Centum-D

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Magetrain

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a Dutch company and we provide temporary IT personnel to our customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Centum-D to accomplish?

• Transfer customers from a legacy hosting platform to a new hosting platform

SOLUTION

How did you find Centum-D?

network

Why did you select Centum-D over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Centum-D were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The two dev-ops engineers Centrum D provided to us worked together with the project manager and the technical staff of our customer to move the (willing) customers to a new hosting platform

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The customer encounterd the problem that not all customers who had to be transferred were actually willing to transfer. The customers who did, were perfectly moved to the new platform due to the Centrum D dev-ops engineers. Unfortunately the project ended earlier then expected due to the fact there were nog enough customers willing to transfer. Customer decided to hold the project and start making the remaining customer base enthusiastic for the move.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

No, but that was due to the fact that the willingness of the customers (of our customer) was not there. Our customer was very satisfied with the resources Centum-D provided.

What was your primary form of communication with Centum-D?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The fact that they are able to provide siolid services in a very challenging environment.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Centum-D could have done differently?

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of MrFix.nl

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

MrFix carefully selects, schedules and supports local experts for reliable, quick and convenient building care in The Netherlands.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Centum-D to accomplish?

• Replace our CRM + website (WP & html css)
• Develop a mobile (PWA) app for Clients and one for builders (both in Laravel & Vue.js)

SOLUTION

How did you find Centum-D?

Clutch Site

Why did you select Centum-D over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Centum-D were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

"A fully functional & tested software system in a common language like Javascript, php or Python and with a view to limiting both development and maintenance cost (support hours, cost of any third-party software) to replace the Customer’s current system including the elements designed in Figma including (bot not limited to):

• Customer PWA Wireframes
• Expert PWA Wireframes
• CRM Wireframes
• Customer PWA final UI/UX
• Expert PWA final UI/UX
• Responsive, fast-loading (ideally every page below 0.5 seconds) Website that the Customer can manage in a modular way (SEO)
• User interface components we used here 
• APIs with any third party software including (but not limited to) tools for geolocation, looking up Dutch addresses, online calendars (Apple, Google, Outlook), on-screen phone service (Linphone?), SMS (Twilio), invoicing (Exact?), payment (Mollie or Stripe?) and integration with the most common facility management systems (via a single Zapier API?)
• Implementation including migrating reasonable amounts of data (Customer & Expert records only?) from the existing system, setting up / helping to set up the appropriate servers and registering in the Apple & Google Play stores as well as a reasonable period of free testing & bug-fixing (2 months after delivery?)"

(We have removed the ~10 links to the relevant Fima UI/UX designs).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

A fully functional (tested & migrated) system: CRM, WP site, two PWAs and the relevant integrations.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Unfortunately we cannot recommend Centum-D. MrFix.nl hired Centum-D in Jun 2023 to upgrade our system (CRM + site in WP & html css) and develop a mobile (PWA) app for Clients and one for builders, both in Laravel & Vue.js.

We support Ukraine so we only work with Ukrainian agencies: OneSource (from Kyiv) had created a great Figma design of the system in Jan-Apr 2023. Centum-D promised to complete the system by late Jul: it is now 13 MONTHS later and they still have not finished!

We have faced serious issues, including two project managers disappearing, Centum-D failing to fix bugs even 9 months after we reported them and Centum-D arguing that features are out of scope although the system simply doesn’t work without them. The key problem is communication: Centum-D doesn’t ask for complete requirements or discuss alternative solutions. 

They just build components the way they like and then refuse to adapt them. For example: our design shows builders a list of repair jobs including the dates that Clients made available.

When the builder taps a date he only needs to tap a start time in order to accept & schedule the job. But Centum-D has built it so that the builder has to tap the same date 3 times in 3 different screens in order to accept a job! We face dozens of such issues. CEO Valeriy is aware of them but simply writes that he has no time for us.

We have even had to hire a lawyer and are preparing legal action, but that does not help Ukraine. We simply want Centum-D to complete our system: our business is suffering badly without it.

What was your primary form of communication with Centum-D?

Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their sales effort. Our first contacts were very efficient: Centum-D quickly understood our requirements, were friendly and submitted a competitive quote.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Centum-D could have done differently?

They need to start fulfilling their promises and reviewing how they work & communicate.

Company Responses

The vendor responded on September 3, 2024.

Dear Michiel, we are sorry to hear about your negative experience.

