netstride (a Sharp Innovations, Inc. company)

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager of Sadler Products, Inc. We are a wholesale produce company, and we distribute produce to different kinds of customers in the tri-state area.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with netstride?

We wanted to be able to do faster pricing, have faster invoicing, and we wanted to be able to email our customers and look up information as quickly as possible. This is so it wouldn’t be an inconvenience to our customers, as it also saves a bunch of time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

If I have any issues with anything, whether it is our website or the server, I can contact Greg (Project Manager & Business Analyst) anytime and he will have us up and running in minutes.

The website is very easy to navigate — it’s very simple and as far as pricing goes, it would only be a matter of a click of one or two buttons — Greg makes it easy for us and the customers to read. When you are building a website for someone, you want to make it customary for them and not you.

When I log in, everything is right in front of me on the dashboard for customers, vendors, and items. When I go into the customer dashboard, it brings me to the homepage and I can search for any customer I want, and it’ll provide all the information such as telephone numbers, email addresses, and who to contact if there is a problem with anything. From the customer dashboard, it is very easy to click on orders and after typing in a customer’s name, the order slip comes up immediately. 

We can click on the date they want the product to be delivered and it comes up with quantity, measurement, item number, item name, and description — the prices will then come up, making it very simple, and it takes seconds for me to enter in an order. Additionally, we can look at receivables and previous dates if there are any corrections that need to be made. We are then able to edit any invoice at any time and provide price adjustments for a specific customer. 

In the customer dashboard, we can go to reports which will give us information on customer items, what they ordered, and when they ordered by date. It makes it a lot easier for us because if a customer says they got broccoli two days ago and it went bad, I could go back to their invoice to see if they bought broccoli —some customers get their inventory confused.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Greg and someone else. They helped us build the whole thing step by step. It took months to build, and we are very meticulous here, as we wanted things to be custom-made for us.

How did you come to work with netstride?

I don’t know who recommended them to my boss. The previous system we had was incorporated by a former employee, and that employee had some information that we simply didn’t want him to have so we had to change things.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around $50,000. They are on call 24/7, and we need to be able to access the site at any time. When Greg is doing maintenance work on the website, he will ask me when the best time is for him to do maintenance work.

What is the status of this engagement?

It was around March 2016, and it is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everything is detailed and catered to us and as far as quality goes, to me, that is huge. Anytime I need to get a hold of Greg, he contacts me within an hour. Customer service is very important to me, and so is the quality of work.

How did netstride perform from a project management standpoint?

Anytime I have sent an email, text, or call him, Greg always answers me within an hour. He uses Basecamp where we can document all of our information. If I have an issue that can wait, I can create a new subject, describe what is going on, and it will go to Greg, his partner, my boss, and myself. We are able to keep track of everything that is going on which is great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It is so easy to navigate for us. There were some things that I wanted in there to make the website easier for us, and Greg incorporated that and made it applicable. My boss is an older guy, so all the technology stuff comes to me. I handle all the emails and also when something is wrong with the website. They also customized it so that it’s easy for my boss and his wife to use. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would have tweaked some things here and there, but they aren’t major issues, so it’s not a major inconvenience for me. For instance, when we go into a customer order and put it in for the wrong customer, we have to delete the entire entry and redo the order instead of just editing the customer’s name.

It isn’t a big deal for me because I’m fast, and it’s also not even a big deal for my boss. However, if there is anything I would change, it would be that — everything else plays right into our hands.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Whatever you need and however you want it, Greg will do everything in detail. Be patient because it takes time to build a website to your liking. We are dealing with thousands of dollars every day, so it’s important that people get paid — this is why you want to be meticulous and patient. Greg will make sure the website will fit your needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the business manager of a rigging and machinery moving contractor.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with netstride?

We needed help with web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

netstride created a WordPress website for us. They integrated an e-commerce system into the backend and a CMS for us to manage our warehouse operations. It was built so that we could do minor updates ourselves, but the netstride team continues to provide significant updates. Additionally, they create and maintain the systems we use to manage some of our critical operations in the warehouse in terms of sales inventory.

What is the team composition?

We primarily interface with Gregory (Project Manager & Business Analyst).

How did you come to work with netstride?

I don’t know the initial selection criteria because they were already engaged with the company before I started working here.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $100,000–$250,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2012, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality they’ve provided has always been high, and their impact on our business is substantial. We’ve been able to thrive and grow with virtually no outbound sales efforts. The website has passively generated significant growth for us. Additionally, the systems they’ve created have been very helpful.

How did netstride perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very good at managing the projects they undertake. Responses and follow-ups have been great. We use Basecamp to manage the project and communicate. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

netstride genuinely strives to understand our needs before providing suggestions and moving forward.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We don’t have any complaints. They’ve done everything we’ve needed and more.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

For netstride to deliver their best work, provide them the information they need. I highly recommend them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a packaging Manufacturer that specializes in Chipboard and Corrugated box partitions. I am in Business Development and I also handle all Website and Tech related projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

For years we were using extremely outdated software that handled everything from technical specifications of products to Purchase orders and Pricing. The software stopped working on all but one computer at the office. We were told that the data was too old and that it couild not be transferred into a new updated program by multiple designers.

We hired Netstride to exactly that. Greg was able to understand the urgency of our situation. He said he could design a new system that was user friendly and most imoportantly that he could do the data transfer and get us where we need to be. No other company was able to do this!

