ICON Business Consulting, LLC

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the controller of Trailer Bridge, Inc., a maritime company operating in the Caribbean. We also have a trucking division and an international non-vessel owning common carrier (NVOCC) division. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ICON Business Consulting, LLC?

We’ve used ICON for several projects, including two ongoing integration projects. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ICON is driving the process of our integration into Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains (GP). They work with and on behalf of me to ensure that our OS platforms integrate seamlessly with GP. They also work directly with our purchase order system vendor to accommodate customizations and any special requests we have. Then, they integrate the end product with GP. 

At present, we have a small business relationship with ICON. We don’t have a regimented process where there are stages for design, development, and testing — that’s not our style. As a result, they’re essentially a partner that works with us through various processes with loose stages. 

What is the team composition?

We work with two people from their team, including Thomas (Founder & Owner). We’ve been working with him since they took us on, but they’ll eventually transition us over to more staff. Apart from Thomas, we also work with a software engineer. 

How did you come to work with ICON Business Consulting, LLC?

Our previous GP consultant contacted ICON when we were looking for a purchase order system. They were experts in the specific system we were buying. We then worked with ICON through that consultant for a year as the project was being completed. 

When the consultant retired, she gave her entire book of business to Thomas. She developed such a good relationship with them that she trusted them with her clients. As a result, our company had the choice to either jump on board with ICON — as she recommended — or look for another consultant elsewhere. Since we had a positive experience with ICON and the purchase order system they implemented, we decided to work with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested over $100,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement officially started in December 2020, and it’s ongoing. Meanwhile, their work with our prior GP consultant started in 2019. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

To put it simply, everything that we’ve done with ICON has come out exactly as we wanted. Moreover, we like their hands-on approach, and their price is highly competitive. 

How did ICON Business Consulting, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

For communication, we primarily use emails because we like to keep a paper trail that we can reference. However, we also conduct occasional meetings if the situation calls for it. When it comes to managing projects, ICON gives us the feeling of dealing with a small company, and that’s the number one reason why we’re with them. For instance, they reply to every email that we send within a few hours; I’ve never waited for 24 hours just to get a reply during our entire working relationship. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Unlike their competitors, ICON has no ticketing system — because they don’t need one. They’re so hands-on that whenever we reach out to them, we know we’re going to receive a quick reply. For context, when we go with large service providers, we’re usually put into a ticketing system, and that’s our biggest hangup as a company. Ticketing systems can take a while; the ticket moves around within the company and is passed to different people. By contrast, ICON moves so fast that we can move at a hundred miles per hour with them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you like working with a small company and receiving full attention, then ICON is the company to choose. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m the systems administrator at Barbershop Harmony Society. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ICON Business Consulting, LLC?

We needed support with our Great Plains software. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided fixes and updates for Great Plains. Their team also taught us a lot about how to work the application ourselves, as well as how to use Microsoft SQL. 

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is Thomas (Founder), but we’ve worked with a few other team members at different times. 

How did you come to work with ICON Business Consulting, LLC? 

We found them through a Great Plains forum. We had a partner at the time, but we weren’t happy with their performance. When I spoke with Thomas, he was extremely knowledgeable.

Our initial preference was to select a local vendor. However, ICON Business Consulting’s experience outweighed the cons of working with a remote vendor. 

How much have you invested in them?

We spend a bit under $5,000 per year on their services. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I believe we started working together in February 2018. Our relationship is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve taught each department in our office so much about Great Plains which has made our lives much easier. They make the effort to work with us and save money since we are a nonprofit. Thomas helps our operations run smoothly. 

How did ICON Business Consulting, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

We have regular meetings with Thomas. They’re always very prompt and respond to emails within an hour or two. They meet deadlines and have an exceptional turnaround time. They often complete work before the deadline. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re phenomenal. The knowledge they have is incredible. They’ve been far better than previous partners we’ve worked with. Thomas is able to answer questions quickly and shows a depth of expertise on the software. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

In my opinion, there’s nothing they need to improve. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of finance for a watch retail company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ICON Business Consulting, LLC?

We brought them on to handle our IT services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re our IT partner, handling technical upgrades and any kind of hardware or software issues. They have a large staff on hand, so someone was always available to help us. That came in handy in urgent cases that required fixes right away. For instance, they helped us with software and printer issues. They worked on the software for our handheld scanners to enable our team to be more efficient.   

What is the team composition?

We’ve had at least three of their team members working on our account. It’s an ongoing process, so staffing sometimes changes.

How did you come to work with ICON Business Consulting, LLC?

We were referred to them by someone within our network. At the time, we had another IT partner. They were an individual rather than a full team and didn’t have the capacity that we needed. We decided to give their team a go based on the presumed availability and turnaround time benefits.  

How much have you invested with them?

We spend between $50,000–$100,000 each year with them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2018, and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve been able to cover any issues that came up.  

How did ICON Business Consulting, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

They always provide us with a clear scope of work, explaining their process with PowerPoints and demonstrations. That helped us understand exactly how everything would work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They gave us ideas on how to improve and become more efficient. Now, we have less of a need for manual data entry and more integrated automation.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

They performed very well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CFO at HSD Holdings. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ICON Business Consulting LLC? 