As we stand for client satisfaction, we need to address your concerns directly and provide a fuller picture:

As for timelines and project specifications, our contract specified that the project completion depended on the timely provision of specific technical requirements from your side. Unfortunately, these were not provided, which led to the need for ongoing adjustments. The extended timeline was caused not by any lack of effort on our part but was a result of the contract terms, which allowed the project to continue as long as both parties wished to move forward. We respected your decision and continued our work diligently.

The project cost grew significantly and exceeded the estimated budget by more than double. We chose not to charge you for these additional expenses to keep you satisfied and deliver a product that met your evolving needs, even when this meant absorbing substantial costs on our end.

As for the management issues, we admit there were changes in project management during the project. Changes were necessary in this extremely challenging communication environment. Our team faced difficulties due to the emotional nature of the communication, which created obstacles to productive collaboration. Still, we remained committed to delivering a product that met your needs and maintained professionalism throughout.

Nevertheless, we have delivered fully functional products with the necessary integrations. We realize it might seem disappointing we have finished our cooperation and didn't proceed with ongoing unpaid upgrades and enhancements of your product. This decision was made so we could continue delivering our service while maintaining a sustainable business.

Complex projects can be frustrating, and we’re sorry our collaboration did not go as smoothly as expected. However, it’s important to provide a full picture of the project context.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Advisor of Investment Advisory Department of UkraineInvest

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The Ministry of Economy has developed respective by-laws for full launch of the system of state incentives for industrial parks. Ukraineinvest is one of those "Industrial parks" that developed and promoted different project on Ukrainian Market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Centum-D to accomplish?

• Creating a clear and accurate website to explain how an investment works and how it can be protected
• Correcting of design, forms, subscription features, and providing full technical SEO support

SOLUTION

How did you find Centum-D?

Other

Why did you select Centum-D over others?

• High ratings
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Centum-D were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

This scope of work outlines the tasks and deliverables for creating a user-friendly, accurate, and SEO-optimized website to explain an investment opportunity and ensure its protection. The project involves design correction, form optimization, subscription feature implementation, and comprehensive technical SEO support.
Phase 1: Audit and Planning
Tasks:
- Site Audit: Conduct a comprehensive audit of the existing site to identify design, usability, form functionality, subscription processes, and SEO issues.
- Detailed Planning: Develop a detailed project plan addressing all identified issues and laying out a timeline for implementation.

Phase 2: Design Updates
Tasks:
- Simplify Design: Implement a clean, minimalist design with a focus on readability and accessibility.
- Responsive Design: Ensure the site is fully responsive across all devices (desktop, tablet, mobile).
- Visual Aids: Integrate high-quality images, infographics, and explainer videos to enhance content comprehension.

Phase 3: Form Optimization
Tasks:
- Redesign Forms: Simplify forms, ensuring they are user-friendly with clear labels and specific error messages.
- Enhance User Experience: Implement auto-fill, suggestions, and progress indicators for multi-step forms.

Phase 4: Subscription Features
Tasks:
- Implement Subscription Forms: Place subscription forms prominently and ensure they are easy to fill out.
- Double Opt-In Process: Implement a double opt-in process for email subscriptions to reduce spam.
- Content Delivery: Develop a content calendar for regular updates to subscribers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

After the works we gained more useful more comfortable interface that allow us to engage new users 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Project management was realised perfectly - we had weekly meetings with demo and reports 

What was your primary form of communication with Centum-D?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their service was really impressive — it would be great to work with this team again in the future.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Centum-D could have done differently?

Centum`s team is rather good 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an Executive of Plodorodie

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The "Plodorodie" company is a leader in the production and sale of agricultural fertilizers. Our mission is to provide agricultural companies and farms in Ukraine with the best fertilizers and complexes to increase the yield and quality of crops grown.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Centum-D to accomplish?

• The old site did not correspond to our approach, place in the agricultural services market and was not convenient for our users, so we called Centum-D and asked them to help resolve the issue - they offered to create us a new, modern, convenient site that meets the latest Google requirements

SOLUTION

How did you find Centum-D?

Other

Why did you select Centum-D over others?

• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Centum-D were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Together with Centum-d, we came up with the structure of the site, they drew the design, programmed everything and then we asked Centum additional functionality that we wanted to add during development

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

All our clients can find and work easily with our products, it was simple and easy like an online catalogue of fertiles and it saves our time

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

We had responsible person. She was our PM - it was great job. We had daily meetings, and got all updates on the daily and weekly basis. Everything was realised in time and according with our requirements.

What was your primary form of communication with Centum-D?

• In-Person Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

It was pleasant to work with this team.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Centum-D could have done differently?

