Exaco

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We operate on the health care market (e-health solutions) and support our patients in their activities related to caring for their health.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Exaco, and what were your goals?

We asked Exaco to create web applications that will allow patients to use our company's services in one place. At our request, Exaco has created several separate systems integrating data exchange between us, our business partners and end customers.

SOLUTION

How did you select Exaco and what were the deciding factors?

We started our cooperation with meetings where we presented our needs regarding to the tools we wanted to create. The Exaco team listened to us and then asked us some clarification questions to better understand our needs.

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

Our cooperation began with a workshop during which we identified our needs. In the next stage, system visions were built, their architecture was planned and a product development roadmap was defined. Exaco collected functional and non-functional requirements and selected a team of specialists to develop the products. The Exaco team is proactive - Exaco has often offered us innovative solutions.

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

On the Exaco side, the team includes: Project Manager, DevOps, back-end developers, front-end developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We achieve our goals, we have received flexible solutions that can be extended in the future. Customers are satisfied with the service.

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

Project Manager who work with us is an expert in her area. Project Manager is well organized and has a great understanding of both the IT and business areas. She keeps the documentation in order. She is also a very nice person. We are very pleased with the cooperation with her.

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

Their good communication, openness to possible comments, changes, and cooperation were impressive. In our cooperation each time I clearly feel that we are a well-coordinated team and we try to understand each other as well as possible.

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

The cooperation was very professional - we have no suggestions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am an IT project manager for Carrefour, a multinational retail corporation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Exaco?

We have an existing iOS and Android app, but our goal was to build a new app that could make it easier for our customers in Poland to purchase our products. To do this, we hired Exaco.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided Exaco with the scope, and they developed the application along with a couple of new features. Their team introduced a scan-and-go function so that customers wouldn’t need to empty everything from their basket when they go to the cash register. Users will simply have to scan our products and put them in their cart, and everything will automatically show up at the till. 

Our previous app was built for Android and iOS, but we’re still figuring out how to deploy this new version. We’re at the pre-release stages, and we will rely on the Exaco team to maintain and make changes to it as needed. On top of development, they’re also helping us with marketing. We’re conducting regular brainstorming sessions with the product owner, and we call in their team when we need a technical perspective.

What is the team composition?

I’m in touch with several developers, their project manager, and Exaco’s owner. 

How did you come to work with Exaco?

I don’t know how they were selected. Though I have worked with them for a long time, I was not involved during those early phases. 

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent around 5,000,000 Polish złoty (approximately $1,100,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around October 2016, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen an increase in users following the release of the new application. Eighty percent of the users of the old app are now active on the new version. 

We’re very happy with Exaco’s work. Despite the challenges we encountered after releasing from the test environment, they’ve done a great job of hearing out our feedback and doing everything to improve the product. We always stay well within budget, too, which is good. 

How did Exaco perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re all very helpful, agile, and responsive. I can chat directly with their team, and if they don’t have the specific information I’m asking for, they’ll get back to me with an answer very quickly. They also make sure to resolve all tickets and fix any issues before the set deadline. 

We have daily meetings via Google, and we use Slack for communication. We also reach out to them via phone calls when there’s an emergency. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We all make mistakes from time to time, but what impresses me the most about Exaco is how they’ll quickly try to fix the problem. They’re patient, responsive, and able to help me with any issue while keeping me updated. They also come up with very good ideas when we want to plan something. When they raise suggestions or alternative solutions, they make sure to let us know how long these will take. Because of those things, I think they are very good.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them the opportunity to think.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

A company with modern construction and renovation wholesalers. We currently have 9 construction stores in Poland.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Exaco, and what were your goals?

The Exaco company was hired by us to create a training and organizational platform for our clients and employees.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Exaco had good reviews on the market, they appeared to be passionate about their work and professionals.

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

Exaco has created a training and organizational platform for us from scratch, thanks to which all training activities in the company take place in one place. They designed solutions for us regarding organization, communication, evaluation, creating a training process, data storage, reporting, enrollment process, a place for the entire e-learning training module for our employees.

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

We mainly work with a project manager who is our liaison with developers and programmers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results are very satisfactory, the solutions proposed by Exaco are modern, professional and meet our expectations and needs.

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

Timeliness was always kept, and sometimes Exaco prepared our special request solutions in an extremely short time. Every developer were very dedicated to their tasks. Communication with our project manager is at the highest level, both by e-mail, by phone and using project management tools.

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

Commitment, professionalism, sincere and sincere help of employees.

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

I don't see such areas, we work very well with Exaco.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The PWN Group operates in three key areas, viz. publishing, distribution and e-commerce. The Group currently consists of over a dozen companies, including Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (Polish Scientific Publishers), PWN Wydawnictwo Szkolne (PWN School Publishing), PZWL Wydawnictwo Lekarskie (PZWL Medical Publishing), as well as OSDW Azymut, the largest distributor in the industry, and the PWN chain of bookstores.