ICON Business Consulting LLC is a reseller of software solutions, including Great Plains Accounting. We first installed Great Plains Accounting about 15 years ago, and we need to replace our current reseller with someone new.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They upgraded the software and integrated three add-on packages. The first add-on is a check writing extension. There’s also a property management tool and a financial reporting package. The financial reporting package integrates Microsoft Excel. ICON Business Consulting was instrumental in setting that up for us, as well as providing training. 

What is the team composition? 

I had one point of contact, Thomas (Founder & Owner). 

How did you come to work with ICON Business Consulting LLC?

I don’t remember how we found them since it was so long ago. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I believe we started working together around 2012, and our relationship is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The level of service that Thomas provides is excellent. Regardless of where he is, he gets back to us very quickly and shows a lot of dedication to our project. He works long hours to make sure that the processes are running smoothly and that upgrades are working. 

How did ICON Business Consulting LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

Thomas has good project management skills. If he doesn’t know the answer to something, he works to find an answer for us quickly. In one instance, he coordinated a call with the manufacturer of Jet Global Reporting to assist with the installation of their program. He makes sure not to waste anybody’s time, which I really appreciate. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their responsiveness, dedication, and quick turnaround time are impressive. Not many other vendors provide this level of service. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

No, I’m very pleased. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a concession company working on cruise lines. We have around 13 members. I am the director of information technology for the company.

What is your position?

I am the director of information technology for the company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Icon Business Consulting?

We needed a consultant for our ERP [enterprise resource planning] system, Microsoft Dynamics GP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Icon Business Consulting is a long-term solutions provider for us. When I initially joined the company, the system was running on a Mac platform, but we've since converted to Windows. A little later on, we migrated from the Btrieve database to Microsoft SQL Server. Since then, Icon Business Consulting has helped 3 of our sites (1 in Miami, 2 in Grand Cayman, and 1 for the e-commerce site) implement separate instances of Microsoft Dynamics GP, and maintained the conversation between these separate instances. 

Icon Business Consulting was working out of the Dominican Republic, but they've since moved to Florida. They come to our office every week.

The common projects involve upgrading each instance to the latest technology. We have several satellite systems which talk to GP, so Icon Business Consulting has been involved in conversations with other consultants, ensuring that nothing gets broken in the course of our upgrades. We have set up a fairly complicated process involving a sandbox server on which Icon Business Consulting brings in our current GP, performs an upgrade, and makes sure that the communication with our warehouse management system still works, for example.

How did you come to work with Icon Business Consulting?

I have worked with the company for 16 years, but Icon Business Consulting predates me as a consultant.

How much have you invested with Icon Business Consulting?

The cost of Icon Business Consulting's services has been around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I think we've worked with Icon Business Consulting for close to 20 years. We have open projects around our ERP system on a constant basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We started our e-commerce site 8 to 9 years ago. Icon Business Consulting was instrumental in performing its backend integrations with Dynamics GP, writing all the procedures involved in this. On a revenue basis, Icon Business Consulting has helped us come up with systems that have made a difference to our company.

They're an easy consultant to work with, working with us almost as if they were our employees, in some cases. We can get projects running easily, without a lot of fat between the consultant that works on the project and myself. Icon Business Consulting's principal has worked on all of our projects himself.

As Dynamics GP has gotten more and more capable, we've been able to personalize the experience around it, changing a canned product for our specific business needs. Getting Icon Business Consulting's team started on something is an easy process, because of their intimate knowledge of our business.

How did Icon Business Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

Icon Business Consulting maintains the schedule on a sheet which is forwarded to me at the end of every month. Projects and statements of work are approved beforehand, and we have meetings every so often, ensuring that I'm kept aware of Icon Business Consulting's progress. The process is tightly managed, and there haven't been many instances of Icon Business Consulting going over budget.

What did you find most impressive about Icon Business Consulting?

I've mainly appreciated Icon Business Consulting's intimate knowledge of our business. With other consultants I've used, a significant amount of time was spent educating them about our business before actually getting to make meaningful changes to the system. This hasn't been the case with Icon Business Consulting. The fact that they're a smaller company has eliminated many of the repertory meetings with project management that would be necessary for larger groups. After a project with Icon Business Consulting has been defined, getting an estimate and commissioning the work is a very quick process.

Are there any areas Icon Business Consulting could improve?

No. I'm actually very happy that Icon Business Consulting has kept static rates for us, over the course of many years. They've been very conscious of our needs and our business relationship.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company provides products and services to the oil and gas industry globally. I am the President.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire ICON Business Consulting, LLC?

We hired them to support our ERP, Microsoft great plains as well as to build out Power BI for our data.

What were your goals for this project?

To have on demand visibility of our data

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Icon has been supporting our company since the implementation of GP

Describe the project in detail.

I dont have much detail, I told Thomas what i wanted and he did it. Simple

What was the team composition?

Thomas Garcia

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

He delivered the project as timely as we provided feedeback

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their turnaround time was impressive. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

No