ADVOX Studio

Please describe your company and your position there.

Kratki.com is a well-established company operating on the Polish market since 1998. The brand is recognized as a leading manufacturer of fireplaces, grills, and fireplace accessories. With over two decades of experience, Kratki.com has built a reputation for producing high-quality products and providing excellent customer service.

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

The premise of our project was to develop an online store for both the B2C and B2B industries that could smoothly handle periods of heavy traffic. It was also crucial to maintain consistency and a smooth transition for users moving between store variants from B2C to B2B. The technological challenge included updating the platform to newer Magento version and also adapting the platform to 8 language versions and improving the customer's shopping experience by developing a series of new solutions and creating a new design. As part of the ongoing efforts, we also decided to change the external ERP system we previously used by transferring its role to the Magento platform itself.

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

Making the decision on which software house we would entrust to the implementation of the project, we paid attention to several factors. The most important of these was having experience in using the Magento platform in previous projects. Another was the ability to effectively lay out the entire architecture of the eCommerce platform to suit our specific needs. An innovative and comprehensive approach to eCommerce store design, as well as an individual approach to the client, was also important.

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

The project first involved migrating old components to a new version of the platform developed on Magneto and creating a completely new site design based on ScandiPWA. After a series of tests, the processes of stabilizing the platform began, which allowed us to take the next steps, i.e. the implementation of the One Step Check Out and the segmentation of the platform into separate store views in different language versions. Based on the design of the site created for retail customers, we proceeded to work on the B2B platform, with the design and individual store elements corresponding to the layout of the B2C store.

As part of this portion of the project, modules specific to business contacts were implemented, such as individualized price lists, and a shopping list module. The current cooperation with Advox involves both the maintenance of the platform and the continuous improvement of individual solutions based on new opportunities. Therefore, the next stage of cooperation will be to expand the existing solutions with capabilities provided by artificial intelligence.

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

A dedicated team consisting of Magento and React developers, as well as a design and testing team, was responsible for the development of the project. All activities were coordinated by a dedicated Project Manager.

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

Our new website operates in eight languages, allowing purchases in four currencies and enabling us to ship our products worldwide using a variety of delivery methods. Customers can use payment methods such as apple pay, gpay, kevin, klarna, paypal, bluemedia etc. during the purchase process.

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

PM in Advox is based on agile methodology, with a high dose of flexibility based on our current needs. The technical communication, as well as scope defining is fully based on JIRA and coherent meetings. As for the flow, we work in 2-week sprints with release versioning, planned in advance for about a 1Q.

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

The most important aspect of our cooperation was Advox's understanding of our business needs, and they've provided the best solutions to achieve our goals. The combination of these features with the high quality of services offered allowed the continuous development of our platform based on increasingly new solutions and in accordance with current needs.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the E-commerce Manager in VCO S.A. - owner of Volcano clothing company.

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

We were struggling with many errors on our website. Our main goal was to redesign the page fundamentals and bring our e-commerce platform to the next level.

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

We searched online for experienced Magento developers. Advox was one of the most suggested. After a few inteviews we knew thatthis is a

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

First of all, we conducted an audit of the website to diagnose errors. After that we prepred a brief which included the most important issues to manage. we fixed carrier plug-ins, improved website performance, improved website wisibility thanks to new blog and implemented new UX designs.

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

Two project managers, 4-5 developers,

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

Improved website performance, new UX designs implemented with Advox-suggested changes. They provide great support and quick problem solving.

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

Project Manager is available at every time of the day. We communicate by phone, skype, whatever we need. He responds immediately, supports us whith his extensive knowledge and experience.

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

experience, time and quality of services.

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

In-depth research when starting cooperation with the client. At the beginning, we were assigned a less experienced project manager and a smaller team, which were not enough for our needs.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Leading manufacturer of electric city buses and trolleybuses. Position: Marketing & Int Comm Director.

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

Developing online store based on Magento platform with two store views and multiple languages. Goal: increasing sales by renewing old web site, making easier access to store management.

How did you select ADVOX Studio and what were the deciding factors?

RFP's and other positive references.

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

Magento installation, configuration of the test and production environment. Creating a multistore for PL and ENG language personalizing the product slider and the promotional banner. Preparing the possibility of subscribing for the newsletter and adding a comment to the orders placed. DHL and DotPay integration. Template customization.

