Podsix - Out of Business

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We supply Chromebook & iPad replacement parts for schools & other government entities. As the Director, I oversee all operations, but I spend most of my time with our sales team. My main focus is finding new ways to provide our clients & prospects with the products they need in a fast & accurate way.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Podsix?

We needed a public facing eCommerce website and a customer portal that includes an eCommerce with different offerings. We also needed this to integrate with other systems for accounting & fulfillment purposes.

What were your goals for this project?

To provide our customers an easy & quick method to order & re-order products, and allow our sales team to receive real-time order updates in the same system (to prevent double orders). We also needed a place for prospects (who aren’t already customers) to order products as needed. Our primary goal was to sell more products in a more efficient way.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They did a project for another company that we are affiliated with. They were pleased with the work that Podsix did, and had the results to show for it.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We worked closely with Podsix to help them understand the vision of our project. They also provided input / ideas that we incorporated into the project that brings additional value to our customers. We started simple with the layout, design, and calls to action. Podsix put together wire frames & mock-ups so that we could envision the final product before continuing. We had to provide them with a lot of product & customer data, as well as access to certain systems. From there, they started the project and checked in with us for certain items. They also gave us progress reports along the way, and gave us a chance to give feedback & changes as they arose. At the end there was a testing / security portion. “Post-launch” they stayed close to fix any minor problems and monitor the success of their work.

What was the team composition?

Initial engagement was with their sales team. From there we worked with a project manager & developer for the majority of the project. Sales checked in every now and then to make sure everything was still on track.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Eduparts is a growing company - before the project our average YOY growth rate was 30% - after the implementation our YOY growth is now 55%. We are also experiencing less order errors.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Once we “got in a groove” things were smooth sailing. Our teams worked well together and when we needed to be involved, we never felt like our time was being wasted.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their extensive knowledge about the business, and not just web / software programming. There were many times when they were able to show us why one of our ideas would not work. Conversely, they had several great recommendations that we had never thought about incorporating into this project.

Are there any areas for improvement?

All in all it was a great experience, however I would have liked to see more updates from them as they progressed throughout the project. Although, I’m not sure that constant updates would have been all that valuable to us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the President of AutoExec and for over 27 years we have championed the call to create and provide solutions for professionals working in a mobile environment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Podsix?

Our business relies on a network of dealers to distribute and sell our products. As a result this approach limits the ways we can track the effectiveness of our internal marketing efforts for current and future customers. The opportunity for us was in creating an eCommerce website to better measure our marketing strategy impact through analytics without undercutting our dealer network sales. Podsix worked with us on the strategy, design, and implementation of the new website.

What were your goals for this project?

Improve sales, increase brand awareness and generate more in-house dollars with better margins.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Truth be told, I did know Luke before engaging with Podsix. However, knowing what I know now I would have gone to them regardless of a prior standing relationship. I know that they have hired a business development person who is increasing exposure to the market, and I hope that more people are able to find Podsix easily – they won’t regret it.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

When we first considered this project the thought was we could tackle that project internally, however, after our staff researched what was required we quickly realized that we were not capable of doing this ourselves and that we needed reliable professionals to take over. Podsix was able to build a robust eCommerce platform equipped to handle a complex catalog of customizable products and marketing tools. They also preserved and even improved our branding on our website, as well as create workflows on the back end to help us fulfil our online orders in a timely fashion.

What was the team composition?

Podsix never hesitates to take our calls and emails or schedule a meeting. While I mostly interact with Luke (COO), he has a strong development and project management team working diligently behind the scenes – hats off to them for always completing projects in a timely fashion.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As consumer and B2B buyer expectations evolve, we know that eCommerce was the right play for us. We’re only a few months out from launch and still collecting data but initial results are positive. We haven’t come across anything that hasn’t worked yet – we don’t anticipate that we will, and if we do, I know that we can count on Luke & the Podsix team to resolve it quickly.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Everything was laid out in a way that was easy for us to understand. We took this project on in chunks, and it’s clear that there is a method behind the madness. Web development is not something that me or my team is well versed in, so to have a partner like Podsix to explain everything and give pointers, ideas, and execute them is extremely refreshing.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

What really impressed me about Podsix is their knowledge of how businesses run and what’s important to them. They aren’t just a bunch of developers completing a task. They analyze every component of the project and are able to explain the impact it will or won’t have on our business. We had some ideas for the project that would have cost us a lot of money. Rather than taking our money for something that they deemed ineffective, they educated us and drove us to a better solution.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Perhaps we should have met more in the beginning to get a shared vision. It has been long time since we had an E-Commerce site so I (as president) was new to the game.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

CPR Cell Phone Repair is the largest electronics repair retail chain in the world (800+ locations). In addition to repair, the stores also sell pre-owned devices. I am responsible for business development and strategy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Podsix?

We hired Podsix to create a multi-location e-commerce store and incorporate it into our existing website.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to enable all of our stores to sell a combination of stock (i.e., in-store) and non-stock (i.e., vendor owned, virtual) pre-owned device inventory to reduce our reliance on repair revenue.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The founders created the e-commerce platform for one of CPR's key vendors and we have always been impressed by their work. We described a business need, asked them for a proposal, and selected them as a vendor.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They designed, developed and launched a multi-location e-commerce store with multiple integrations, paths to purchase and payment automation.

What was the team composition?

