ZAM

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at JMR Trade and Transport Services, a corporation that provides trade and transport services in the Philippines.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ZAM?

We needed help with our supply chain and logistics needs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ZAM has designed and developed a fully customized operating system connecting all our departments through dedicated portals, field applications, AI, and automation, built around our actual workflows and SOPs.We’ve taken a phased but parallel development approach with ZAM. We initially prioritized our HRIS, followed by marketing, sales, operations, finance, administration, and security. 

However, rather than completing one department before moving to the next, ZAM has worked across multiple departments simultaneously, delivering prioritized features through development sprints.

After approximately six months of working together, we’ve shifted toward focusing development efforts on specific business goals. Currently, our priority is client acquisition and revenue growth, so ZAM is enhancing our marketing automation, outbound email campaigns, lead generation, and sales platforms.T

Their main deliverables have included:

Beyond development, ZAM provides weekly departmental training, 24/7 support, AI assistance, and regular workflow reviews.

What is the team composition?

We work with 2–5 teammates from ZAM.

How did you come to work with ZAM?

We found them through an online search and a referral. We chose them because their pricing fit our budget, they offered good value for the cost, their company values aligned with ours, and they proposed and shipped an actual plan that solved most of our operational problems. They also offered continued support and training from shipping until our team got better on the systems.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $50,000 to $199,999.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2023, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Working with ZAM has delivered measurable improvements in our operational efficiency, employee adoption, and software costs.

Our customer success team no longer needs to manually copy, paste, and organize driver-submitted photos across multiple platforms. With ZAM's custom portal, these updates can now be consolidated and generated in one place with just a click, significantly reducing repetitive administrative work.

We've achieved approximately 74% adoption across our team, with a goal of reaching 100% next year. This is especially encouraging because many of our employees aren't particularly tech-savvy. The system was built around our existing workflows rather than forcing us to change how we operate. We're continuing to improve the mobile and desktop experience to make adoption even easier.

By replacing our previous software subscriptions with ZAM's custom system, we project approximately 82% in first-year software-related cost savings, while retaining ownership and control of our data.

We've observed approximately 10–15% growth in client acquisition, which has contributed to our business growth. Having a more centralized system, along with our recently developed client portal, has helped us improve service transparency, streamline project coordination, and demonstrate a more professional and technology-driven approach to our clients.

Our current client retention rate is approximately 93%, which we consider a strong indicator of customer satisfaction and long-term business relationships.

We currently maintain an approximately 96% booking completion rate, with the remaining bookings primarily affected by operational cancellations.

One of the most notable improvements is that we're now able to complete projects approximately 1–2 weeks ahead of their scheduled deadlines.

Previously, many customer concerns were related to delayed project updates, communication gaps, and the need to manually follow up with our team regarding ongoing operations.

With ZAM's centralized operations management system and the introduction of our client portal, we've improved transparency, streamlined communication, and made project information more accessible to our clients.

Our clients can now monitor project progress and field activities in real time, reducing the need for repeated follow-ups and manual status updates.

We've also seen improvements in internal coordination, as our account coordinators, drivers, and operations teams can access information through one centralized platform rather than relying on multiple communication channels.

Overall, the most meaningful results we've seen are improved client acquisition, strong client retention, reduced administrative workload, and lower projected software expenses.For us, ZAM isn't simply a software provider. Their system has become an important part of our operational infrastructure, supporting both our day-to-day efficiency and our ability to scale without proportionally increasing administrative costs.

How did ZAM perform from a project management standpoint?

ZAM's project management has been excellent, particularly when it comes to meeting deadlines, responsiveness, and delivering results.

They consistently deliver projects and requested features on time, often completing them approximately 2–4 days ahead of schedule. What's particularly impressive is that our requested timelines are already quite aggressive, yet their team still manages to deliver earlier than expected without compromising the quality or functionality of the system.

Their team is also very responsive to our operational requirements, and they maintain clear communication throughout the development process. Whenever we request new features, improvements, or adjustments, they understand our business needs and work efficiently to implement them.

What we appreciate most is their ability to move quickly while remaining flexible as our requirements evolve. For a service-based business like ours, where operational needs can change rapidly, having a development partner who consistently delivers ahead of schedule is a significant advantage.

Overall, we're very satisfied with ZAM's project management. They've demonstrated reliability, efficiency, and a strong commitment to delivering solutions that genuinely support our business operations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What impresses us most about working with ZAM is that they don't operate like a typical software development company. They genuinely understand the ins and outs of service-based businesses, including the operational challenges, workflow bottlenecks, and day-to-day problems we encounter.

Because of that understanding, we don't always have to explain every little detail or figure out the solutions ourselves. They're proactive in identifying opportunities for improvement and recommending solutions we wouldn't necessarily have thought of. We've developed a level of trust where we can confidently rely on their expertise and recommendations.

Another thing that really stands out is how conscious they are of costs. They don't just focus on building something that works. They always consider the cost of development, infrastructure, and long-term maintenance to ensure that whatever we build remains financially sustainable for our business. That's something we genuinely appreciate because, as business owners, we have to think about long-term value, not just the initial investment.

But what makes ZAM truly unique is how deeply involved they become in our business. They take the time to understand our operations, challenge our existing processes, and continuously push us to improve. They're not afraid to suggest better ways of doing things, even when it means questioning how we've traditionally operated.

At this point, they honestly feel more like business partners than an external software provider. You can genuinely feel that they care about our success and want our business to grow. They're invested not just in delivering software, but in helping us build a more efficient, scalable, and sustainable business.

And I think that's what sets them apart. They don't just build what we ask for. They help us figure out what we actually need, challenge us to think bigger, and consistently encourage us to become better at what we do.

It's rare to find a technology partner who cares about your business as much as you do, and that's exactly how working with ZAM feels.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If there's one thing we would have done differently, it would probably be choosing ZAM's Embedded Partner package right from the beginning of our engagement.

We initially started with a different arrangement, but as we continued working together and realized how much value their team could bring to our operations, we eventually saw that the Embedded Partner package would have been the more cost-effective option from the start.

Looking back, we probably ended up spending more than we needed to by not choosing that arrangement earlier, haha!

But that's really more of a decision on our end rather than something ZAM could have done better. Their team has been consistently reliable, proactive, and genuinely invested in our success.If anything, I'd encourage them to help new clients understand the long-term financial benefits of their partnership model earlier in the process, especially for businesses like ours that anticipate continuous development and improvements.

Other than that, we honestly don't have any major complaints. We're very happy with the partnership and the value they continue to bring to our business.