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

We were working mostly with one project manager, who coordinated the work of the rest of the team. All needs and comments were communicated electronically. PM was estimating a time required to achieve the scope and "translating" our needs to the developers.

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

Too early to measure a concrete sales rise however implementing the store was a success and there is a significant increase of page visits.

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

The project management style offered by Advox was tailored to our needs. They are flexible. Communication mostly through e-mails and phone calls.

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

Flexibility in negotiations however our project was about a small online shop, so our need were also small.

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

Everything is playing out pretty well for our company, thanks to the team's efforts. Communications could have been better but everyone is sometimes busy.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm working as Head of E-commerce in a premium online food/grocery store.

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

The goal was to create online store based on Magento 2 platform in 3-4 months. The biggest challenge was to finish the project in a demanding deadline. In the scope of the project was to create the frontend of the store, individual customizations and to integrate it with ERP system (SAP Business One). The store was created from scratch.

How did you select ADVOX Studio and what were the deciding factors?

ADVOX was selected in a RFP process. Proposed project duration time and its total costs were the most important deciding factors.

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

Installation of Magento 2 platform together with basic configuration. Implement graphic design for the desktop and mobile version. Development of custom modules based on requirements. Integration with SAP Business One ERP platform. Tests and production implementation.

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

I was only in touch with the project manager who was responsible for further internal coordination of frontend and backend developers, testers, UX designers and system administrators.

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

Almost all of the deliverables were delivered within agreed time frame.

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

The project was managed in an agile way with minor scope changes in progress. During weekly sprints we discussed the project progress and planned further tasks. The communication was held in Asana, InVision and by e-mail.

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

The company proved a flexible approach in the project. The company willingly undertook new tasks beyond the scope of the project, which could improve it.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The MD estimation could be more accurate. The task updates could be provided more frequently.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the tech lead of the web development team at Asambeauty GmbH, a cosmetics and beauty company, managing a mixed team of six external developers in total, of which three are from ADVOX.

What challenge were you trying to address with ADVOX Studio?

We are getting into new fields like React and Progressive Web App (PWA) to make our new shop faster, more responsive, and mobile-friendly. There are very few e-commerce PWAs on the market, so the challenge was launching something new like this.

What was the scope of their involvement?

ADVOX Studio is involved with 2 Magento backend developers and 1 React developer working especially on frontend and backend tasks, touching all parts of business logic. They’re also deeply involved in creating PWA stack.

What is the team composition?

As far as ADVOX is concerned, we work with a project manager, a frontend React developer, and two backend Magento developers. Starting in September, we’ll work with a second frontend developer.

How did you come to work with ADVOX Studio?

We screened several companies and decided to test out ADVOX Studio based on their experiences and development capacities, particularly in Magento. They didn’t have a big limitation on capacity, which was very important for scaling up quickly. After testing them out for a few months, we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

My company has spent €200,000 (approximately $220,600 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2018 (the relaunch project, however, started February 2019), and the work is ongoing.

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

Of course, we are faster with the capacity from ADVOX. If all parts are in place, we believe the website’s load time should be cut in half. Usability will also improve.

How did ADVOX Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Our project manager oversees the organizational aspect of the project and delegates work to their developers. I talk to the developers directly as well. We work in a kind of an agile way.

What I like about them is that they have two separate teams for backend and frontend development. Having specialized teams helps us staff in the way we need to.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like that we can bring together different kinds of people. For example, at first, we started with the two backend developers. And then needed a very good React developer and they had one in the pocket. Since they are quite flexible in capacity and are a bigger company, we have access to different kinds of expertise. It’s never a problem if we ask to talk to different people for their opinion. I like their flexibility.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there haven’t been any situations where we couldn’t settle in some way. We’re quite open-minded on both sides, which is a big plus. If there’s a problem, we talk about it and try to resolve it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I advise utilizing one of their project managers, as we did. It’s good to have someone who knows the developers so well and understands how to deal with them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company supplies graduation gowns, predominantly to the UK school sector and abroad, as well as choir robes to churches. I’m the director of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with ADVOX Studio?

