Better Online Solutions

We make sense out of disparate data creating elegant solutions to streamline processes.

About Us

Who are you? We are an agile team of programmers and designers based in St. Louis and lead by Scott Gurley.

What do you do? In a nutshell, we build tools our clients use to do business. While these are web-based tools, these aren't your usual "Brochure on the Web" type of websites. Instead, our sites are fully custom-made, hand-built systems that often integrate complex data structures. We believe in total automation (and error-correcting feedback loops) with minimal call backs. We like to build systems for our clients that don't need ongoing maintenance or a call for just a minor change. Some examples include:

  • Contact management, quote generation, custom color matching services, sales support - all integrated with data from SAP and pushing data to custom-built Power BI reports.
  • A custom-made "QuickBooks Online" built before QBO existed. Our system (SMERPA) integrates with customer back-ends including QBO.
  • An engine that pulls in raw data from 100+ vendors, all with extremely varied data formats, to create a site with over 750,000 products for sale.
For more information check out the Case Study

How do you do it? Utilizing open-source software such as PHP and MySQL we build solutions with free software with security as part of its DNA. We keep up with the latest technologies but avoid that "bleeding edge" where money is wasted. We use proven/robust solutions and partner with Amazon Web Services to provide flawless reliability and security.

What's with the name? It's ok - everyone asks ... The founder, Scott Gurley, and his wife Laura Gurley formed their company over 20-years ago. When they were incorporating, they needed to come up with a name and Laura realized that the incorporation of two married people should be named for something else they share - their birthdays (any guesses?). It made sense that the corporation would be Eleven Twenty-Seven Inc. and the web business (they own several businesses) named Eleven Twenty-Seven Web. Laura likes to make sure everyone knows she was born many years after Scott.

Case Study: 3A Composites

Most people have never heard of this company, but you've seen their products and perhaps even bought them. 3A Composites invented Fome-Cor (the ultralight stiff art- and signage-board with foam in the middle and paper on the faces) decades ago and it has been used by sign makers and poster printers ever since.

Ever drive by a Honda dealership and see those blue curvy architectural features or a Porsche dealership and see that massive Silver curved wall? Those walls are created using a building cladding called Alucobond developed and manufactured by another division of 3A Composites.

We've worked with 3A Composites for almost 20 years and, in that time, built incredibly complex systems integrating data from around the world for use by administrators, sales representatives, and even C-level executives across the western hemisphere. 3A Composites public sites include Alucobond, Graphic Display, Fome-Cor, and Gatorply but what you can't see is the massive foundation behind the scenes. Some of this is proprietary so I can't go into details, or show screenshots, but rest assured 3A Composites is very happy with their efficient interfaces and robust functionality.

  • Each of the 3A Composites public sites collects registered visitor's questions and requests funneling them to the appropriate teams.

    Requests for samples are processed in Benton, KY or in Charlotte, NC - each request can be auto-approved or manually processed depending on user preferences. Most requests are sent to a third party fulfillment service with which our system integrates to ensure proper Next Day/Second Day/Ground/International shipping along with all tracking numbers which are stored sent to contacts. Backorders are tracked as well - inventory levels are tracked and reported back to manufacturing.

    Requests for quotes are run through our Quote Tool to generate PDF quotes. Business logic at 3A Composites is complicated with various pricing and discounts applied to different territories, product lines, and customers - all pricing is sourced from an SAP system and updated daily. Quotes can be made with various quantities shown and various charges for things like custom packaging or air/sea freight. Quotes are later pushed into SAP for order fulfillment and invoicing.

    Visitors asking technical or product questions are serviced by a product support team who answers requests using a custom-built Document Library or our custom-built Help Desk system with an ever-growing list of questions and answers. Processing time for all requests (Samples/Quotes/Queries) are all tracked and reported upstream to mangers and C-level executives who review reports in Microsoft's Power BI.

  • Hundreds of companies like Arby's, Honda, and Porsche contract with 3A Composites to create custom painted Alucobond using their corporate colors. These panels are used in the construction of their restaurants and dealerships. The custom color process can match custom made exterior paint to PMS colors, other paint company colors, and even physical samples.

    Click here for Brand Identity program examples.

