Gluo

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CIO at Farmacia San Pablo, a Mexican pharmacy chain.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gluo?

We wanted to integrate an internal search engine for our website that could support external search engines. Implementing an AI-based search engine tool was important to us as we were looking to innovate on our tech side.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Gluo provides us with IT consulting services. They've also helped us with Algolia's license management, an AI-based search engine tool. Initially, Gluo guided us through the Algolia's integration process and took care of the initial licensing.

This project was originally divided into three phases, and the integration phase was the first phase. Since then, Gluo has kept working with us as a consultant, and their work includes UX consulting and system upgrades, which is the second phase of the project. Moreover, they've provided us with heuristic analyses of our microsites.

The third phase of the project is the AI integration. However, I'm sure that our engagement won't stop there. Since Algolia is our main search tool, we'll continue working with Gluo for a long time.

What is the team composition?

We work with Daniela (Delivery Manager Leader /SPC (SAFe)), who manages a team of about three members. On the commercial side, we work with Rubén E. (Sr. Account Executive & Key Account Manager), and on the technical consulting and development side, we work with Ruben Q. (Software Engineer).

How did you come to work with Gluo?

I found them on Google. When we realized that Algolia was a foreign service, we decided to look for a local company that could help us with all the documentation needed to streamline the system integration and the administrative processes involved. Gluo won the tender process.

How much have you invested with them?

In 2023, we spent around $140,000 USD. This year, we'll be investing around $233,000 USD plus a consulting fee of around $500,000 MXN (approximately $28,000 USD). In total, we've spent around $6 million–$7 million MXN (approximately $332,000–$387,000 USD) thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in May 2023, and we’re still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had some challenges during the initial integration phase, so we're currently working on solving technical issues that should have been solved during that phase. Thus, I can't talk about exponential growth yet.

Gluo initially promised a minimum 15% increase in efficiency, but we're still in the development phase, so we won't be able to measure results until the implementation is complete. However, we've noticed a 5% improvement in our search engine as we keep adding AI tools.

Obviously, results will keep improving over time. During the current phase, we're also adding new metrics so that we can translate those numbers into sales.

How did Gluo perform from a project management standpoint?

Gluo has delivered on time and on budget, and they've communicated well with us. We communicate via phone calls, emails, and WhatsApp. We use Jira internally, so we've added a few members of Gluo's team to our Jira boards so that they can handle project timelines and project management. In addition to the project's tasks, Gluo has also delivered very detailed analyses and reports on time, which talks about their support and professionalism.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

I would like to congratulate Rubén E. He has guided us and has been very patient with us. Our internal administrative processes are a bit dense, but he has been supportive and patient. Thanks to his professionalism and speed, he has helped us implement this search engine tool and reach our goals. Overall, he has done an excellent job and walked with us along the way.

What did you find most impressive about them?

On top of their patience, Gluo has the ability to solve complex issues. There have been a lot of internal issues on our side, and Gluo still has offered excellent responsiveness to our administrative and contractual requests.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if some of their members on the technical side of the project did a more thorough follow-up. We're the ones constantly reaching out to Gluo's tech team instead of them being on top of what we need. They don't reach out to us first.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Give yourself the opportunity to know Gluo. Their team is very good and has excellent professionals in their field

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am an executive for a D2C home subscription company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gluo?

We were implementing e-commerce into our company, so we brought Gluo for development assistance. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The BigCommerce site has been built from scratch, and Gluo has been responsible for migrating information from another site. They’ve also integrated the site with third-party systems like NetSuite and created a funnel that allows customers to build products. Their team has implemented our subscription platform and manages and processes orders. 

Gluo has created a new platform for our catalog and operates and maintains that platform. They’ve attached our system architecture and developed our product data model. 

What is the team composition?

We work with about 5–6 individuals on our core team, but others come in whenever necessary. 

How did you come to work with Gluo?

