ZenDev AB

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Project Sales Manager of Arvid Nilsson AB

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide a wide range of high quality fasteners in the nordic countris.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire ZenDev AB to accomplish?

• Upgrade our webshop to Magento 2
• Integrate our new business system to our webshop

SOLUTION

How did you find ZenDev AB?

Referral

Why did you select ZenDev AB over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Good track record

How many teammates from ZenDev AB were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We were about shift our business system and in the same we had to upgrade our webshop, so Zendev got the task to upgrade our webshop from MAgento 1 to Magento 2 and also help us with integration SAP to Magento.The main goal was to help us create a webshop where customers easily and logically could find and choose the right item from our + 35000 products. Also to create a kind of business workshop for our customers in our webshop, where they should see order history, invoices etc.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The work place in the webshop have decreased number of incoming phone calls to customer service as customer can find information themselves.That has opened up more time for us to work with more creative tasks.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

To work with Zendev was a delight, they really put in the extra effort when needed. Their tight communication was a key to this success. Also, the flexible approach when we had to change in our priorities was highly appreciated. Zendev showed an extraordinary commitment to us as a customer, and wanted to understand our business model in order to create the best possible solution.

What was your primary form of communication with ZenDev AB?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The smooth communication, the understanding of our business and the almost family-like relation we got during this project was unique, beside the high competence they showed.

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

Not really, in this project Zendev was our helping hand that made us finish this project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Stream lead within a program of Supply Chain digitalization and automation for Cargotec.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The main goal was to create a real-time feedback on Quality/findings at the commissioning of our big equipment in the field. The technicians were supposed to get guidance, clear instructions and also a not time consuming way of reporting. The data is used in the Manufacturing units to improve the quality of the equipment to be delivered out in the future perion (reduce faults).

SOLUTION

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

We searched on the internet and shortlisted 3 suppliers. After a couple of interviews and presentations of earlier developments we choose to collaborate with Zendev on this development journey.

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

We presented our idea to Zendev and immediately got some good feedback on how we could achieve the same result with less cost. Also how the problem with the network's coverage worldwide could be solved. We Started with delivering the design to Zendev and after several meetings with our internal IT team started on working on the App.

Our internal department was working on the data and Zendev developed the Mobile application for the service technicians but also a WUI tool for the quality departments to be able to work with the data in the Manufacturing units.

The first version was available very soon (high speed on Zendev side) which i can not tell about our IT department, and we started testing and validation. Several new ideas that came along testing which were not originally planned att all were added and Zendev included all those in the APP which saw the light of the day on 15th of December.

The deadline was met even though our internal IT department missed their deadline with 5 -6weeks, Zendev developed a couple of things in the frontend instead of our IT department doing it in the backend which was speeding things up significantly.

Summary: Zendev made it possible to start to roll out according to blueprints.

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

It was two people, two developers and one project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within first half of the year after the launch: We increased the response rate from the Field significantly (some countries from 0% to between 80%-100% of all machines, commissioned in the app) where we have evidence, description, pictures, all we need to the a good proper analyzes of the quality of the machines in the field. We cut down the cost for Pre delivery inspection significantly and cut the lead time.

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

Timeliness and communication - 5 stars

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

We appreciated their involvement in finding solutions and their proposal on how to make the product even better.

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

The administration with the invoices sent to us was not working perfectly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of IT for Zynka BIM, an IT tech company trying to help the construction industry to digitize.
 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ZenDev AB?

I’m the only one in my company with programming and web knowledge. We got in contact with ZenDev AB to help us scale up our technical resources.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked together on projects for various business cases. ZenDev ABimproved our homepage with Laravel. They also developed a more advanced platform that allows us to perform complex functionalities. 

Our team handles the design internally. We send sketches to show the team our desired look and feel. ZenDev AB performs all the coding and fixes every error. They’ve helped us build standard websites using HTML and CSS as well as ones with frameworks like Angular. A specific project they supported was for what we call a “BLM portal.”

We’re currently working on our biggest collaboration so far. The project is for a Swedish company that helps people create smart homes for elders. ZenDev AB is helping us implement live indoor tracking with face recognition and IoT sensors. A web dashboard offers access to the entire system. Recently, we started creating a mobile app for iOS and Android. 

What is the team composition? 

ZenDev AB has grown considerably since we first met them. At first, we were only connected with Senad (CTO, ZenDev AB) and Nikola (CEO, ZenDev AB). We’re still mostly in touch with Senad, but now we also have a dedicated project manager. 

I also have the option to speak directly with the programmers when we need to fix issues like a software bug. We communicate with every level of their team, more or less. Now that we’re running our most significant project yet with them, many people are involved from both sides.

How did you come to work with ZenDev AB?

