Last month we announced that Mike Ross and Ross Digital have joined the Portage Bay Solutions team. This month we’re delighted to share that we’ve also welcomed Charles Wiltgen and Anastasia Woyna, a brother and sister duo who are behind the success of Seed System Solution, a highly versatile data management solution for seed sales and seed production industry.
Creative Customized Programming was founded by Lisa and Charles Wiltgen in 2013 after developing a custom software program for an independent seed company.
Lisa Wiltgen hadn’t intended to become a self-taught FileMaker developer, but in the mid-90s she began working in the lunch room at her children’s elementary school where she saw a need for a more efficient system for tracking which students were eating meals daily and what food inventory was on hand. She later worked in the administrative office, where the superintendent asked her to learn FileMaker 4. Lisa saw how it could be used to create the lunchroom program and save hours of manual work each week.
She worked with a FileMaker firm to build out an effective solution that was adopted by the entire school district. She also built a solution that allowed the school district to manage and search teacher applications. Lisa then worked at that FileMaker company, helping to market and support the software for other districts.
Her next career stop was becoming an in-house developer for a local steel manufacturing company, where a mutual connection introduced her to an independent seed producer looking to develop data management software. Recognizing the potential scale of the project, Lisa enlisted her son, Charles, to collaborate and with the approval of the seed production company, Seed System Solution was named and marketed to other seed companies.
Charles has been a full-time developer for Creative Customized Programming since 2014, with Annie Woyna joining the next year as office manager and project manager. Over the years, the seed sales software has continued to grow and improve, thanks to the contributions of multiple developers and the valuable input of over thirty end-user companies.
Today, Seed System Solution is a comprehensive, all-in-one management tool. The system handles every aspect of such businesses, so much so that these companies no longer find themselves moving back and forth between multiple programs. Many don’t even need a separate accounting system – Seed System Solution takes care of it all.
The program is truly a marvel with its capabilities, but also because the thoughtfulness with which it was programmed is evident at every level. We first met Charles and Annie through one of Creative Customized Programming’s former developers, and friend of ours, Ann Kiser. As we continued talking over the last several months we found ourselves super impressed with their FileMaker solution. And we have also been impressed with Charles and Annie as people and with their mindfulness toward their customers and their craft. Their approach is attentive, personal, and responsive and they are committed to keeping their product relevant and capable.
Through our discussions, we’ve been privileged to bring Seed System Solution in-house and now offer it alongside our other vertical market options – E-Com, and Easy213. Charles has joined our team of developers, as a Senior Application Developer. And Annie joins as a Project Coordinator to help manage support requests and keep our Teamwork system organized.
We’re also grateful to have Annie’s skills focused on handling much of our invoicing and billing tasks, as we’ve recently moved away from our long-used AccountEdge system and to QuickBooks Online.
Charles brings eleven years of experience in FileMaker development from his time at Creative Customized Programming, where he worked with independent seed companies to develop Seed System Solution.
During that time he learned all he could about the crop seed production and the seed sales industry to provide the most comprehensive solution possible for companies intricately involved in maintaining our food supply.
Away from the office Charles likes to garden, raise rabbits, and spend time camping with his wife and two wonderful daughters.
With a unique blend of psychology, project management, and customer service expertise, Annie brings a fresh perspective to Portage Bay. Her ten years in project and office management at Creative Customize Programming, coupled with eight years in customer service, back office, and inventory supervision at Best Buy, have equipped her with a deep understanding of operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
When she’s not immersed in the world of databases, you can find Annie enjoying the simple pleasures of life, such as enjoying county living or spending quality time with her family at the lake.
Seed System Solution provides so many helpful elements to help you see a high return on your investment. It tracks production contracts and bagging services, purchase orders and accounts payables, customer lists, seed sales orders, customer invoicing and payment tracking, inventory management, and seed quality management.
You can track financials in real-time for your entire process. Simple-to-use reports are all in one location and you can determine report access through staff access levels.
Unlike other options in the seed industry, Seed System Solution can be customized any way you would like. We don’t just put your logo on every layout and call it personalized. Do you offer special customer incentives? Do you need special reports? We can handle that and any other expansions that you need from the base program.
Some aspects can be handled within your monthly service contract amount. For more complex areas, we’ll talk with you about specific requirements and then provide a quote and time estimate for getting your request implemented.
The base version of Seed System Solution provides all of these things and more:
Check out our YouTube channel for some walkthrough videos such as these:
Are you in the seed industry and would like to learn more about using Seed System Solution for your own business? Schedule a call with us and we’ll be delighted to take you through the program and show you the possibilities. You can also catch us at some of the upcoming seed conferences.
We’ll be attending these events for certain, and possibly more throughout the year. We’re glad to have Annie and Charles on board with Portage Bay, and we look forward to seeing you!
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