They were a referral from another company we worked with. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $200,000–$300,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2023, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were highly focused on getting the site launched on time, and Gluo was able to do that. They provide quality work, and we’ve continued our engagement with their team because we’ve been happy with the results. 

How did Gluo perform from a project management standpoint?

We were working with a strict timeline, and Gluo was able to meet that. We had a few conversion issues when we launched the site, but they were able to help us resolve those. We communicate via Slack and Zoom and use Jira and Miro for project management. 

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

We’d like to shout out Alicia (Delivery Manager), Nick (Full Stack Developer), Diana (Frontend Junior Developer), and Pedro (Maquetador & Frontend). 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team has a great attitude and is always willing to try to solve an issue. When they take on a problem, they’re very realistic in their approach and try to develop actionable solutions. Gluo is one of the better development teams we’ve worked with, and they complete tasks quickly. Their team is extremely skilled and has high levels of expertise. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We think they could have handled the finances better because we did go over budget, but they did work with us to manage that. We also think a few things have been lost in translation, but that hasn’t been a major issue. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be upfront about your requirements and go into detail with them. It also helps to give them context for the work and let them know your goals and where you want to go moving forward. One thing that helped our relationship was letting them know that we view them as a partner. We didn’t want to just give them directives; we wanted to collaborate with them. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the development manager at LATAMParts, an automotive distribution company. We’re a top distributor of auto parts and serve high-profile customers. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gluo?

We’ve created websites independently and used third-party e-commerce platforms like MercadoLibre. When using third-party platforms, we must align with their characteristics and use their templates without the freedom to customize or implement other features to improve the UX. Our leadership proposed finding an off-the-shelf e-commerce solution with the tools we wanted.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Gluo has helped us implement BigCommerce into our e-commerce platforms. The team has reviewed our platforms' UI/UX design and looked for a template that fits our industry. Once we selected a template together, Gluo handled UI/UX design to make sure the interface aligned with our brand identity. They used Figma for the design. 

During the process, the team did UX research, including a proto-personas exercise. This study focused on the type of customers who buy auto parts. They considered that many customers who need to buy an auto part don’t know how to ensure they’re buying what they need for their car. Gluo surveyed around 100–200 participants with different profiles to gather feedback. The team has used the insights gathered to determine the platform’s tools and features. 

Since our use case is complex, we didn’t want to be limited by a template, so Gluo has customized the template for us. We use a cataloging model called ACES and PIES, which has specific rules and guidelines to structure an auto parts catalog to make it easy to manage and maintain. Gluo has developed a component for our home page that allows users to select a year, brand, model, and motor to find products. 

Our B2C and B2B stores are live. Currently, Gluo is improving our B2B store to help it communicate with a third-party platform. As part of working with General Motors, we have an outdated third-party desktop platform. Since the third-party platform is for desktops, it doesn’t have APIs or microservices to exchange data with other platforms. Gluo is helping us build a middleware platform for the third-party platform to communicate with our B2B store.

We’re working with Gluo to build APIs. Currently, the platform is connected to our B2B platform and BigCommerce to generate quotes and orders. In the next phase, Gluo will help us complement the orders so that operations in BigCommerce can affect the third-party platform. The goal is to avoid having to update the third-party platform every time we make an update to our B2B platform.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with around 11–12 Gluo teammates, including a UX design lead, a UX researcher, a UX writer, a technical leader, a UI designer, a backend developer, a frontend developer, a business analyst, a QA engineer, a delivery manager, and a software architect.

How did you come to work with Gluo?

We sent out an RFP to find an e-commerce solution and got participation from large companies. Ultimately, we chose BigCommerce. From there, we needed a partner to help us implement the platform and looked for agencies certified in BigCommerce. We were between two options and chose Gluo due to their way of working and the process they presented to implement the platform. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $105,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2022, launched the B2C store in May 2023, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Gluo has exceeded our expectations, which our leadership has noted. Every member of the Gluo team has been a key contributor to the project’s success — they’ve been highly professional. 

