Confianz Global, Inc

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of Young Black Leadership Alliance. We do leadership development, college preparation, and community service work for young black men and women.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Confianz Global, inc?

We had an off-the-shelf product that didn’t fit our needs, and we were trying to get with our students — who are spread across the US — and provide a platform where they could log in and access all of our data and information.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We customized our previous site from scratch, working with Confianz’s team to do what we wanted. The first step was the design phase. Confianz sat down and asked us a series of questions in order to scope out what we needed. Once we went through the design phase, they came back to us and gave us some mockups to see how the interface would look and work. We went back and forth; they redesigned it and gave us a test link. Once we were able to test it, it rolled into production.

During production, we actually had some additional upgrades, so we kind of took it in chunks. We did that for one part of the product, and now we’re in phase two, which is really doing the exact same thing for some additional work.

To jumpstart the project, we sent them some emails, screenshots, examples from things that we already do, and documentation. We also sent them our process and registration forms over to them. They took a bunch of the paperwork we do manually and automated it into the system.

For research and discovery, it came down to finding a platform that did what we wanted and was open source. I assume they did some research around the different products that are out there, and they basically provided their feedback from there.

We ended up with a website that has a database back in. It’ll eventually have a mobile app as well.

What is the team composition?

We have a project manager, who basically handles the overall work. We also have a business manager; that person helps us on setting estimates, putting the scope of work together, and tracking what’s being done there. Furthermore, we have a lead designer, who’s our main interface and helps to scope out the work. Finally, they have a test team and a development team.

How did you come to work with Confianz Global, inc?

Their CEO is actually in a CEO group with me, so I’d seen some of the work they’d done with other CEOs. They were really efficient and their pricing was great. Also, I knew the character and heart of their CEO, so I knew they were going to do good work for us.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began last year, in September 2020. It’s an ongoing partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We’ve had it in production for a month, and we’ve collected $32,000 already. We’ve probably saved ten hours of work, which is probably $2,000–$4,000 right there, just in that aspect.

How did Confianz Global, inc perform from a project management standpoint?

Most of our communication is through email. We also use Google Sheets to track our updates.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very customer-centric and flexible. The team that I’m working with really cares about the work that we’re doing. Even if it’s a hard question, they always go out of their way to try to solve the problem and provide an answer. They haven’t said no to us yet. Their customer service is excellent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think the biggest thing they need to improve is marketing, so more people can know about them. They do great work, but not enough people know about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do it. Trust that Confianz is going to have your best interests in mind, so you’re going to have a great customer experience.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Whoocan is an online platform that connects consumers with last minute appointment needs to last minute openings due to cancellations or under bookings. I was the COO of the organization and co-founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Confianz Global, inc, and what were your goals?

We contracted with Confianz to take us from inception to launch and to hold our hand through the many different aspects of launching a tech company. They developed everything from our website to the application itself.

SOLUTION

How did you select Confianz Global, inc and what were the deciding factors?

We selected Confianz based on location, quality and pricing. We saw them as a boutique provider that was small enough to be flexible but also large enough to handle all the complications of the project with great detail.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We had a kickoff meeting to discuss our goals and objectives. From there, the team delivered mock ups and wireframes for our app. After a few iterations theri team designed and developed an informational wordpress site. They updated content as we needed. They simultaneously worked on our website to reflect our image as it continued to evolve.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We had a lead project manager assigned to us. We worked with him and a local operations coordinator via weekly phone calls.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The deliverable was better than what we envisioned. The team worked well with us to create the vision we had including the user experience.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

We had emails and a stand up call weekly to go over the time line, changes, and schedules. We used GITHUB and they worked well with our team.

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

They delivered what they said they would. I have a high degree of trust with the team at Confianz.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Very satisfied with the project overall. Minor things could have been better but too few to mention.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I started a company with the idea to connect new moms in mother groups. I knew what I wanted to build and I needed a partner to get it done.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Confianz Global, inc?

I hired Confianz to build the app (iOS and Android) and manage hosting on AWS.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted a functioning App and a partner that knew what they were doing, because I really didn't.