SOLUTION

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

I found Netstride after dealing with multiple other designers. I found them online and I gave them a call. Greg came out that same day and he spent time on our very old and outdated system. After getting a look at things he told us he was able to not only design a new system but that he could do what everyone else could not. He was able to save all of our data from the past 25 years! He had experience with these types of situations and told us they were called "Legacy Systems".

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

At fist Greg wanted to get a good solid handle on how we used the existing system. Because it was not something that could be accessed outside of our office he had to make the trip to get on the program a few times and he really made a huge effort to understand it from our perspective. Next Greg provided us with detailed screenshots of how the new program would look and how it would work. This was a huge help because he really made it easy for our older staff members that were used to the old system. We were able to transition easily.

Once we approved the "Mock-Ups". They began designing the system. Greg spent a ton of time with myself as well as my Boss learning how the calculations work and figuring out all of the math that goes into this system to create the pricing. Finally, He did exactly what he said he would do and he ported over all of our data saving us countless hours of work and an unbelievable amount of stress. We launched and we loved it immediately. Greg and Netstride are always a phone call away If we have any questions or needs.

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

I worked directly with Greg on everything. I cannot say how many team members were there but I know he has a team. Because we could only access our program from our office I did not spend much time at Netstride. We did go in for the official proposal and I stopped by briefly a couple other times. The staff was extremely welcoming and friendly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before launch we were only able to access the proposals system on one computer. We can now access it from anywhere at anytime . I can even use my cellphone to do it. The impact that this has had on our productivity has been beyond huge. We are saving up to days a week compared to where we were thanks to this whole process. One of the biggest time savers is the heavily increased searchability that this program has. We can find 1 record out of thousands almost instantantly. Greg also left the project open ended so we can add even more functionality later. We feel very confident moving forward.

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

Project Management was fantastic. They gave us a Timeline and told us how things would unfold. We had a detailed plan that was all laid out in the proposal. We new exactly what was happening every step of the way. Before we even launched we had 100% confidence that the system would be awesome and easy to transition into. There was no point in the process that we felt uneasy about anything.

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

What I found most impressive is that Greg was able to do what 4 other companies said was, and I quote 'Impossible". When he told me he could save our data it was such a relief. Netstride went the extra mile for us to do this. Due to the the fact that they could access things from our office on one computer it made things less than convenient for them. They still made it happen when nobody else could!!

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

No, I have nothing but the good things to say about this experience. They did excatly what they said they would and they were always available if I had a question. They went above and beyond for us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the sales and marketing coordinator at Garrett Liners, a custom vinyl swimming pool liners and safety covers company. Having been around since 1964, we’re the world’s longest-established vinyl liner manufacturer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with netstride?

I wanted to redo our website and bring it up to date, so I brought on netstride.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

netstride designed and developed our entire website as well as the content. I worked with them on our online order tracking system which is a portal that pool dealers can log into to see the status of their orders. I left all the technical stuff to their team, so I’m not aware of what technologies they used. 

We got everything up and running in about six months, but the project is on the backburner right now. We’re trying to upgrade our databases before we move forward. I don’t want to have to redo everything in two years, so I’m making sure everything is compatible. 

What is the team composition?

I dealt with Greg (Project Manager & Business Analyst). When we were doing the website five years ago, he had a marketing professional who helped with the verbiage and flow of the website. I’m sure he has a team of people that supported him at the time as well.

How did you come to work with netstride?

They were referred to us by one of our swimming pool dealers. Greg came highly recommended, so I reached out and had a conversation with him. I felt very comfortable talking with him and we, along with the marketing specialist, just clicked during our meeting. 

Greg was very upfront about what he could do and how he was going to do it. I appreciated that communication, so I ended up hiring them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent an amount within the range of $10,000–$49,999.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together between December 2016–September 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been able to get more traffic to the website because it looks much better. When we first rolled it out, people were very excited about it because it was new and fresh and had relevant content. 

The online order tracking system, on the other hand, has been so beneficial to our customers. We’re a wholesale business, so we don’t sell to the general public. Most of our pool dealers work out of their vehicles and don’t operate by normal business hours, so having that system gives our customers the opportunity to access information at any time of the day using only their phones.

Our dealers could also log in with an encrypted passcode and user ID, making it such a great tool to add to our website. Everybody loves it. A lot of our competitors have had a tracking system for a few years now, so netstride really brought us up to speed. 

How did netstride perform from a project management standpoint?

Greg, in particular, was great. At the beginning of the project, he provided us with a whole project management flow. Whenever something changed or when he would not be able to meet a deadline, he communicated it. However, more often than not, he finishes ahead of the time he anticipated. 

He was approachable, responsive, and helpful. He asked questions to get to the root of what we’re looking for and what the purpose of it would be. One time, I sent him an email out of the blue because I forgot how to do something, and he was right on it, reminding me where to find certain information. He was very sincere and very good at what he did.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Greg’s demeanor and ability to remain calm were impressive. He thought things through and didn’t just jump on anything that suddenly came up. He got the job done. He had a good understanding of the technology and really learned about our business and our needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, he was very organized. At the beginning of the project, he knew what he was going to do, and how he was going to do it. He knew the purpose and the timeframe. There’s nothing more you can ask for from a vendor. I wish all my vendors were that thorough and involved.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very transparent about what you’re looking for in their organization. Let them know and understand how things flow in your company and who is in charge of what. The more information Greg has, the easier it is for him to get the job done.