Since our platform is new, we don’t have many metrics yet; we need at least a year to have more solid numbers. Still, we’ve had a lot of organic traffic to our platform, helped in part by the company’s name. Our platform’s success is primarily due to our marketing efforts. However, Gluo's work to ensure our catalog has a good structure has helped improve the results. 

How did Gluo perform from a project management standpoint?

They work with the Agile methodology, which is very complete. We have daily 15–20-minute follow-up meetings to provide feedback and discuss the project’s status. This approach helps us have the context of everything Gluo is doing. At the end of every two weeks, we have an iteration-closing meeting. In these meetings, we have a summary of everything the team is doing and review the project timeline, helping us organize. 

No matter how detailed the plan is, every project has unexpected situations along the way, forcing adjustments. At first, we had a period of adapting to Gluo’s methodology and how to share information. Our daily work also takes time, delaying our delivery of aspects like the product catalog. However, we haven’t had significant setbacks. 

We use Zoom and Slack to communicate and Jira to manage the project. Gluo also uses Miro to give us graphics-based information. They’ve used  Figma to present us with the design mock-ups, including each platform page with the branding and design customization.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Regardless of the situation, Gluo always strives to be available for us. We've always had seamless communication both ways, avoiding misunderstandings. For example, they notify us when a teammate has a personal situation and will be absent. Overall, Gluo is very organized.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing they need to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Gluo is a serious company with highly professional teammates. We wouldn’t hesitate to work with them again and would recommend them to other potential customers. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of digital marketing at an access solutions company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Gluo?

We had a series of needs in customer service. Our number of executives wasn’t enough to respond to all of our clients, so we decided to begin a B2B interaction to allow our clients to do the order-to-cash process directly on our online store.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Gluo developed our platform from scratch using BigCommerce. They used JavaScript and HTML for the front and Figma for UI/UX design. We initially provided them with a brand book so they could consider our brand’s colors and images.

Our site worked as any popular e-commerce platform where clients can see our products, their attributes, videos, technical sheets, manuals, and more. Users can also buy them or add them to their online catalog.

What was the team composition?

We had a big team, although some teammates were only present for specific project stages. We worked with Daniela (Delivery Manager Leader), Pedro (Senior Delivery Manager), Jesus (JavaScript Developer), Arturo and Marco (Frontend Developers), Marissa (UX Lead), Ines (UX Researcher & Writer), Ruben (Software Engineer), and Cristina (UI/UX Designer), among others.

How did you come to work with the Gluo?

Our IT department led an online research process. After several interviews, we received proposals. We compared the different proposals considering quantitative and qualitative factors. In the end, we decided that Gluo was the best choice.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2022, and the project lasted nine months in total.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t loaded our whole product portfolio yet, but the clients already using the platform have had a positive impression. They’re happy with the environment; the UI/UX team did an amazing job. Also, every order we’ve received since then has been through the platform, so now we can properly gather the information from every order.

How did Gluo perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a great follow-up; we were very impressed with their project management skills. Moreover, we learned a lot from Gluo. Their job was flawless; they used Jira to track the project’s evolution. We also had daily Microsoft Teams meetings to check for updates. On average, they invested 3,000 hours in this process, so communication was challenging. However, Gluo made sure to make it work. They delivered timely; all the delays were on our side.

Besides Jira, we also shared files on a drive and communicated via WhatsApp. We had the whole team’s phone number.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Gluo had an excellent service; they put their entire energy into it. They always had a smile on their faces, and the team was nice to work with. Everyone was fully dedicated to creating a good product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They had a series of practices. For example, when they have an intern or junior, they let them lead the project after they got a good grasp of it. However, those changes sometimes made us feel left alone.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them completely and see them as a partner; Gluo will do everything you need.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there

I’m a UX/UI leader at an office supplies retailer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Gluo?

They helped us analyze the UX of our websites and apps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Gluo provided us with a guide of observations and good practices to help us improve our client’s experience on our digital channels. They had their own methodology, which was a set of guidelines and benchmarks that allowed them to evaluate our e-commerce.