SOLUTION

How did you select Confianz Global, inc?

I had three companies bidding on the project and selected Confianz because demonstrated the best understanding of what I wanted to build, even if they were not the cheapest option.

Describe the project in detail.

I wanted an App that could manage sign-up, grouping and chat. I had a fair idea of UI design.

What was the team composition?

Confianz attached a project coordinator and a tech responsible. The team of engineers was once removed from me, and I had frequent opportunities to feedback on the design.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

MotherGroup is in the early stages of a startup. The App is live and I am ready to market it!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They were great - and I was not (three little kids, a pandemic, a new job, and a move out of state). Honestly, I could not have asked for a more polite or understanding partner. They diligently followed through, even when I didn't, and built and published the app.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They understood our idea and they had the expertise to build it. They were courteous and efficient in getting it done.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Honestly, no.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of an executive coaching firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Confianz Global, Inc?

We wanted to get feedback on the impact and cost of meetings. We wanted to create a beta version of a calendar-based mobile app, to give to our clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team created our app for iOS and Android. They designed the app to connect to the calendar on a mobile phone and it pulls information for meetings. The app then asks a couple of questions to rate the impact of those meetings. Then, we add some salary information, and we’re able to deliver to our client how much that meeting cost.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one project manager, their head of operations, head of technology, and a team of people.

How did you come to work with Confianz Global, Inc?

A colleague of mine had used Confianz to create a mobile app, so I reached out and learned that their pricing wasn’t as expensive as I thought. They were willing to work with us and restructure how the deal was organized and priced, in response to what I was looking for.  

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2020, and we wrapped up in May 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The team delivered the app two weeks early. I shared it with a few clients and they thought the look and feel was on par with any other app they would download from the app store. They undersold and over-delivered.

How did Confianz Global, Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

Previously we had a disastrous project with a separate vendor, and I explained that to Confianz, and they took every measure to make sure we had a positive experience. I was pleasantly surprised by how well they did, and their ability to really hear what I was saying.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their responsiveness and willingness to solve any problems that came up throughout the process were excellent. They focused on delivering a quality product while keeping an eye on pricing. They established a level of trust from the outset.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Building a mobile app is like building a house; you have an architect and a builder. Working with Confianz, they were the builder and I was the architect. By having that understanding from the beginning was really helpful.

As they started to build, we saw some things in the plans that weren’t clear, and they were responsive in making those adjustments while still meeting their timelines. For someone who’s willing to be the architect of their project, Confianz is a great partner. You need to own that role and respond to their questions so they can meet the timelines.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a team leader for a furniture manufacturer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Confianz Global, inc?

We originally reached out to them about building an ERP system using ODOO. During that conversation, we brought up the need for an application that can automate the editing process our documents undergo within our order entry system.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

To process orders and price quotations, we have to use a proprietary system that links directly to our factory. However, the documents it provides are formatted for use in Germany. Before our engagement with Confianz Global, inc, we had to manually edit the documents to correct punctuation, formatting issues, and price listings. Eventfully, we were generating so many documents that our internal staff couldn’t keep up with the demand.

We hired Confianz Global, inc to develop a custom application that could import word documents and convert the text to XML format. Then, the app needed to enable us to bulk edit information based on the location of certain fields. Furthermore, we wanted the software to automate changes that always take place like the formatting of dates and prices.

They developed the application using AngularJS. It includes a UI for us to edit pricing, customer names, delivery addresses, and the payment terms of any purchase. The app generates both quotations and order acknowledgments. We still manually enter item prices, but the software automatically calculates the customer’s cost based on quantity and available discounts.

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with their CTO who functioned as our project lead. Their CEO also assisted with communications back and forth as needed. I don’t know exactly how many developers worked on the app.

How did you come to work with Confianz Global, inc?