PWN Group publishers bring out over 500 titles every year. These consist of books, e-books and multimedia products. These publishers specialize in delivering knowledge in many different areas, especially the exact sciences, economics, management, IT, psychology and medicine. Im CIO in PWN.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Exaco?

Exaco was hired to create for us web application Rozpisani.pl. Rozpisani.pl is a portal and self-publishing offer for independent authors - an innovative and the only project of the PWN Group on the market. Exaco created for us both parts of the project, frontend and backend.

What were your goals for this project?

Our highest goal was to implement an app on the Polish market, which could help the authors publish their publication and introduce it to the book market. We wanted to reduce the time needed to publish a book that could last for months with traditional channels. Now you can publish a book using "Rozpisani.pl" created by Exaco within six weeks.

We wanted the written readers to gain a lot of independence in using our self-publishing platform. We wanted the authors to keep the copyrights to their work, control the content and design of the book, and decide about its price. As part of the project, we also planned permanent access to sales results and a simple system of monthly settlements for authors.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We decided to cooperate with Exaco on the implementation of the project thanks to the previous long-term cooperation, which showed us that Exaco is a reliable partner that we can rely on.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

During the first meeting, we outlined Exaco what we expect from the new solution and what business goals our organization has to meet. After presenting our requirements, Exaco includes all information from us as part of the project documentation, along with the time estimate and development cost, and then submitted it for our verification and acceptance. After analyzing the documentation, we agreed to begin our project with Exaco.

Exaco, as part of the documentation, presented us with a graphic vision for our platform and described the architecture and each functionality. On our side, was only substantive input and review of the proposed solutions. Exaco provided the entire team needed for implementation, starting from programmers, through testers, ending with UI and UX specialists. The SCRUM methodology, chosen for the implementation by EXACO, enabled us to work flexibly and modify the scope, appearance, and compilation of individual functionalities.

At the beginning and end of each sprint, we received a list of what had been completed, and we could point out point by point to the implementation of the planned work.

What was the team composition?

Four people implemented our project on the Exaco side. Besides, we had a project manager to contact us about the progress of the work, with him, we discussed the implementation of individual sprints and tasks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Our highest goal was to implement an app on the Polish market, which could help the authors publish their publication and introduce it to the book market.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Honestly, I recall the realization of our project with Exaco very positively. In case of any problems, I saw the involvement and actions on the project manager's side, which often overtook my questions and was able to alleviate and eliminate the problem created during the implementation.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

As I have already mentioned, I remembered the cooperation with Exaco very positively, due to the purely human contact that built a very good relationship between our companies. They had this positive and open approach to people and a desire to create a good product without building artificial problems, I consider the most significant advantage of Exaco.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of the company, deal with the organization of the festival, I create the concept of each edition of the festival for the last 16 years. I am also responsible for acquiring partners supporting the idea of the festival and the festival itself.

In my duties is to prepare our crew to organize event, verification and controlling of the proceedings of the festival itself during its duration. I also run the official profile of the "festival of good taste" in social media (facebook, twitter and instagram) and communicates with the participants of the festival. Festival of Good Taste, is an event with an established position on the map of Łódź festivals. Always in June, crowds of gourmets walk around restaurants, cafes and pubs to try what's best in Łódź gastronomy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Exaco?

Exaco was to create a dedicated web application for us in PWA, along with the QR codes downloaded to the app. The application was supposed to count the votes of the participants of the festival and enable to generate a .csv file with the results of voting for their further processing and selection of the best restaurants in particular festival categories. Exaco configured and looked after the servers on which the application was.

What were your goals for this project?

The business goal of the application was to create an app as part of the Festival of Good Taste. Users through the application had the opportunity to vote for the selected dish in three categories: dish, dessert, cocktail. About 40 restaurants participated in the Festival. The application also contains information about restaurants and accompanying events and cooperation between Łódź and Murcia.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Exaco has been recommended to us by the City of Lodz Office, due to their long-lasting cooperation.

Describe the project in detail.

Exaco has created the entire application, from its design to implementation and taking care of the project after its launch. The app made it possible to log in users on the main page screen, where are also the application menu with all modules was visible.

As part of the application, we had a city map with selected restaurants and information about Łódź's cooperation with Murcia in the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Poland and Spain, including interesting facts about Murcia. In the application, we included recipes for festival dishes and a voting module that allowed people to vote for selected festival dishes.

What was the team composition?