What was the team composition?

I worked directly with three people, but I don’t know if there were more involved.

How did you come to work with Gluo?

My boss found their company page on Linkedin. He liked their profile, so we contacted them and started our collaboration.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent between 20,000–30,000 Mexican pesos (approximately $900–$1,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2021, and the project lasted about a month.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t implemented their suggestions, so we cannot evaluate the results yet. However, they identified things that we hadn’t, and they seem to be on the spot for the improvements we aim to implement.

How did Gluo perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a great experience working with them; they were a flexible and young team. They adapted well to our schedules, and their reports were very professional. We communicated mainly through video calls and had a great experience overall.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their working methodology was great. This was the first time I encountered it, and the results were fantastic — the insights they provided will be of great value to the company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They provided a lot of information in a short time, so having more time to digest all of the insights would’ve been better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get to know their vision and the other methodologies they propose to evaluate your business; they can bring innovative new approaches for your business.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there

I'm an executive at an educational institution.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Gluo?

We started using Adobe Campaign to manage all of our communication campaigns using our prospects database. That tool was different from what we used, so we needed the training to use it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Gluo mainly provided IT consulting services for my department to run our marketing campaigns using Adobe. They accelerated our learning curve for best practices.

What was the team composition?

We worked directly with two people from their team, including a project manager and a developer.

How did you come to work with Gluo?

They were recommended to us by Adobe.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April–September 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their support was a vital part of the project. We needed to implement the tool correctly, but we had a low opening rate when we started because we didn’t know how to set up many of the tool’s functionalities; thanks to Gluo’s support, we increased the mail opening rate by at least 14%.

How did Gluo perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great; they committed to the project and took it as their own. They were also very diligent and professional. In terms of communication, it was mainly remote through Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They committed to the project to the point that it felt like it was theirs; I've worked with other agencies in the past, and we hadn’t been able to achieve that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have a more structured follow-up for their projects and communication schemes.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It would help if you took some time to analyze tasks and needs. Our project was in a hurry from our side, so when we started, we encountered some bumps in the road because our goals were not very clear. We realized that taking some more time to define the goals and reach of the project was necessary for the project’s success.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there

I’m a systems developer at a telecom company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Gluo?

We needed someone to develop our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Gluo has helped us with a number of projects. We first hired them to build our old website using Java. Eventually, our company decided to rebrand, so we hired them again. The team has now developed our new website and worked on its architecture, UX design, and so on. We’ve given them the freedom to choose the technologies. The new site also runs on Java, but it also utilizes AWS services like Amazon CloudFront and Amazon CloudWatch. 

What was the team composition? 

We work with 10 teammates on average, including a project manager. The number of people we work with varies.

How did you come to work with Gluo?

They sent us a proposal based on an assessment they made of our website. We talked to other companies, but we liked the way Gluo presented the possible improvements we could make. Additionally, the team proposed updates that utilized the most modern technologies, so we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent between $10 million–$12 million MXN (approximately $485,000–$582,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in December 2010, and it is an ongoing collaboration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Gluo has met our expectations. Everyone we’ve worked with has been very skilled and proactive. The team is very professional and shows great dedication to the project — they’re always one step ahead of our needs.

How did Gluo perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re always available when anything comes up. We use Microsoft Teams to communicate and Jira to manage the project. We oversee most of the projects internally.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Gluo is always looking to innovate. They’ve been able to help us move past even the most challenging projects.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could assign a bigger team for certain projects. Their prices are also pretty high, but their services are worth it. Overall, we’ve had a great experience with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of design & UX of digital channels at Telcel, a telecommunications company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gluo?

We needed someone to develop our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Gluo developed our main site using Magento and Adobe, which had all the descriptions for our device, process, catalogs, and promotions. Our platform was also linked to another service; we had products for sale that were connected to other sites. Users could also purchase cellphones, make a contract for a specific plan, and more.