We’d tried to build the application with two other companies and both attempts failed. We were in the process of closing down the project when we first spoke to Confianz Global, inc Our financial director was put in touch with them through one of her contacts.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $30,000 and $50,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project took place from November 2017–April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Calculating specific metrics for document generation is difficult. My team wouldn’t have made it through our busy order entry season without the new software. The pricing automation feature drastically reduces the number of calculation errors within our system. Overall, our accounting team has indicated that the project is hugely successful given the trend of our annual sales growth. It’s difficult to imagine a scenario where we manage to create all the documents we need without the help of Confianz Global, inc.

How did Confianz Global, inc perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication process went smoothly. We regularly scheduled conference calls or video chats using WebEx. Overall, we’re extremely happy with their availability and documentation efforts throughout the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understood the business and process level issues we needed to be resolved in a way that other companies didn’t pick up on. They delivered on their promises and consistently met the scheduled deadlines. We also appreciated the forthcoming nature of their updates. We never had to reach out to them. Instead, they’d communicate their progress to us and provided a test application to demonstrate the work they’ve done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’d recommend that they adjust their project expectations to match the technological competency of their clients. We only had two people from our side that were available to work with them. Even then, other projects would pull us away from responding to Confianz Global, inc for a week or so at a time. They were nice about this, but I feel like they expected us to be more engaged and contributive to the development process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of a hosted voiceover IT company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Confianz Global, Inc?

We were trying to modify our ERP system, which is based on Odoo.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had them migrate our system for version 8.0 to 10.0. They also integrated in some external payment and billing platforms. They do a lot of customizations for us as well.

What is the team composition?

I talk with two developers, one who acts as project manager. We also have an account manager. I know of about five people there, but they also have another team that we don’t work with.

How did you come to work with Confianz Global, Inc?

They reached out to me initially. Their responsiveness was good and they did well with the test project we gave them. Other companies we considered either charged too much or executed poorly. Confianz was the only company we encountered that encompassed everything we wanted.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $20,000–$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around July of 2017. The initial project was done within about a month but we keep sending them more projects. Their customization work for us is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

They’ve had a big impact on our business. They added a report generator that saves us 60–70% of the time required for billing. Now that everything is integrated together, we can use other reports for taxes and other documentation on the IT side of our business. The custom helpdesk software we have now reduces confusion by at least 40–50%.

How did Confianz Global, Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything was done remotely and we communicated as needed. We’re happy with their level of availability and their documentation.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They execute requests and are responsive whenever we reach out to them or need an update.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really, they do really good work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the IT and logistics director of Stout Stuff LLC.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Confianz Global, inc?

Our legacy management system was disjointed, unstable, and facing a host of issues. After much investigation, we decided to implement Odoo as our new ERP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Confianz partnered with us on an initial investigation into our business environment and our needs. The CEO came down for 2–3 sessions of walking through our accounting processes (e.g., purchasing, receiving, customer orders). The goal of the initial fact-finding was to determine if Odoo would or wouldn't be a viable replacement for our legacy system. They also come back to us with what it would cost to do the replacement.

We liked that Odoo is an open source system, and we thought we’d get a good ROI in terms of our capital expenditure. It was a pretty good fit for us because most of our business processes are fairly uniform in terms of industry standards. For the few processes that didn’t neatly sync up with Odoo, Confianz helped us change and customize those modules.

In terms of the technology, the host is Ubuntu Linux running on DigitalOcean as a cloud service. It’s accessible through HTTP or HTTPS through the WAN. They’re implementing Odoo on the backend as PostgreSQL and Python in terms of the modules.

What is the team composition?

The CEO is my direct lead in terms of any anything big. I speak to him directly on the initiation of new projects or any escalation. On the technical side, there’s a lead developer. He oversees a team of at least two junior developers. He’s their technical and project management lead. I deal with him on tactical, day-to-day issues. We also work with an accounting lead on invoices and contracts.

How did you come to work with Confianz Global, inc?