During making the festival application, I worked with three people from Exaco. I had an indicated one person who coordinated the whole and that caused everything to go smoothly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to the application, this year's edition of the festival was a great success and we managed to reach a much larger number of people, which enabled us to promote the festival of good taste.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

In the beginning, I received a document with the entire list of functionalities divided into modules and a visual presentation of the application. When I had questions, the project manager gave me answers on the same day. I have no objections and I am delighted with the cooperation.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I had the feeling that my project is in good hands and the sense of security that in such a crucial moment of the year as the festival start everything will go well is the best value of cooperation with Exaco.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The Lodz University of Technology is one of the biggest and the best technical university in Poland. It is placed in the central part of Poland. Nearly 20000 students study at our university.

Degree programmes are delivered at nine faculties and three colleges. It has over 70-year long tradition and experience in engineering education. I work as an academic teacher and also as the project INFIMAT manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Exaco?

Exaco was hired to create an internet portal and software that is used to conduct online competitions concerning the knowledge from exact sciences.

Thanks to the created software, it is possible that students from the primary and high schools from all over the country can actively participate in the competition without having to come to the university. The winners of the competitions receive certificates entitling them to study without taking into account the qualification progress.

What were your goals for this project?

The aim of the project was to create a completely new software available for all students in the country and to give them the opportunity to compete without having to come to Lodz.

This software is used to verify the knowledge of students joining competitions. Students, after creating an account and signing up to the competition (annually 9 competitions are run using the created software) can solve tasks. The students can solve the task, doing the test or by entering appropriate numerical values in appropriate places.

The content of the test is visible only to registered participants. The content of the tasks is entered into the system by a teacher having appropriate qualifications assigned by the system administrator. The compliance of the results given by the participants with the results saved in the system is verified by the software. It is possible to run several competitions and tests simultaneously. Communication with registered participants is possible using the software developed by Exaco.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

There are many software companies that make up the software in Lodz. After reviewing the requirements for the competition announced by TUL, three companies applied. Analyzing the experience of applying companies and taking into account the economic aspect, in the end, the Exaco company was chosen to carry out the project.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

After preliminary findings, the Exaco company designed and proposed technical solutions to achieve the assumed goal. Exaco employees offered both graphic design and functionality of the created software.

The working meetings were held as needed but quite often. The employees of the Exaco company presented partial results and proposed solutions. The beta version of the software was ready after six months and the total system efficiency gained after a year of work.

At present, the company Exaco provides software service and help us if something unexpected appears. The company's employees repeatedly proposed improvements to make the system work more efficiently.

What was the team composition?

From the Exaco, several people were employed in the project. A different group of people worked on the graphics, and a different group of people on the substantive solutions and algorithms used to create the software.

In the case of bigger problems that had to be solved in the working meetings, a larger number of people participated, but their number did not exceed 6. At a later stage of work, I never had the need to contact the group because all arrangements made with the project manager were always reflected in the presented results of work. The contact has always been very fast and factual.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

There are about 10,000 participants in competitions annually. These are contests supporting the acquisition of knowledge and I am convinced that participation in competitions for young people is important because organizing their knowledge and allows for a rivalry between participants.

One of the basic tasks of the university is education, and the use of created software is a great opportunity to repeat material both before and after exams. It is important for future students to have high knowledge because it enables more effective learning during their studies.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The contact with Exaco has always been very quick and factual. with the exception of working meetings, we usually contacted using e-mail and telephone calls. all our comments were taken into account and the proposed solutions were discussed in detail. In the event of unexpected events, Exaco employees assisted immediately.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Exaco employees always take all of our feedback into account. If they were not in line with the company's intentions, we always received factual justification why we should act differently.

The project was completed on time and the employees of the company were very honest and friendly towards students who could have problems handling the implemented software. In this way, each student had the opportunity to participate in competitions, despite their own difficulties in operating the system. However, it should be noticed that the system is friendly and intuitive for a young person.

Are there any areas for improvement?

In my opinion, cooperation was and is very good and fruitful. I wish to have the opportunity to work with other companies like Exaco.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work in the Office of Economic Development and International Cooperation of the City of Lodz Office. I am involved in supporting a local community of startups

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Exaco?

Exaco has prepared an internet portal www.startupy.lodz.pl equipped with an integrated system supporting the recruitment process of participants, partners and mentors of the competition Młodzi in Łódź in Łódź - I have an idea for startup and tools for efficient communication within the competition.

What were your goals for this project?

1. preparation of an information and promotion portal for startups 2. proposing and implementation of tools improving the recruitment process 3. ensuring efficient communication within the competition community 4. implementation of a clerk enabling information to be posted by external entities

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were looking for a reliable partner who would help us in the effective and comprehensive way to improve the organization of the competition.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project consisted in creating an innovative information and promotion portal to support the recruitment processes of participants, mentors and project partners. An important element was also to improve the communication process within the competition community and to improve the flow of information on events addressed to the startup environment

What was the team composition?