On top of building our site, they did our UI/UX design. We worked together on the content, including the API part, too. Now, they continue to maintain our platform.

What is the team composition?

They have a team in India that works for us, which is composed of around 18 people.

How did you come to work with Gluo?

They reached out to us and presented their idea. After that, we decided to work with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership began in May 2008.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re able to improve our processes and work more efficiently thanks to the site they’ve developed. We’ve also appreciated that they provided us some ideas to work faster. More importantly, we now have more traffic to the website.

How did Gluo perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate through email, Skype, Microsoft Teams, and Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve offered ideas and suggestions, and our communication is good. Above all, they always look for the best developers to tackle our projects.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They always look for tools to improve communication between our teams.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re always looking out for us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there

I am an IT manager at a hotel chain company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Gluo?

We don’t have our own software development factory so when we have the need of developing any kind of software, we outsource that to other partners. One of the companies we work with for that purpose is Gluo.

We have worked with them for about 15 years now, and we’ve had many different projects together — the last one was the creation of a web platform for the members of our loyalty program.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

All of our developments are made using Java, and we also use livery for content management.

What was the team composition?

I honestly don’t know, I work directly with a project manager for the project and they get to decide how many people work on the project.

How did you come to work with Gluo?

We’ve been working with them for a long time and for this latest project, we invited them to participate in the selection process — they were evaluated along with two other companies and they made the best proposal so we assigned them the project.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent over $10 million USD.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since the end of 2005 and it is an ongoing collaboration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They are a very good service provider, and they’re especially great in everything related to UX, design, e-commerce, and web platforms. They’re one of the best companies we work with using these technologies. Apart from that, they’re also very professional and we’ve never had any setbacks in any of the projects we’ve had with them — although we’ve had some delays every once in a while like with any other service provider.

I would say they still have their strengths which is why we continue working with them after so long.

How did Gluo perform from a project management standpoint?

We had some delays in our last project. I believe that when they made the initial proposal, they considered that the project would be less complex than it ended up being — but they were able to absorb the impact of this. Though despite the delays, they still delivered a project with great quality. We used Teams as a communications and project management tool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are great at UI/UX design.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve their prices. Their prices are higher than their competitors’ so they should keep that in mind to remain competitive. They should also adjust to the market prices.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital transformation manager of Laureate Mexico, and I’m in charge of our commercial projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gluo?

We were trying to create a new experience on our students’ platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Gluo helped us create a better website with a better UX for our current and future students. Aside from the website, they also created our blog and a platform called “Educando Juntos”.

What is the team composition?

Around 10–15 people from Gluo worked on our project.

How did you come to work with Gluo?

At the time, we were working with Adobe Experience Manager, a new technology, and Gluo was a recommended partner for it. They demonstrated their experience in working with different institutions like ours and made a proposal that was exactly what we were looking for, so we started working with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around March of 2020, and the project was completed by September 2020. We’ve assigned them more work on other projects, so our collaboration continues.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our website has an overall improved performance thanks to Gluo’s work.

How did Gluo perform from a project management standpoint?

When the project started, Gluo used an Agile methodology. We had daily follow-ups to check on the progress, and those follow-ups included a demo. We started having in-person meetings, but once the pandemic started, our entire collaboration became virtual, and we began communicating via e-mail.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Gluo is an experienced and professional team that knows how to handle the methodologies and tools required for their job. Their staff is prepared and knows what they’re doing. They also deliver on their promises, and their team is dynamic, versatile, and easy to work with. They’re a young company, and I really like working with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We don’t follow Agile methodologies within our company yet; we’re still very traditional. It would be good if Gluo could adapt to us so that we can provide feedback on their reports and follow-up internally in a better way. We work based on deadlines and deliverables, which is very different from what they do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s very important to have your project's scope clearly established to get the best out of the collaboration. Additionally, assign an in-house team to follow on the project closely so that they can support Gluo in completing the project.