Can this be done in access

[Rednels]

Hello All,
I am new to the forum and access as well. I have already gotten a bit of help on here and I am grateful that you guys share the knowledge. I have a 2 part question and the first is kinda long so here goes.

Can this be done in access?
I have an eCommerce business and every day I download my orders, my inventory, and 3 more inventory spreadsheets from my 3 suppliers in CSV form. I need to know if I can make a database that will compare the item numbers in my orders, somtimes its one item, somtimes its 10 items on an order. I would like to take the item data and have access check the items against mine and my suppliers inventory, then compile a list of orders I need to get from the suppliers and ones I can ship myself. The whole process is pretty complex because sometimes I have 2 items here and have to get a 3rd from a supplier, so some orders must be split. Its a painful process right now that I have to do by hand its taking most of my day now.

I know this is a long question but I just want to make sure Access can do this before I spend the time learing how to use it.

My second questions is if this can be done, someone please recommend a good book or starting point for me to learn this. I do have basic understanding of the queries, tables, forms and such now because I made a data base to run my reports right now as they are, I just need to take this to the next level and get a really good understanding of access.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this long post and thanks for any advice.

Eddie

 

[shudini]

What you are describing could easily be perfomed by Access, however, as you mentioned, it does sound complex, especially if you are just a beginner. What you would need is an understanding of the concepts of Relational Databases - understanding primary keys and the different kinds of relationships. Then, once you understand how to construct data in a normalized form, you would have to diagram the data - how you want it to be related internally, for example you might have to create a master order table that would relate to an order detail table which could then be cross referenced on the various inventory table(s). You would want to create a master supplier table that would relate to the supplier's inventory, etc. Without knowing the full scope of your business, it would be impossible for me to itemize the tables you would need.

Additionally, depending on the complexity, you might want to learn VBA to give you more control of your data and allow you to dynamically create queries, forms, reports and emails.

I don't know if this is scaring you off, but if it is, it is only because my answer is only as accurate as my understanding of your request. If you are truly serious and want to learn how to use access for your business, you should realize that there is a lot more science to Access than just the basic conception of using wizards to create tables, queries, etc.

Any basic startup Access book would get you going. Personally, I used the Microsoft Access 2002 (ISBN 0-619-02089-X) when I started in college, although that was in conjunction with a theoretical Database Concepts course. Ultimately, my knowledge of Access improved with application to real life databases I constructed, and with time.

Good Luck!

 

[Rednels]

Thanks for the response. Your reply sounds good to me. I am in the middle of reading Using Microsoft Access 2002, its about a 1500 page book. I have a very food understanding of tables and their relationships. Where I am seriously lacking is in queries and VBA.

I did have to make a primary order table that relates to an order detial table just as you said.

Now that I have a better understanding of what im doing and what I need I am going to go post a question in the query forum becasue im on the verge of making this thing work.

THanks guys