ABNK Premium Systems

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Human Resources and Customer Service Manager for VIVO. VIVO is a U.S. based company that designs, manufactures, and supplies a diverse selection of products across multiple unique product markets. We desire to create functional solutions that fit unsolved needs and better the experience of every customer we serve. Our dedicated team collaborates with factories around the world to design and build functional products of the highest quality materials.

Products we supply and manufacturer include a vast range of computer monitor and TV mounts, TV carts, projector screens and mounts, height-adjustable desks, stand to sit desk mounts, computer cases, network cable and other miscellaneous categories.

For what projects/services did your company hire ABNK Premium Systems?

We originally hired ABNK Premium Systems to provide customer support, but this has grown into support for our Marketing and Logistics teams as well.

How did you select ABNK Premium Systems and what were the deciding factors?

ABNK was recommended through a previous relationship, as well as being very friendly and reasonable throughout the negotiation process for services.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

This team is responsible for assisting customers with questions concerning the products we sell (700+) includiing compatibility questions, troubleshooting of issues, assembly of products, shipping/tracking information, replacement parts and many other topics.

How many resources from the ABNK Premium Systems team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Two full time employees - Customer Service, Marketing and Logistics

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

We have been able to expand our Customer Support Service to 24 hours per day with the support from ABNK resources.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between our teams is very fluid with excellent communication occuring on a daily basis with the team members, and a weekly basis with Management.

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

Their ability to adapt to policies that continually change on the Marketplaces in which we sell. The representatives must be able to assist customers while abiding by the workflows and policies. We have had no turnnover in the staff and they rarely miss a day of work.

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

No, we are extremely satisfied with the services we have received and hope to expand into other departments in the future.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Lifesong Farms, a global farming initiative. We use hydroponics and aquaponics technologies in growing berries. We design our infrastructure in different countries like Ukraine, Zambia, and Ethiopia. We also have a couple of facilities in the US around Chicago and the Bloomington area.

What challenge were you trying to address with ABNK Premium Systems?

All our farms moved about 10,000 pounds of products a day and managed about 250 people. However, our company lacked the digital tools to track our results in harvest and people management. We also didn’t have the infrastructure to integrate data in our profit and loss (P&L) statement. Our records were handwritten, and at the end of every week, we had to reconcile them — it was a disaster.

As a result, we wanted to have real-time tools to help us move away from conventional tracking. I didn’t trust other applications on the market so I wanted a platform that was custom-built for us. Given that, we hired ABNK to develop a mobile app. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

ABNK has built a mobile app for us to boost production and manage our processes. To understand our business processes, they ran a thorough business analysis before they wrote the code. After that, they also ran automated QA tests. 

The app they’ve built runs on both iOS and Android, but the majority of its users use iPad. It has three main features. The first feature is a registration function for harvest pickers who submit their work. This allows foremen and harvest managers to see and locate people in our farms, which are fairly large at 250 acres altogether and consist of 2,200 sectors. 

The second feature is a tracking tool showing us the harvested berries, their collection location, weight, and variety. Finally, the third feature is for the distribution of the products to the end buyers. It shows us the sales process, how much the products are sold for, and how much we still have to sell.

At present, ABNK continues to support our app, and we’re planning to build version 2.0 for the features we want to add. For instance, we want to add animations to it on a minor scale. 

What is the team composition?

We work with a project manager, two developers, two QA testers, a BA, and their CTO. 

How did you come to work with ABNK Premium Systems?

They were referred to us by a good friend who was helping us set up the infrastructure. 

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent $100,000. Their monthly retainer services cost $3,500 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2019, and the partnership is ongoing. 

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

After launching the app in 2020, we’re excited about what ABNK can bring to us and how their efforts will boost our production relative to our competitors. From time to time, we’ve had to exert effort to synchronize our teams’ understanding of the features we want to build. It’s taken a while, but that’s the reason we’re so successful — they have a great BA who helps us understand such features. 

On top of that, we’ve moved away from paper tracking, cutting down around 100 hours of manpower per week. Moreover, our group is now more efficient and has the ability to understand everything in real-time. I no longer have to wait 24 hours or a couple of days just to do that. More importantly, the mobile app has bolstered our reputation among our end buyers and clients; we now give them a more accurate forecast of the products they should expect. 

How did ABNK Premium Systems perform from a project management standpoint?

ABNK’s project management is close to excellent. Their team’s availability and willingness to go into the field to understand our processes are great. Even when they’ve lost a worker for a month during the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ve managed to shift gears quickly. We haven’t seen any bumps in the development process, and I truly appreciate that. To communicate and manage the project, we use Confluence. They’ve also given our bookkeeper access to Jira. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

ABNK is quick to respond if we have questions, and they always deliver flexibly. Likewise, if something doesn’t work correctly, they fix it within 24 hours. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They can do a better job explaining how the development process works to people who aren’t tech-savvy. We’re also a bit over our budget, but it’s hard to blame that on them because we’ve been adding some features and ideas to the app along the way. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Spend a good amount of time on the BA process before jumping into development. Time is of the essence, but the better you do the preparation, the better the app will work in the long term. Apart from that, remember that ABNK has a mix of different nationalities. They have developers from Ukraine and the UK as well as advisors in the US. There’s diversity in their team, which is great.