Frontmen

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Communications Manager of Imperial Tobacco Ukraine company, which is a part of Imperial Brands, the fourth largest international tobacco company in the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Initially there was a development of a corporate website from scratch with following (after few years) redesign according to new modern web design trends and adaptation to different mobile devices.

SOLUTION

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

There had been a tender among web-developers, where Frontmen won due to providing the best solution in terms of cost/quality ratio as well as met the company requirements regarding website engine & hosting performance, additional software and hardware protection against common security threats etc.

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

After discussion of our goals, desired structure and possible solutions there was a stage of visual design and page construction. Once mock-ups had been ready and agreed there was the pages relocation to the web.

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

There were about 7 people from Frontmen side including account and project managers as well as some technical, graphic design and content specialists.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have well-structured and attractive corporate websites with good technical and information support, what help us to maintain and develop company corporate and employer brand.

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

It have been and continue to be very productive and pleasant cooperation as Frontmen team is very supportive and responsible contractor who always deliver its commitment.

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

Good level of expertise and assistance in finding the best solutions

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

Nothing to complain about, everything is fine

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

DIRECTOR OF  a photography platform helping to create new ways for audiences to experience photography and multimedia arts. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Frontmen?

Website and Ecommerce

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Creating the design of our website and ecommerce. 

What is the team dynamic?

Dynamic? sure. 

How did you come to work with Frontmen?

Our company Founder had heard of them and they came referred. 

How much have you invested with them?

A lot! 

What is the status of this engagement?

We are almost in near completion of the website. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

It was up and down and finally we got to a good place. The scope was not an easy one, and we had many delays. But, in the end, they came through. 

How did Frontmen address the challenges that arose?

Trying to implement better communication. 

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

We had delays. 

How was project management handled?

The project manager was organized, perhaps a bit overwhelmed at times but in general structured and well organized. 

In what specific areas can they improve?

Timeline and addressing issues as they are received. 

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

Give yourself some additional time to whatever the project timeline end date is.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on December 16, 2020.

Director, Art Platform

Photography

1-10 Employees

Madrid, Spain

$10,000 to $49,999

Jan. 2020 - Ongoing

Project summary: 

Frontmen was tasked with creating an e-commerce site for an art platform. They communicated through a CRM.

Feedback summary: 

Two months after the deadline, Frontmen delivered an unfinished site without confirming the design with internal stakeholders. The art platform lost potential sales as a result.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Director of an art platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Frontmen to create a website and ecommerce platform. We gave them a very detailed brief, with explicit direction on our needs.

SOLUTION

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

They were very convincing that they had the know how to do exactly what we were asking for.

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

We used a CRM platform for communication. This part was organized,

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

about 6 people. but mostly one project manager who was directing the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are INCREDIBLY disappointed with the results. They delivered the website 2 months late and unfinished. We did not confirm the design and they did not change it. The ecommerce platform is not functioning and we have lost 2 months of sales due to their performance with this development.

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

Timelines were not respected. Communication tools were fine, as they use a CRM which kept tasks organized.

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

NOTHING.

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

Everything, they should not have over-promised.

Star Ratings

Overall rating: 0.5

Quality: 0.5

Schedule: 2.5

Cost: 2

Willing to refer: 0.5

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a science-led global healthcare company with a special purpose: to help people do more, feel better, live longer. I am CEE Area Digital Marketing Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We engaged Frontmen for the project goal of which is to create an Ad Page Management System (Shop-in-Shops Builder) and to ensure the formation of separate pages from predefined blocks and the ability to manage this content from one place for a specific market.

SOLUTION

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

Thanks to the previous successful experience and the recommendations of our business partners what led us to successful collaboration in the present and the implementation of many joint vast amounts of projects.

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

The main stages of work are familiarization with the requirements and tasks of the project, construction of the database and site structure, programming, and making adjustments. Everything was done on time using the necessary communication and software. Technologies that were used HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JQuery, VueJS, Laravel Framework, MySql.

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

The main scope of negotiations and support was provided by the project manager and tech lead. Also, the development team of 8 who of them were backend and frontend representatives.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are extremely pleased that we have received the product on time, which is currently desirable for many foreign clients and they are looking forward to expanding the functionality that we have now begun to work on after the successful completion of the first stage of the project.

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

We cooperated as sort of a blended team. It was done using Agile development and Scrum methodology. We modified our results after each iteration using retrospectives. Their project management skills were petrifying and the communication was superb. They met our deadlines. We’ve been extremely impressed by the quality of their custom coding.

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

Amplifying that they do react in advance on possible issues that could happen and appropriately prevented them.

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

Definitely not, they did their best and we were ecstatic with them. I have already recommended them to our partners. I do not have any critiques based on our experience.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a cashback platform that gives you a portion of your money back from both online and offline purchases. We the newest fintech system with a modern offline and online cashback model. I’m the CEO of the company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We delegated the task to develop our site concept and all inner logic in the site. It included payments systems, API integration, user profile, cashback system. 

SOLUTION

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

We found this company on the internet and saw reviews and recommendations on the Clutch. Also, other sites which provide a recommendation about this company. From some of our business partners which have good work experience with Frontmen.

