Custom ERP System Development for Carpet Design Company
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Custom Software Development
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Other app platform
- $200,000 to $999,999
- Aug. 2019 - Ongoing
- Quality
- 5.0
- Schedule
- 5.0
- Cost
- 5.0
- Willing to Refer
- 5.0
“When I look at the team’s dedication as well as their eagerness, it is pretty exceptional.”
- Other industries
- Groningen, Netherlands
- 1-10 Employees
- Phone Interview
- Verified
Binariks is building a custom ERP system for a carpet design company to streamline production and improve communication with customers. They’ve developed the MVP and continue to build out the system.
Binariks has exceeded expectations in their ability to understand a very niche market, and internal stakeholders cite their involvement as a critical part of the company’s growth. The solution-oriented team completed a thorough discovery phase prior to development, which added value to the project.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
As product owner, I’m responsible for the development and IT at Maltzahn Carpet Innovation. We’re a printing company in Germany. We print high-end, custom-made carpets. We also do wall-to-wall carpets for hotels. We can print on-demand for architects and designers.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with Binariks?
Our company is quite innovative; we are the only company in Europe that has this type of technique. We tried out various off-the-shelf software solutions, but none of it fit with our unique technique, our demands, or our customers’ demands. We constantly had difficulties bringing our production and communication with the customer together in an effective and efficient way. My company actually called me and asked me to look into other options.
A lot of software developers know how databases work, but in our situation, we came in with graphical designs, colors, formats, and requirements for resolution and scaling. We had the requirements for order intaking, invoicing, and warehousing. We have a large warehouse to store different materials as well as a cloud-based database where you can actually see our designs. People can look through the designs and see how they will look on a carpet.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
Binariks built a custom-made ERP system. We talked about technologies we could use. I had some experience with Node.js and Angular wireframes, but I preferred at the time to work with Node.js because I was familiar with it and knew the possibilities. Upon seeing the whole project scope and what we wanted, Binariks actually recommended using other technologies. I did some research and found that it was good advice. This proved to be one of their strong points. As the stakeholders and product owners, we let Binariks know what we want, and then they propose a solution. We talk through it and usually go with their proposal.
What is the team composition?
In the beginning, we started with a pretty big team; there were 7–8 people at certain points. We had a project manager, two backend developers, one frontend developer, and a designer. A QA person was involved at a certain point along with a DevOps person because we had some complex things. We often spoke with the owner and actually visited Ukraine a few times.
How did you come to work with Binariks?
We consider Ukrainian companies nearshore development, because Ukraine isn’t that far away from Europe. I eventually determined that I wanted to work with a company in Lviv, one of the main cities in terms of development in Ukraine. There are a number of universities there that deliver qualified IT people. Also, being in Germany and The Netherlands, Lviv is easy to travel to.
I spoke with a contact at a company I’d developed with in the past. A lot of companies in Ukraine can build a beautiful website or app, but my contact let me know that what I wanted was pretty technical and complicated. I researched different companies. I liked that Binariks wasn’t extremely big, as that would give us a better overview of and connection to the company. I had a few good conversations with them, and they had the right capabilities, people, and techniques. Based on their communication, skills, and experience with complicated legacy database systems, my colleague and I decided to hire them. They had a relaxed atmosphere, which was important for us. Their company was stable and financially healthy, and their people fit our demands.
How much have you invested in them?
On this project, we’ve spent around €275,000 (approximately $306,000 USD) so far.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with them in August 2019, and it’s ongoing. We are constantly in development.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We already have an MVP, and we’re constantly iterating to optimize the speed. We’ve gotten feedback from our customers, and we’re now working on the system with a project manager and a team of three others from Binariks. It is organic, and things are changing.
We’re in a specific industry with very market-specific demands, and we were pretty surprised by how quickly they understood our whole process and absorbed our demands. I’m still surprised by how quickly these young, fit, and intelligent programmers have been able to adapt our business. That is a strength. I’ve worked with other companies on projects that were often simpler than this one, yet it was more difficult to explain the requirements to them. Binariks has a high level of experience. They have a long-term legacy over our company.
We are really happy with what we have. When I look at our company from where we were last year to where we are now, we have made a huge step forward, and Binariks has been an enormous part of that. Our whole company now depends on the software that they’ve have built. We are not talking about a little webshop or software that we use once a week; their software connects all of our internal employees. We make delivery notes and invoices, and our software connects to our machines, which handle big jobs.
We are satisfied and extremely happy with it. The outcome is what we wanted. Of course, there are always challenges; no one is perfect. However, even when we have a hiccup in the system, the Binariks team is eager to help. You will never find that motivation in the Netherlands or Germany. They will work until there is a solution, even if it’s the evening. There is always a risk in nearshore development, but they have delivered what we expected. It is exactly how we wanted it to be.
How did Binariks perform from a project management standpoint?
I think we have had pretty good cooperation, which also has to do with my own experience, as I’m partly a project manager. In the beginning, we had to search for a good connection. When you have a good idea, then speed is key; you want to go fast. I must say that their project manager told me to slow down, and this was a learning curve for me. They wanted to make the scope complete before we started development. I realized that what they were recommending was better. We needed to first really describe the scope from A to Z, including the correct screens and user stories, and then start the development. Binariks made me realize that the whole process before you start programming is perhaps even more important than the programming itself.
We use Jira, Confluence, and other typical project management software. I receive status updates every week, but I am actually in control of what is going on 24/7 through Jira. We communicate over Skype, where we have a few smaller group chats for more specific areas. We have also visited them several times, which I think is another big benefit.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They really prepare the project from A to Z and then start to develop. It is certainly something different than what I have seen with other companies, which typically start development right away and then have to correct things as they go along. That is something that sets Binariks, in my opinion, apart from other companies I have worked with so far.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I think you can always improve, but considering the overall scope, I think they delivered an exceptional system in a short amount of time. It wasn’t a simple system. When you develop with a nearshore company, you always have to be aware of language differences. Speaking English, which isn’t our native language, took some getting used to. I think that in this case, I learned more from Binariks than they learned from me. I am critical, but they delivered the work exactly how we wanted. They are a flexible company, and I can really recommend them.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
I always tell people that they really have to give good input to any offsite company and explain exactly what they want. They are much more capable of absorbing your information than you might think. It was impressive how quickly Binariks absorbed the information, including what we wanted as well as what the challenges were. If there is a possibility to visit the company to motivate them and give them the atmosphere of what you are expecting, I think it is advantageous.
When you start the initial development, you don’t have to be an expert, but express interest in technology and what is available in the market; then, your connection with the programmers and the people you are working with will be much stronger. Really co-create with them. When you are looking for a technical company that is capable of checking your legacy and working with a lot of different programming languages, then Binariks is the right company. I have already referred them a few times.
RATINGS
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Quality
5.0Service & Deliverables
"It was perfect, and I cannot say any different."
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Schedule
5.0On time / deadlines
"They are impressively quick sometimes."
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Cost
5.0Value / within estimates
"Costs are exceptional, especially compared to Europe. They are not cheap, but you will get a good quality product."
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Willing to Refer
5.0NPS
"Every company has its strengths and its weaknesses, but I must say Binariks deserves a 5.