"EARL 5 is the world's most sophisticated tool for the lubricant professional. It provides fast, accurate access to lubricants recommendations and is an essential and powerful tool in sales support. We built our original database system in 1993 using FileMaker Pro 2, and have continued to use FileMaker on every upgrade. At each occasion, where we could have considered an alternative, FileMaker came up with the goods."

OATS

FileMaker Greases the Wheels of the Multi-Billion Pound Oil Industry

Founded in 1984, OATS provides information and marketing services to all the world's major oil companies including BPCastrol, ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil, TotalFinaElf, Fuchs, EngenPetronas, Shell, Statoil and Valvoline. In simple terms, OATS allows lubricant producers to help those involved in recommending and selling lubricants appropriate to cars, vans, commercial and agricultural vehicles to ensure that the right products with maximum profit potential are provided to the end customer.

OATS' help desk and sales support information services have long been the "bible" of the automotive and industrial lubricants market. The company's team of professionally qualified technical staff has been gathering vehicle and machinery manufacturers recommended lubricants information since 1984. As Europe's leading company engaged in this type of data sourcing and interpretation, OATS has rapidly achieved sustained credibility and an enviable reputation for accuracy.

Given the huge variety of products available, as well as the special conditions that pertain to individual local markets, a vast array of information has to be made available in a timely, accurate and concise format. Not only this, but the information must also be capable of being output in a variety of different ways such as charts, posters, email and customer quotation formats. Through FileMaker Pro, OATS has been able to create a highly sophisticated database application that can meet the heavy demands of the multi-billion pound lubricants industry. 78,000 records on 28,000 pieces of equipment from around 1,600 vehicle manufacturers are all tracked by this sophisticated database.

The original database system was built in 1993 using FileMaker Pro 2. The latest version of the application, known as EARL 5, is a substantial rebuilding of the OATS' database into a comprehensive global, multi-lingual, lubricants support package.

Using the latest functionality available in FileMaker Pro 6 has helped OATS enhance EARL 5 as the world's leading lubricants specifications database. Installed in over 50 countries, the EARL system operates simultaneously in 15 different languages. Customers can even switch between the various languages at any time – doing a search in one language and printing in another.

EARL 5 is as a full range of marketing, sales and technical tools designed to deliver powerful integrated solutions. EARL 5 helps increase sales, improve customer support and enhance the efficiency of dealer and sales force operations, worldwide. The system uses the rapid searching facilities of FileMaker. By allowing customers to customise the system with their own lubricants product ranges, EARL 5 also exploits the flexibility of FileMaker enabling OATS to create a complete Publishing system. With EARL5 Publisher users can create their own Books in their own languages, quickly and efficiently in minutes – a process that used to take months.

The new OATS EARL 5 features five separate modules: Retail, Commercial, Agriculture, Off-highway and Industrial. It includes 78,000 records on 28,000 pieces of equipment from around 1,600 vehicle manufacturers. OATS uses its global OEM liaison network to gather lubricant specification information at local level throughout the world. The data obtained in this way is validated to ISO 9002 standards. EARL5 thus enables subscribers to create an even sharper, more focussed approach, potentially achieving greater customer satisfaction and retention. It delivers electronically the precise data needed by users’ customers and enables the output to be personalised when printed, using consistent corporate designs. It also facilitates users to access key websites obtain additional information if needed.