential problems.

ImageWrangler also allows The Positive Image to reach new markets in distant cities that it was unable to serve efficiently in the past. Instead of having to come to Houston to review photos -- or make a decision based on a fax -- remote customers can now preview photos from the convenience of their own location.

Ken Golding developed the heart of the solution in Microsoft® Access, using the Microsoft Visual Basic® programming system to provide the graphics viewer, mapping front end, and automated communications links with remote customers. Golding cites "Microsoft's unparalleled level of support" as his number-one reason for choosing Microsoft Access. The Positive Image had already selected Microsoft Access for its photo database for the same reason.

Microsoft Access provides a further benefit for both the developer and user: they can leverage their existing knowledge across the Microsoft product line, significantly reducing their learning curve. In fact, the power and ease of use of Microsoft Access allowed Golding to build the solution in a record 150 hours. "With Microsoft Access I can do a lot more a lot faster than with any other tool I've ever used," he said. "I can give my customers all the features they want for a reasonable price. Just a few years ago, this kind of application was either very expensive or impossible."

By improving the response time and order-tracking capabilities of The Positive Image, ImageWrangler has increased both customer satisfaction and orders. In fact, John Mooney, The Positive Image president, says the company's gross revenues have increased by 40 percent as a direct result of implementing ImageWrangler.

Looking forward, Golding and Mooney are already planning the next release. This product will make the ordering process even simpler, allowing customers to place their orders electronically. In addition, a new module will allow The Positive Image to digitize photos on board the airplane, so they'll be ready to sell as soon as the plane lands.