Pyxis

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the E-Commerce product owner at a direct sales beauty company. We sell cosmetics through a network of more than 800,000 beauty consultants in Latam.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

With more than 50 years in the market, we had the challenge to redesign the direct sales model using digitalization to adapt to a new profile of our beauty consultants (younger and more digital savvy) and the COVID-19 context where selling door to door became a problem for them.

We decided to build them a B2B2C platform, where each of them would have their own online store and could sell to their customers, receiving a commission of their sales. Our goal was to migrate and increase our sales through this new channel.

SOLUTION

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

We already worked with Pyxis for the B2C e.commerce platform three years before. They not only proved quality in their developments but also were deeply familiar with the business model, which made easier the onboarding stage of the project.

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

We had a design week with a team of Pyxis where we align the project scope and the main features to be developed. From there, we started working pretty quickly and achieve an MVP in less than two months. It was developed in SAP Commerce and the main product features were: a unique link for each consultant with three brands e-commerce, where the consumers could navigate and shop, a payment gateway, a split commission system linked to Mercado Pago, and a connection with all the company commercial, financial, analytics and logistics platforms.

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

The number of team members varied towards the evolution of the project, but we had a solution architect, a team of developers, QA's, and a SWAT team for urgent matters with 24 hours assistance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched the MVP in two months for 9 countries, and in less than a year, we achieved 5% of sales through this channel.

The team was deeply committed to our business and the quality of the product. They also were very flexible during the evolution of the product, as we had changes in scope or in features prioritization. They exceeded the expectations showing commitment and integration with the commercial team of the company.

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

We worked using agile methodologies, having daily meetings, planning sessions, and retrospectives for each sprint. Also, we used Slack and JIRA to communicate as we migrated to virtual work during the pandemic. We had constant communication to be aligned in every stage of the project.

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

Pyxis was a company that looks after their employees a lot, and that is reflected in the way they work. They are not only very disciplined in the ways of working and the quality assurance, but also don't hesitate to help in other matters such as emergencies, changes of scope, and also understand the business to make further recommendations.

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

As we were in different countries, the communication in case of emergencies during after-hours was a little bit hard at the beginning, but they quickly suggested building a swat team, a dedicated 24 hours assistance team to help with any issue if happened.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a marketing director and all digital channels are within my work area. Prolesa is the main b2b of agricultural inputs in Uruguay and is part of the Conaprole group, it sells more than 7000 sku of the most diverse types that are used in dairy production.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Prolesa, one of CONAPROLE's companies, has had an ecommerce sales portal on the SAP Hybris platform since January 2018, which was experiencing performance issues that affected the user experience and limited greater use of the channel. The service objectives were:

• Optimize the portal in speed and user experience, with the goal of reducing the size by 70% and load time by 80%.
• Introduce customer behavior and anonymous analytics: Integration with third party tool offering "heat mapping", "customer journey" (sales funnel) markups and review of user sessions.
• Analysis of consistency strategy between institutional Prolesa and Ecommerce: Integration plan between platforms to improve navigability. 
• Analysis of the current SAP Commerce infrastructure in order to validate how optimal it is for current needs.

SOLUTION

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

The provider was selected for its extensive experience with the hybris platform, a system used by Prolesa for its ecommerce, in addition to the multiple work areas it covers, being a benchmark within the Uruguayan and Latin American markets.

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

The project sought to improve the performance of the front end having as a framework the following objectives:

• Improve site loading
• Integrate analytics tools
• Improve existing analytics
• Optimize SEO.

Some technologies used in the project:

• Cloudinary: image autoconversion
• Lazy Loading: image loading optimization
• Newrelic: performance monitoring
• FullStory: user session recording
• Google Tag Manager: tag management.

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

The project involved an architect, a developer, a quality control specialist and a project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was executed within the agreed times and with the fulfillment of the established scope, the impact of the work being reflected in the different deliverables. The relationship established with the supplier was more than satisfactory, prioritizing good communication with the PM and the entire team. The adjustments made in the Prolesa online store generated a great impact on the user experience, considerably improving the loading speed as well as the tracking of user data through the implementation of google analytics and fullstory.

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

The style of the PM has been appropriate, with good use of communication and making a report that allowed knowing the progress of the project with precision.

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

They have the ability to understand customer needs and set up good communication throughout the project. They're a team of professionals who are trained in various areas, and this allows them to provide multiple solutions.

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

Everything was excellent

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Director of Marketing for a blockchain infrastructure company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were a start-up that needed a website up quickly.

SOLUTION

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

Referred by several other notable companies.

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

The company used a CRM that they recommended and built it quickly.

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

Two key members.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The company delivered quickly and delivered as promised.

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

The company met with us weekly.

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

They were very fast and kept to their word with deadlines.

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

We shared feedback with each other after the fact. They were open to ideas. Ultimately, they were fast and delivered exactly what they promised.