    Requests for Custom Color Matches are processed by a paint team tasked with matching paint/finish/gloss types to match corporate colors for buildings and other architectural elements. The system we build handles everything from initial data collection, several rounds of information requests, requesting paint samples from third party providers, and eventually shipping physical samples back to the requestor for a signature and subsequent production.

    Once the structure is complete, PDF Warranties with terms of 10- to 30-years are generated by our system along with details and remedies.

    Frequent customers can request that 3A Composites maintain a Custom Stocking Program where specified quantities of their cut product are stocked on the 3A Composites factory floor for minimal delays in production. This system was custom-built with various heads of operation, manufacturing, and sales providing feedback and approvals along with a system to review the stocking levels periodically.

  • We've built a complex Sales Pipleine system for each of the divisions of 3A Composites. These pipelines help Sales Reps track projects that can often take 2+ years to complete. All comunication is tracked as well as custom colors, product lines, and custom requests. Each project tracks aspects from building construction status to details such as drainage systems and blueprint specifications.

    Projects tracked in the Sales Pipeline can be linked to (and can create) Sample Requests, Quotes, Call Reports, Colormatch Requests, and even Referrals to fabricators and suppliers of 3A Composites products.

    C-Level executives and Sales Managers can review reporting on each user with charts and graphs showing stages of projects, quantities of projects and dollar-value of projects are various stages and status. Even lost projects can be tracked and reported on to focus sales efforts. Sales Reps and Regional Manager Teams can be scored on a scorecard showing the most successful paths to close the sale.

    Like everything else, all data is pushed to Microsoft's Power BI for dynamic real-time analysis.

 

How Much Does a Website Cost?

The most common question we get ... well, besides "what's with your name?"

This is a common question, and it has a simple answer. The cost of a website is determined by you and by your needs and budget. With that said, if you have $500 and expect a custom eCommerce site, it isn't going to happen. At the same time, if you have $5,000 and just need a Wordpress site, you are spending too much.

We work with each client to determine how to work within your budget. We have programmed everything from $400 sites to $100,000+ systems of interconnected sites. Nothing is too big or too small.

Hosting

We host everything in the cloud through AWS (Amazon Web Services). With the largest network of computers in the world, AWS has the reliability and security everyone needs. We use best practices for security and have a proven track record with our clients. We've been doing this since the days before off-site hosting when Scott Gurley had an ISDN line run into his basement to host web sites.

Shared Hosting

Our shared hosting plan includes plenty of data transfer and resources for most users looking to save money for sites without thousands of visitors a month. There will be additional costs for Wordpress sites or those with additional security needs. The price starts at $15/month.

Amazon EC2 Hosting

Our most popular option, our cloud-based Linux-based server plans deliver the control and flexibility to meet the needs of today's growing businesses. You get completely isolated, private space in the cloud with the flexibility to configure and customize your environment, while we provide advanced management, optimization and hardening of the kernel, and operating system. Includes a dedicated web server (unlimited domains) and database server. Costs start at $45/month.

Linux MPS Servers

Our Amazon Cloud Linux-based server plans deliver the power and resources of private, fully dedicated hardware at a fraction of the cost. Our IT experts provide hardening and optimization of the kernel, advanced management, operating system, and hardware assignment. This is the ideal solution for your large-scale hosted application, custom web-based application, application server or testing environment. Pricing starts at $230/month.

Contact Us Today

Have any questions? We are always here to help - we love our customers.

Portfolio

As mentioned above, many of our sites are "back-end" and are not available to the public - below are some of our recent public sites.

3A Composites USA

3A Composites USA

This is the home site of our biggest client.

Midwest Sheet Music

Midwest Sheet Music

The largest sheet music dealer in the Midwest!

Alucobond USA

Alucobond USA

Innovative Building Cladding used around the world.

The Teachers' Lounge

The Teachers' Lounge

St. Louis's Finest (and only) Parent/Teacher Store

Crew-Zen Intranet

Crew-Zen Intranet

Intranet we built - used by several companies for scheduling and team communications.

Graphic Display

Graphic Display

Fome-Cor site - part of 3A Composites.

SMERPA

SMERPA

QuickBooks online - built before Intuit did it. My own online accounting system.

Monarc Wall Panels

Monarc Wall Panels

A division of 3A Composites.

Contact

Location:

271 Greycliff Bluff Dr., St. Louis, MO 63129

Call:

314-433-3230

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