They helped a lot during the development with advices and marketing. Wish them to grow their knowledge and expertise.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of First Ukrainian Studio

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are Web Development team. We have a project of legal bussiness which need to create a system that allow to automate the hiring procceces.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Centum-D to accomplish?

• Customer asked to create dashboard on Laravel to make it scalable. We have no such technologies in our portfolio, so decide to contact Centum-D and have with them whitelabel subcontract.

SOLUTION

How did you find Centum-D?

Referral

Why did you select Centum-D over others?

Good value for cost

How many teammates from Centum-D were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We have chosen customized development, we knew that it will take much more time but at the same moment it will be scalable. We have created a prototypes with team and they integrated the system,. After staging we started testing and understand that there is a gap in our flow - it was great that we can add a special block and get the key deliverable - full flow of our recruitment processes

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We have just three month to create the MVP of the system. Cantum-D has created a project plan and successfully implemented it.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The most important issue was to analyse all the processes and to find best solution. It was really great when we understand that there is a small gap in the employee flow and the project manager can easily add it into initial scope.

What was your primary form of communication with Centum-D?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

This project exemplified the professionalism of the team, comprising both intermediate and senior-level staff. They positively impacted the overall development workflow.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Centum-D could have done differently?

It is important to combine the internal solutions in dashboard and initial process in the company. Thanks to the BA it was really good.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of Gramotey

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are lovers of text content creation! We started in 2013. We have more than 30 000 articles, which were read by more than 1 million eyes) More than 10 years of experience, 55 experts, 3 levels of quality, 24 niches.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Centum-D to accomplish?

• We want to create a dashboard something similar to the task manager with special functionality to check the text for plagiarism and uniqueness and other parameters. We have 3 steps of texts checking and we need to realize all of it in this dashboard to automate a big process.

SOLUTION

How did you find Centum-D?

Referral

Why did you select Centum-D over others?

• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Centum-D were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

First step - we have a questionnaire session, after which we have created a scope of work - short plan and they give us an estimation - time to delivery and approximately budget (the second and the third step). We dealt with everything and after that started working on our project. We used SCRUM and it was really easy to change anything in the sprint if we need.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The measurable outcome was that we spend twice less time for the same work (checking the texts).

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

We used SCRUM with daily meetings and demo. The dashboard was done in time. Functionality was tested well enough. So we have no issues.

What was your primary form of communication with Centum-D?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We were impressed with their proactive approach, which allowed us to change some tasks without changing the entire scope. It means that the team has foresow in advance this functionality. We are calling it a pro activity.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Centum-D could have done differently?

We have to create roles in the dashboard and it was done easily manually. I think it is great collaboration during this project . There is nothing to be improved.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive of MEDAVITA UKRAINE

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are the general representative of the luxury italian cosmetics for hair MEDAVITA

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Centum-D to accomplish?

• We need to create the wholesale platform to present our product at the Ukrainian market and expand sales, in 2023 we do the rebranding with the same stuff

SOLUTION

How did you find Centum-D?

Referral

Why did you select Centum-D over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Centum-D were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Centum-D has cool brief that allows us to understand what needs to be done to put our business on a market at the high-competitor niche. After too many meetings they created a clear plan of how and what we will do. They created the perfect website for the wholesale which had a block for the retail customers too. It made it possible to attract both types of clients. It helped us to be a leader in 1 year on the luxury hair cosmetics market and now we just do the rebranding with the Centum team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

As I mentioned before we became number one in hair beauty even despite the strong competitors.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

All processes were transparent and maximum fast. I can't even expect that such a site can be created for 20 days with the specific order list, with delivery and so on. Clear estimations and communication made these processes very easy and pleasant for me as for clients. The successful project implementation was attributed to a blend of careful planning, clear communication, and proactive problem-solving. These factors combined to achieve a high level of client satisfaction.

What was your primary form of communication with Centum-D?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We're impressed by their excellent service, comfortable communication, and transparent development processes.

Are there any areas for improvement or something {provider_name} could have done differently?

They have a huge experience in development, I can recommend them to gather all client feedback in one place.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO and owner of AUTO-REMAP

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We offers high-quality performance ECU remaps (chip tuning) for cars, bikes, trucks, agriculture and marine vehicles based on almost 20 years of experience.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Centum-D to accomplish?

• We are working with Centum-D with the specific goal for improving existing functionality related to the payment system and analytics and so on
• We have done the clients flow more easier and faster to get their product already
• We have done autofullfiling for the product page

SOLUTION

How did you find Centum-D?