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

We want to create a complex system that will provide a hard cashback system which includes all shop methods. The big part of the site is made on modern web technologies, the internal part using Vue.js, Laravel, also integration with user-friendly CRM. Frontmen made the smart cashback system which includes all payments using offline and online variants. Also developed logic of user profile where customers can get full access to the history and calculation of personal funds. 

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

The head of the team is the project manager. There is an experienced, exact manager, who was perfectly managed all his team. The team consists of 8-12 people, which include designers, front/back developers, analysts, and technical experts. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The work was dynamic. All services and payments had good logic and connections. We can also separate the whole process of obtaining the cache for each user by setting up logs and forming the reporting sheet. We made all our design with no problems and all edits, comments were included with great precision and attention. We didn’t waste extra time on our project and get all works in high resolutions. 

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

The project manager is a real professional. All the controversial points we get with best regards. All timelines and edits were managed by the time. We were using the Waterfall system which was greatly suited to our project.

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

In my opinion, the Frontmen company has a great symbiosis of professionalism and time/team management. Also, the introduction of more complex and logically, mathematically complex processes is not a problem for them. All solved questions and specific of working was on the top. Also, the design part and brand identity is a modern piece of art. 

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

To tell you the truth, there weren`t any problems which I have noticed. No questions, awesome work, guys!  

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I hold the position of Process Director at a Ukrainian logistics & financial services company headquartered in Kyiv. We have 500 post offices in 130 localities in Ukraine, which provides logistics and financial services in the b2b, b2c and c2c segments and is a partner of the largest marketplaces and hundreds of online stores for parcel delivery.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Frontmen?

Our company works with Frontman to develop a mobile application. Frontman created the concept, design and IT development of the product. Currently, the product is used by more than 100 thousand users and we continue to develop a mobile application together.

What were your goals for this project?

The task of the project is to create a product for users, which could combine the main functions used by customers: tracking, costing, post office search. Then to develop it by adding new features - creating a shipment in the app., getting the push notifications, and some other additional services and to make an intuitive interface at the same time.

SOLUTION

How did you select Frontmen?

Frontmen was selected through a tender among other companies. Their key advantage is the experience of such a projects and easy communication.

Describe the project in detail.

The task of the project is to create a product for users, which could combine the main functions used by customers: tracking, costing, post office search. Then to develop it by adding new features - creating a shipment in the app., getting the push notifications, and some other additional services and to make an intuitive interface at the same time.

What was the team composition?

The project has several stages:

1. Approval of the concept and design development
2. Development of user registration and information blocks
3. Development and implementation of the main functions: tracking, costing, post office search
4. Development of additional functions - creating a waybill in the application, receiving push notifications and some other additional services 5) Adding payment features

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The mobile application was downloaded by more than 100 thousand customers, most of whom use it constantly.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Frontmen led the project proactively. Communication was easy and constructive.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Frontman understands the needs of the customer very well!

Are there any areas for improvement?

They need to improve the function of testing the finished product.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are importer and distributor of LG Electronics conditions in Ukraine. I'm B2B Business Development Team Leader - LG Electronics Ukraine

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We delegated the task of analyzing the B2B air conditioning market and preparing a digital platform to communicate with buyers and increase market share in a highly competitive segment.

SOLUTION

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

Recommendations of colleagues on business development from other market sectors and previous successful experience of project implementation with other departments of our company.

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

We wanted to solve a complex problem of presentation of solutions for the market by industry, automation of a number of business processes in a closed service area of the resource, providing a clear product line for visitors and to form the basis for further SEO-promotion. The big part of the site is made on modern web technologies, the internal part using Vue.js, Laravel, where integration with CRM was required.

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

The main communication was with the project manager, the analyst and the technical expert. The total project team consisted of up to 10 people approximately.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Yes, we are pleased that we quickly received MVP and resins to use it in communication with customers. Later we received a web service integrated with CRM, which greatly simplified the maintenance, systematization of project and delivery statuses, automation in the formation of primary technical and commercial documentation.

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

We were preparing for long and complex approvals, but the system of using Agile/Scrum has significantly reduced the implementation time.

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

All questions were solved easily. Many questions and aspects we didn't have to explain, the team on their side thought it over and came out with working solutions or suggestions. It was the most pleasant discovery.

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

They did a great job.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of the sfera.ua. Sfera.ua is e-commerce for FMCG products made by the key Ukrainian company in the field — Biosphere.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Frontmen?

We hired Frontmen to create brand identity and designs both for the website and mobile apps.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to create a design for the website that would be scalable and could be easily implemented using common e-commerce engines. For mobile apps, we needed to create a cross-platform design. Because e-commerce, in general, was a new thing for the company we needed Frontmen to be as flexible and agile as possible — a lot of project requirements were created on the go.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We compared portfolios and user reviews of companies created a shortlist of companies and contacted all of them. Communication from the Frontmen was flawless from the beginning and met all the expectations, pricing was reasonable as well so we decided to choose them.

Describe the project in detail.