A member of our company went to university with someone from ZenDev AB. We contacted them about working together.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent slightly above $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with ZenDev AB at the end of 2017. Our collaboration is ongoing. The deadline for our current project, the largest one so far, is May 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Having our team design and ZenDev AB program products has worked out nicely. We’ve gotten a lot of great responses to the web page we built together.

As we worked on the BLM portal with ZenDev AB, we saw progress in key numbers we track and received strong feedback as the project progressed. Now that it’s finished, we’ve received value from that product.

How did ZenDev AB perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has gone well. We tend to talk with the CTO the most because he speaks Swedish. I haven’t seen any hindrances or obstacles anywhere. 

ZenDev AB implemented JIRA as part of our workflow, which was previously unfamiliar to us.  We use it to manage all the tasks for our extensive current project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

ZenDev AB works closely with our team. Communication is their greatest strength. They always maintain an open dialogue. 

During meetings with my coworker and I, we have productive planning discussions, and the CTO presents all the relevant information. Since I’m the only one on my team with a technical background, we rely on ZenDev AB to plan all our projects from start to finish. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

ZenDev AB is a strong company that gets things done. Staying on the same page always enables us to develop exceptional deliverables together. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the IT manager for an e-commerce company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ZenDev AB?

We were looking for a company that could do customizations for us using Magento.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ZenDev AB provides development support for our e-commerce website. They do special Magento customizations and adjust the e-commerce platform in a way that might not be supported by Magento. The customization work can be quite complex at times, so we find solutions together and work out how the customization can be brought to reality.

They continue to help with development support and building out new features. They provide general maintenance and are involved in several long-term projects.

What is the team composition?

We have one main project lead in charge of a team of seven developers. There are two backend developers, two frontend developers, one SEO specialist, and two junior developers.

How did you come to work with ZenDev AB?

A personal acquaintance referred ZenDev AB to us. They were a cost-efficient choice.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $30,000–$40,000 every month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2017, and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve had two projects related to third-party logistic integrations. Since we moved our warehouse to a new location, we tasked ZenDev AB with some of the API integration and connecting it to Magento. Our projects together were successful even though their time frame was limited. We didn’t have to make too many adjustments after going live.

How did ZenDev AB perform from a project management standpoint?

They develop at the speed you’d expect. Though there have been projects that were scheduled a little too optimistically and we had to review the time estimations. We communicate via Jira, Bitbucket, and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their project leader and customer account managers have a way of understanding both the e-commerce parts and the business logic, seeing beyond just the code. They can provide helpful feedback and give ideas for making our systems more efficient.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their team is still at a junior level. If clients are looking for a senior developer with over 10 years of experience, they probably won’t find it with them. That said, however, ZenDev AB is hungry to learn more. They’re good if you’re looking for a cost-efficient solution.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important to be clear about the project description and details to avoid miscommunication.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the president of an employment platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ZenDev AB?

We're building a job search platform and we needed more development resources.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ZenDev is using Java, ElasticSearch, Solr, and a variety of other technologies to help us improve our job search engine and aggregate jobs off the Internet. They ingest millions of posts every day and apply a search to them.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with two of their senior developers.

How did you come to work with ZenDev AB?

I met one of their owners on a plane. After I visited their office in Bosnia, I decided they'd be a good fit for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent about $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2017, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our job search has improved significantly since we engaged ZenDev. We haven't gone live yet, so we don't have much feedback.

How did ZenDev AB perform from a project management standpoint?

We mostly use Google Meet and Slack to stay in touch and they've been very responsive. They're often available after hours and work overtime (they don't charge us extra money for working overtime).

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very flexible and transparent. If the developers that they assign to us don't work out, they're happy to provide other resources, while giving different projects to the developers we couldn't work with (instead of letting them go).

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything has been perfect.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be patient and don’t expect progress immediately. Give them some time, and you'll see the results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Manager of Magnetlabbet AB

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Offers MR examinations digitally

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire ZenDev AB to accomplish?

• To Set a Digital Markteting Strategy and later on execution
• Implement Klarna on checkout
• Fix minor and relevant bugs on site

SOLUTION

How did you find ZenDev AB?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select ZenDev AB over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from ZenDev AB were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Optimize Google ads/SEM structure. Set SEO strategy. Implementing Klarna on checkout. We saw the effects of these implementations immediately after launch - specifically Google Ads, as supposed to prior to launch. SEO came gradually afterwards where our organic traffic evolved probably closely by 100%.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Klarna checkout implementation. All bugs on site fixed. Drastically muchhigher conversions on ads. Huge organic traffic increase.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Always on time. Delvery was 120%. More than one could ask of a supplier, no doubt.

What was your primary form of communication with ZenDev AB?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We're impressed with their eagerness to learn and understand our business. Willingness to always cater to our needs. The fastness of execution.

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

No.