A few people were involved in the project implementation. The cooperation was based on communication with two Exaxo employees, which resulted in a very efficient flow of information, effective problem solving and quick decision making. Excellent communication and professionalism of the employees allowed to finish the project before the set date.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The solutions used in this configuration are unique and in the opinion of our Partners allow for high positioning of the services we provide.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management was very precise and effective. The project was completed before the set date.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Professionalism, rich experience, the ability to provide solutions to customer needs, reliability, flexibility, efficient communication.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The cooperation took place professionally during the implementation of the project. We have no objections to its course.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former project manager at Przewozy Regionalne, a rail company in Poland.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Exaco?

Our company was undergoing a restructuring program. The goal was to automate a manual process by introducing new IT technologies and infrastructures. We needed someone to develop our application, which was for 3,000 railroad conductors in order to eliminate their manual processes around schedules, timetables, tickets, and regulations.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our application. Each conductor received a new tablet with the application installed, connected to all internal systems. It also works offline when there’s no network available.

We had business requirements from our conductors, then Exaco provided good ideas around how to develop them in a user-friendly fashion. The solution has all the repositories, schedules, timetables into one place, and allows the conductors to send daily reports regarding issues they encounter. It also includes any special information or promotional offers that they need to know about.

We used the LGAP catalog service and it was connected with the Google Platform. One of the goals was to connect and integrate with the Google account and LGAP. We wanted to be able to sell tickets online and verify barcodes with an application.

What is the team composition?

I cooperated with the project manager, and they were able to scale up the team as needed.

How did you come to work with Exaco?

When I joined the company, the project had already begun. We had the business requirements and they were one of the companies that were selected.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together August 2015–September 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They developed a stable application. The conductors were able to access basic information, replacing their documentation and material processes. The team provided useful advice for how we can manage them from a business perspective. The tool allowed us to check which conductors hadn’t performed the required reports. I was satisfied with their service and found them to be a very dynamic team.

How did Exaco perform from a project management standpoint?

We worked in an agile methodology, with sprints and a new version or updates every month. They had a very good understanding of our business requirements, which I found very useful when discussing changes or enhancements. They were very professional and maintained good communication with the project manager. They were available and responsive on a daily basis.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very open-minded and had useful ideas on how to develop and integrate applications.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had some difficulties integrating the application with the LGAP. I was forced to involve our system engineer on our side to support them. They cooperated well, but Exaco didn’t have enough knowledge or enough experience with the LGAP in the beginning. They’ve did overcome that issue though.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No, I can't name anything.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a production engineer at Common S.A. in Poland. We specialize in gas pipes, and are currently developing programs for remote-control volume correctors and telemetrics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What were you trying to address with Exaco?

We had an existing app on Windows, but we needed it to be compatible with mobile devices. The system was intended to connect to gas meters, gather data, and distribute the information to other systems. We needed Exaco to develop it as a mobile app to our main goal of preventing gas pipe explosions.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Exaco team developed the app to be compatible with Android devices. The developers integrated tools that allow users to verify information and be notified of incidents through their phones.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with the owner, who assigned teammates to project as needed.

How did you come to work with Exaco?

After realizing we needed to change the platform of our existing web app for it to be compatible with mobile devices, we looked at companies with relevant experience. Exaco was well-known in their industry, and a few members of our team had professional connections with them. After determining they had strong expertise, we chose them for our project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together between January–June 2018. Now that their work is finished, we’re continuing to develop the app with our own resources.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve received positive feedback about the app. The users are satisfied and the system functions reliably.

How did Exaco perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly meetings with their team, and we collaborated on the project. Since it’s a complex app that needs to be modified with changing regulations, we had to extend deadlines and they cooperated.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Exaco team has deep expertise in their industry. We’re also impressed with the quality of work they produced.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their team may not have thought the project would be as complicated when we first hired them, but they learned a lot about our industry since then. They needed to know the purpose of the app and build a strong understanding in the area for the project to be successful.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Sales Director in building materials distribution in Poland

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Exaco, and what were your goals?

We needed a mobile-app to obtain quickly and manage market information and enable our large sales organization to communicate easily and effciently

SOLUTION

How did you select Exaco and what were the deciding factors?

Recommendation - interview - choice Deciding factors: quick response, great towards-ready-solution presentation, customer orientation.

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

design and develop a mobile app

How many resources from the Exaco team worked with you, and what were their positions?

we worked with 3 people

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Managers see new projects at the moment projects appear on the market. Sales people get immidiate and full information and push to act. We can track down the projects and how we service them throughout the whole construction process from design to completion.

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

excellent business understanding.

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

They were solution-oriented, and their excellent business understanding was impressive.

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

no