Online Search

Why did you select Centum-D over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Centum-D were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We have created a list of tasks, prioritized and started working. It was developing the special methods of collecting and processing the date, updating the payment methods, building a new analytical system that allows to make marketing analysis and to plan the retargeting campaign.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

1. Through Centum-D's services, we achieved high performance for our site 
2. Our site were fulfilled by the product data up to 90% 
3. It becomes much more profitable because it is working faster, clients getting what they want

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The team handling the improvements demonstrated a proactive approach by promptly addressing concerns and requests. They maintained clear communication throughout the process, exhibiting a high level of professionalism and dedication to meeting our requirements.

What was your primary form of communication with Centum-D?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We were highly impressed by Centum-D's extensive portfolio and vast experience in web development. Their robust track record showcased their proficiency in creating high-quality, visually appealing, and functional websites. Their depth of knowledge and expertise in web development was evident in their ability to deliver innovative solutions tailored to our specific needs. We were confident in their ability to bring our vision to life and create a seamless online experience for our users.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Centum-D could have done differently?

Centum-D's dedication to excellence is commendable. They consistently strive to achieve the highest level of quality and performance.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Specialist of Inweb

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We make our customers market leaders

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Centum-D to accomplish?

• We needed a technical solution to enhance our sales approach & complete several business goals, including improvement of customer LTV, stimulation of customer action, and boosting of average sales value. The key demand was to get a scalable system that would align with our business & marketing strategy.

SOLUTION

How did you find Centum-D?

Online Search

Why did you select Centum-D over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Centum-D were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The scope of work was well-planned and tailored to both our goals and actual plans. The team started with expert market research which resulted in the development of a strategy that fully matched the requirements we set for this project. The strategy included a tactical plan on how to implement each of the features technically, combine them into a user-friendly interface, and customize the data analysis and reporting process. The further process was quite typical for software development projects: design, integration, testing, deployment, and the actual delivery of the system.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We've received a cross-functional platform that automated our marketing processes & thus decreased time we spend on their integration & following. As a result we have got our customer engagement, sales value, customer LTV, and overall operational efficiency increased.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The project implementation went smoothly, and we were pleased with the expert & friendly approach to delivering the final work. The response to our requests was always on time. Proper pre-project analysis and regular meetings about the status of each planned task & overall project progress resulted in the minimization of risks & issues that had to be resolved.

What was your primary form of communication with Centum-D?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We were impressed with their realistic estimations, efficient communication, and the quality of the final product.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Centum-D could have done differently?

We are satisfied with both the work process & approach and the quality of the platform.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of xtendx AG

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Enterprise video is simplex – Livestreaming, Webcasting, Video Conferencing, Video Portal, Video Player, Digital Assets B2B Solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Centum-D to accomplish?

• Update our corporate website
• Simplify navigation & structure
• Improve user experience and generally make it more useful for the customers.
• Upgrade the website both visually and functionally wise, paying special attention to customer flow, making it easier & more native

SOLUTION

How did you find Centum-D?

Referral

Why did you select Centum-D over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Centum-D were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

They delivered a modern, user-friendly interface that clearly presented business and products to upgrade the site to make it easier, simpler, and more useful for our regular customers & visitors of the platform The cooperation included 6 stages. It started with the project overview and initial communication. 

When the Centum-D team noted our needs we proceeded to clarify all features of our future website. We both understand that the best way to present the services is to create visual components and to make clear explanations of how it works. Then they moved to web development, filling the website with content, testing, and now delivering. 

Finally, we got our WordPress-based website. The cooperation was logical and consistent, and it was very easy for us to follow the project progress with the Kanban board with no extra effort.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Improved UI & UX Simple, modern, user-friendly, easily accessed, and manageable website 
• The performance has grown from 30 to 80 Better page load speed

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The project manager communicated, visualized project steps and it was rather transperent. We liked how easily we were getting updates about the project. Project Manager was also quite good as a business analyst, which was a surprising pro for us. The whole team was very responsive to our needs. They generated multiple options when suggesting solutions we asked for, so we could have a choice, they also suggested and implemented very useful features we appreciated.

What was your primary form of communication with Centum-D?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their responsive and creative approach to design is the most impressive thing. There was literally no idea they would find it unrealistic or impossible to implement when working on the design of the website.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Centum-D could have done differently?

It’s not the first project we have completed with the Centum-D team, so we are satisfied. Design & development are their strengths for sure, and we only wish they will keep on impressing both us and their other clients.