We had one primary point of contact that managed the project and handled all communication with us. We had very limited interaction with the dev team but we understand it was comprised of two senior people and a handful of more junior developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As a franchise company, we are always under pressure to deliver value to our franchisees and help them succeed. This project has been very well received by our organization because it removes access to capital as a barrier to selling significant quantities of pre-owned devices. It's too early to know what the total financial impact will be. Overall, our pre-owned device sales revenue is up more than 100% YoY.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We were assigned a dedicated point of contact that managed the dev team and all communication with us. They met all of our timelines and requirements, so it was effective as far as I am concerned.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

First and foremost they understood our unique business needs. They quickly grasped how our business works and the challenges in our industry. They worked alongside us to design the solution rather than just waiting for us to tell them what to do and executing against technical requirements.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a consumer electronics recycling/refurbishing company - I am the COO

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Podsix?

Podsix is our custom development partner...we have completed a full website revamp, and multiple integrations with our ERP and other software systems we use.

What were your goals for this project?

The website project was to bring us into the 21st century and get some basic functionality / branding / look & feel changed. Top notch advise from the Podsix team. On the integrations, goal is/was to link up / push & pull data from one system to another, and back again...these are robust data sets and we have failed to accomplish with others in the past.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Interviewed a few others and were not impressed...Actually paid for a whole website revamp from another vendor and they could not get it right, ended up refunding our money and we found Podsix.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They are full circle which is huge for us...having guys on staff that know/understand more than Code (IE business & use case) eliminates a lot of the issues in the middle.

What was the team composition?

We have a dedicated technical and project management resources which again is a much better approach & experience. We are constantly moving/changing/shifting priorities and Podsix helps keep us organized and executing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Podsix is no question the best resource for full outsourced development/IT systems management if you are growing/shifting/shaking...these guys are far more advanced then your basic dev house down the street...We wasted many months with our previous development consultants (one for website & one for Dev/integration work) having one vendor that can accomplish both is very nice.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Dedicated resource, Kevin is great.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They have the unique ability to understand our business and use that to be better at their job. Sometimes the desired result has many ways to get there, having a partner that challenges you / that path is important in my opinion.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Yes, they have a weak spot in some very customized coding / bug fixing things with our ERP system, but they have been very upfront about that and together we are helping them improve in this area and getting a rate that reflects that which again is more of a reason to work with Podsix as a partner, not just another vendor.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of Mobile Defenders. We’re the largest wholesale distributor of phone parts and accessories in the US.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Podsix?

We operate a Magento-based e-commerce site. Unlike other businesses that use a centralized in-house software system as their ERP, ours is based on our website. We contracted Podsix to develop a customized ERP in addition to providing front- and backend support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We rely on Podsix for all our Magento and custom-ERP coding and development. Magento serves as the core of our business and site—our entire workflow depends on its functionality. Supplier input, order placement, packing, shipping, and processing returns are all tracked and managed through the site. Podsix continues to implement the improvements we need on the fly.  

They’ve delivered a number of payment integrations throughout the site, including Authorize.net, Paypal, and a purchase financing platform called Behalf. They’ve also developed an internal credit system for customers to fund future purchases as well as a customer returns system from the ground up. Most of these additions were built from scratch or derived from older APIs that they’ve tweaked to accommodate our Magento/custom ERP framework.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with Luke (CEO, Podsix) and Steve (Managing Partner, Podsix), and we meet with either one of them at least once a week. Kevin (Technical Project Manager, Podsix) is the project manager who oversees things. Almost all of their developers have touched Mobile Defenders, but we don’t actively engage with them outside of special conferences and meetings.

How did you come to work with Podsix?

We had an existing relationship with Luke and his team. We had previously hired entities that tasked Luke to do our programming before he branched off and created Podsix.

How much have you invested with them?

We formalized a retainer contract with them when they officially became Podsix in May 2019. From then on, we've spent about $50,000 so far and expect to spend about $250,000 annually. But, we've worked with them before then on other tasks

What is the status of this engagement?

It’s an ongoing engagement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The success of the whole company heavily leans on Podsix. I can’t think of any immediate KPIs, but anything that our customer touches on our website is in direct response to Podsix’s programming and development work. All of our systems—like order-taking and quality checks—are heavily customized by Luke and his team. The stature of Mobile Defenders as an online company was created in true conjunction with Podsix.

The functionality of the site is extremely reliable. Luke takes any issue—no matter how trivial—very seriously. So when I have a problem, Luke dives right into the code to resolve it. We haven’t had any system failures, not even minor ones. We’ve never had a workflow interruption, so we’re very happy with the software.

How did Podsix perform from a project management standpoint?

I communicate regularly with Luke and Steven, and my team works with Kevin. We have very easy access to the people that make the decisions and can get the required work done.

What did you find most impressive about them?

There are a lot of web developers out there who follow a cookie-cutter template they use. Since we have an extensively customized interface, I know that other companies wouldn’t be able to catch on to our specific architecture without having had a long track record of working with us. I think the learning curve for another company would ultimately be cost-prohibitive. Podsix’s service level is excellent, as they understand and accommodate to our unique business needs.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

Overall, they do great. If there was one thing I’d change, it’s that they’re probably not as pushy as they should be. Most times it’s on me—I’m busy, so I’ll occasionally forget to respond to their inquiry. Sensitivity to pushing me too hard might be a holdback, especially when they need something done by a deadline.