Frontmen developed the structure of the site according to our business goals. Branding that they created for the project is both modern and nicely inherits the main elements from the parent company branding.

What was the team composition?

The team was composed of a manager and several designers. CEO and art direction were actively involved in the project start, which definitely brought its benefits. There was also a back-office who got all the paperwork covered.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Right now the project is at the last stage of development, once it is released it would be available at sfera.ua.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The manager on their side handled all the requests to the design team. She was always available and provided quick feedback.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Flexibility and proactivity.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We had to remake some small visual bits several times until they reached perfection, but I guess that's normal.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Espreso is Ukrainian news TV channel that have almost 360 employees. The TV channel broadcasts DVB-S, DVB-T2, DVB-C and IPTV signals on the territory of Ukraine and the EU. WEB site espreso.tv has an audience of 6 to 12 million visitors per month. I'm the Chief Technical Officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Frontmen?

We hired Frontmen to support the current espreso.tv website and develop a new news web portal (design, development and implementation of project)

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to create a new web portal of all-Ukrainian and world news, on a new platform with the transfer of a large database of old news, articles and videos to the new portal.

Also the project should have used CDN technology for content distribution, created powerful advertising tools, the new UI design should increase the audience of the portal.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We compared prices and deadlines between 5 companies. The Frontmen's offer met all our expectations. The presentation of the future project was liked by all managers of our company. In addition, Frontmen has many successful projects in its portfolio.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They designed the product, offered new features in the UX/UI, did the development and implementation. All project planning was done by Frontmen. There were daily coordination of all technical solutions and frontend and backend UI. The whole project was divided into stages, which allowed to control all processes.

What was the team composition?

About 10 people took part in the project. Which were connected at the appropriate stages of development. We communicated with the team leader, and she selected all the participants, depending on our wishes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Project development is coming to an end. So far, internal tests predict an increase in our audience by 1.5 - 2 times, increasing the depth of viewing. The new web portal will definitely rejuvenate our audience but also save old users. With the new resource there is a chance to take a leading position among the news web resources of Ukraine.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

All management was from the Frontmen's team leader. But we always had up-to-date information on the status of the project and could communicate with any member of the team if it necessary.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Frontmen was patient with our requirements and focused on the results, despite some pauses in the financing of the project on our part.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Of course, there is always something to improve, so we leave the Frontmen team to support the project in the future

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO and founder of an AI-powered navigation solution for fashion e-commerce. The solution generates multiple looks for users based on their preferences and the latest trends.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Frontmen?

We engaged Frontend to provide frontend and backend development.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a finished product.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We put out a tender and hired Frontmen through that process.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

At the initial stage, neither the developer nor the customer understood what the final product would look like. Therefore, we divided the project into short sprints and evaluated results at each stage. The end result can recognize photos of women’s clothing and creates ready-made looks for them.

What was the team composition?

We worked with five different people.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Frontmen completed all of their tasks. The software is now ready for integration with customers, and we have three clients signed up to date.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They used Teamwork, which made the partnership effective and easy to manage.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team was responsible and focused throughout the project. They stuck to all deadlines and provided timely notification for any issues that we needed to discuss in advance.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They should onboard visual recognition specialists.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

UNIQA Insurance Company is a private joint stock company. Our regional network has 26 directorates in the regions of Ukraine, 15 general representative offices, and more than 250 branches including points of sale. I’m the head of online sales at UNIQA Ukraine.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Frontmen?

Frontmen won the tender to develop and launch our company’s new website. We also hired them to implement an online sales project.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to develop and launch an updated website and e-commerce shop to sell five products and facilitate the full online sales cycle

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

From August–December 2015, UNIQA conducted a tender for a new development partner to complete our projects.  Seven vendors participated in the final stage, during which we compared their proposed timeline, scope, and prices. Frontmen won the bid.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

Our project was divided into two stages for the new website and online sales. The first phase lasted three months, which aligned with our contract’s terms and conditions. Our holdings company already had finalized designs. Frontmen used our technical requirements on site structure to develop mobile responsive and desktop versions of our platform. They built the CMS and filled the site with content we provided. 

The second part of our project was more difficult. It required many integrations and completing five products. Currently, we’re maintaining ongoing cooperation with Frontmen’s team for further development.

What was the team composition?

Frontmen allocated a project manager from their side who was responsible for all of our communication and interactions. Their team included up to five resources who worked on different tasks based on project needs. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Frontmen delivered a cutting-edge new site for our clients that has positively impacted our image. The platform portrays us as a reliable and modern company. They helped us successfully launch our online sales channel, as well.  Two years later, we’ve been generating €25,000 (approximately $29,200 USD) per month from leads and direct sales. Before launch, this figure was zero.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Frontmen’s project manager leads our engagement from their side. We used Skype and Teamwork for communication and provided regular feedback about ongoing and open issues.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Frontmen provided not only professional work and support throughout the project but also useful ideas about the best ways to develop our site and e-commerce shop. The latest market developments inform all of their input.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

At the beginning of the project, we had some difficulties with misunderstandings about insurance market specifics. We were their first client from this industry.