I decided to work with Confianz after in-depth online research and investigation.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we’ve spent around $100,000 to date ($80,000 for Phase 1, $20,000 for Phase 2).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in October 2016. We’re in Phase 2 of a four phase project. The first phase (replacing our legacy accounting system with Odoo) is almost closed. We just started Phase 2, which is adopting replenishment modules inside Odoo. Then they'll do two more phases—sales and customer relationship management, and shipment tracking from our vendors.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Having Confianz partner with us to implement Odoo has absolutely given us an alternative course of action to our legacy system. Odoo will soon handle everything accounting, including the backend general ledger. We have not yet formally transitioned off the legacy system, but we're about 8–9 months into running Odoo in parallel. So far everything seems to be clean and working. We've actually had a couple of times where our legacy system came close to crashing. In the past, we would’ve been in significant trouble if that had happened. Having Odoo run in parallel gives us the security that we could we could fail over to Odoo right now and be okay.

Their development team is very well-versed. Nothing we've asked them for has been outside their realm of experience or ability. It's been a good partnership for us. Based on where we're at right now where we want to go, they've given us a roadmap to help us grow and scale as a company.

How did Confianz Global, inc perform from a project management standpoint?

I have a really good relationship with the CEO, and the lead developer is incredibly knowledgeable. He's very good at the technical aspects and he understands business processes. However, we’ve had some issues with their agile project management. As we were nearing the end of Phase I, we had some debates with them because they said that our requested changes were outside of the original scope. Our argument is that the nature of agile methodology means that you don’t define everything upfront so changes are to be expected. The CEO and his team eventually struck a compromise with us in terms of scope and additional development costs, which was very reasonable. Going forward into Phase 2, we made sure upfront to better clarify the scope of work and the cost estimates.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're genuine and responsive. I think they’re a good fit for us because we're both small companies trying to get bigger. We have a good partnership. They're trying to grow their business and want customers that will be with them for the long term. We're looking for a service provider that will take the time to understand what we do, help us implement a system that will support our work, and be available to us well into the future.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re definitely short-handed, especially around their key assets. While the lead developer is incredible, they run almost all of their work through him. If he’s out for illness or vacation, it had significant impacts to our business and our projects. I had some very difficult conversations with the CEO about the need to grow their human capital. It would be really beneficial if they would create some redundancy around key roles. The CEO himself handles much of their customer relationship workload, so that’s another area with they could use additional resources.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the president of a small manufacturing company that builds commercial kitchen equipment for sale to a nationwide network of wholesale supply houses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Confianz Global?

We needed to systematically change and make more efficient the way we operated on a day-to-day basis. That included managing business finances, work order operations, manufacturing operations, and other top-to-bottom processes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In addition to offering custom development, they helped us implement an ERP solution using Odoo, an open-source application that offers a paid enterprise version. They also helped us build a website and are working to integrate backend operations to the ERP system.

What is the team composition?

On any given project, I was in contact with about four people.

How did you come to work with Confianz Global?

We talked to several people when we were looking for a partner, but Confianz was the only group that took the time to visit our location to see our manufacturing firsthand, which gave them insight into our goals.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent between $30,000 and $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in the summer of 2017 and finished most of the implementation by the end of that year. Since then, we've continued with projects, including website creation, backend ERP integration, and customized development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

They’ve changed the way we operate and eliminated a lot of our struggles so that we can work in a more unified, visible way. We expect to see more of an impact as the current project goes along.

How did Confianz Global perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication was outstanding. We usually communicated via email but also used a cloud-based project management tool. Most of its e-mail we used a project-based project management. If we need better visibility in the conversation, we use Google Meet or Webex.

What did you find most impressive about them?

In addition to quick responsiveness, the team’s knowledge helps us find and implement creative solutions.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you stay on track and keep communication open, you'll be successful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of KMI Zeolite, which has been in the business of mining, milling, and packaging high-grade natural clinoptilolite zeolite for many different applications since 1994. KMI has customers all over the world ranging from government agencies and Fortune 500 companies to animal shelters and home consumers. Our products are used for sports field infill, water filtration, odor control, algae control, soil amendment, animal feed, and more.

I’m responsible for the overall vision and strategy of the company as well as sales, compliance, and non-operating related finances.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Confianz Global?

KMI has averaged a 60% annual sales growth over the last six years, presenting many challenges. We have six times the employees in several different physical locations than we had two years ago and no way to manage the growth. We outgrew our methods of tracking and shipping orders and didn't have a central ERP [enterprise resource planning] system. We were over-reliant on Quickbooks which had limited capabilities without going to the Enterprise Edition.

Additionally, we had a very weak online presence and no e-commerce. Our SEO [search engine optimization] was almost non-existent and most of our employees possessed very little technical or computer skills.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first project we did with Confianz was for the ERP system. The scope of work was clearly defined and laid out. The tasks, objectives, deliverables, and timelines were all set and all achieved within budget.

Having had such a positive experience, we immediately engaged them on a second project which was the creation of a new 150-page website from our old site which only had 10 pages. Again, all our specifications were laid out clearly in a scope of work and once again the scope was fulfilled on time and within budget.

We have since engaged Confianz on some custom e-commerce projects including the automation of our sample process and creation of postage labels from the ERP system with several different delivery methods.

We’ve also changed our SEO provider to Confianz and in the first three months, we noticed a drastic change in the organic rankings of all of our top search terms. We receive regular reports and feedback about the work that is done every month and cannot say enough good things about this ongoing relationship.

How did you come to work with Confianz Global?

My initial discussion with Confianz came after I found them on Upwork. I spoke with my ERP rep and he recommended them as a certified Gold Supplier. I had previously engaged another firm to help our company with our requirements but within three weeks, it became clear that this supplier was not going to be able to fulfill our requirements and acted unprofessionally throughout the process.

When I first spoke to Confianz, I felt a great feeling of relief knowing that there was someone out there that could help us in our time of need.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Confianz has helped us develop a system for managing our growth using scalable cloud-based ERP solutions. Our employee communication has become much more efficient and our orders are fulfilled in a manner which has resulted in fewer rejections by the customer and better overall quality control. The scope was met consistently on every project including time and budget.

Our website inquiries are up over 100% and our bulk sales, as well as direct website sales, have also increased substantially. The web work including SEO was like turning on a tap that flows new business.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We will certainly be engaging Confianz for our future project needs. What I enjoy most about them is the quality of each member of the team that we have dealt with. They go above and beyond what is required and have the unique ability to listen to our often ill-communicated ideas, deciphering and communicating from a technical standpoint the best ways for solving the issues at hand.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Element Designs is a leading manufacturer of contemporary casework components made of aluminum, glass, and acrylics. We work closely with large kitchen and office cabinet manufacturers, as well as kitchen and bath designers, interior designers, and so on. I am the vice president of marketing for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Confianz Global?

We had a non-adaptive website, one which wasn't set up to work with mobile devices. It was also out-of-date and did not feature all our products. It was time to update it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Confianz helped us come up with several different layout options, pinpointing a design based on what we were trying to achieve within our market through the website. Confianz' designers were incredibly helpful and responsive, helping us create the website we were looking for. Confianz also built a custom design tool which can be used by our clients to design their own products. They provide SEO [search engine optimization] work on a continuous basis.

How did you come to work with Confianz Global?

We were referred to Confianz by someone else in our industry.

How much have you invested with Confianz Global?

Our website had a cost of around $40,000. A part of this was the custom editor add-on, which was requested outside of our initial scope.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Confianz one year ago. We launched the site at the beginning of September 2016. We have an ongoing relationship with Confianz.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We couldn't be happier with the quality of the website. We've gotten wonderful customer feedback around its ease of use and look. We've seen a 15% bump in website traffic since going live, and it continues to increase.

How did Confianz Global perform from a project management standpoint?

Confianz had excellent performance.

What did you find most impressive about Confianz Global?

Confianz is good at many things, but their responsiveness and turnaround times made them stand out. As soon as there was a concern or question, Confianz addressed it almost immediately, delivering revisions by the next day.

Are there any areas Confianz Global could improve?

No, I have nothing to suggest.