We needed to make some updates to our website. There have been a number of freelancers who worked on it previously, and we wanted to consolidate their work into a nice, cohesive, simple-to-use Magento-based site that would drive more customer engagement.

What was the scope of their involvement?

ADVOX Studio listened to what I wanted for the website and then had a look at the current form, as well as at some of our competitors’ websites. We worked out a roadmap, initially improving what currently existed so that we could maximize profit in the short term, but eventually developing the long-term goal of moving to Magento 2. They planned out the APIs that were going to work together with different parts of the new website, and we’re currently moving towards launching the new site.

They’ve also added a Sphinx search engine to the site. We had a rather clunky frontend that was custom coded and designed. One of the changes we made was moving to a new Magento theme called Porto to give a better UX to the customer while we were still on the old Magento site.

The new theme is more responsive and has a lot less unused, glitchy frontend bits on it. We also added a gallery to the site, along with many other changes ADVOX Studio has implemented in the past year or so with the goal of increasing the sales and boosting the number of visitors on site.

What is the team composition?

There are around four people from ADVOX Studio that I work with regularly. I have one main project manager overseeing the estimations who will determine the scope of the tasks. His work includes everything from making estimations in terms of the hours, to managing the developers sitting behind the scenes making changes, to implementing those changes on the test server and then migrating them to the live site.

How did you come to work with ADVOX Studio?

I initially found ADVOX Studio through a Google search when I was in Malaysia. I don’t know if my geolocation at the time aided in me finding them, but I got in touch and had a conversation with them before deciding that they were the people I wanted to progress forward with. The decision was based on how they reacted to my questions and queries, how responsive they were, and how their biggest priority has always been on the quality of the code throughout the whole site.

How much have you invested with them?

Our total investment is going to be £30,000–£35,000 (approximately $36,000–$42,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with ADVOX Studio in July 2017. I first started communicating with them in January of that year, and six to eight months after that, the new front-facing site with the new Porto theme launched. It was further tweaked until about a month ago, with the Magento 2 development starting now.

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

The website is certainly nicer-looking and easier to navigate. It’s easy to search through and find products from different categories. The filters are working a lot better as a result of the work we’ve done with ADVOX Studio. We’ve rewritten the backend of the SKUs so that everything’s a lot more succinct on the management side and better and easier to use for the customers.

How did ADVOX Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive. If we send them an email, we get a response back within 1–2 hours, which helps things move much more quickly than they otherwise would. My project manager is also available on Skype, which we generally use around once a month, and he gave me his mobile number when the new website was launched so that he could help out in the evenings if needed. Between their communication and quality of work, they consistently demonstrate how committed they are to our project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Magento knowledge they all have between them, and the advice they give in terms of providing nice UI and nice UX for the website, have been invaluable assets for us. They provide lots of tips, like how to search for products more easily. Also, they have an absolutely unrelenting strive for quality of the code and the repository. They’re unwilling to negotiate or let the quality of that code lapse, which I think is massively important.

Are there any areas they could improve?

ADVOX Studio is the best web design agency I’ve ever worked with. They blow the socks off everyone else. I can’t think of anything that they could do better.

Do you have any advice for future clients?

It’s important to build a relationship with the project manager. When my current project manager first started, I was a bit worried at first, but after speaking with him and developing that relationship, I was able to trust that they’re doing the right thing for us as a business.

It’s also worth taking a bit of time to understand how they want to do things and listening to their outcomes. They’re focused on creating great websites, so take their advice and do what’s going to work for your particular business.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company specialise in delivering the best transport and warehousing products while offering only the best quality of comprehensive logistic services. We are present in 10 European countries. My position: Sales and eCommerce Executive Manager

For what projects/services did your company hire ADVOX Studio?

To develop company websites based on Magento platform: 10 countries (store views), 8 languages

What were your goals for this project?

To renew old website, improve communication with customers, collect more online inquiries

How did you select this vendor?

Internal research and tender. We have considered 5 companies. Our eCommerce team was involved in this selection. Deciding factors were: price, condition and cutomer orientation.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We had to rebuilt our previous, old website. The project was prepared by my team and we were looking for company that can develope it. We had a problem with filling the internal position of website developer in our team, so we decided to outsource this project. Most of functionalities were design by us. Vendor was responsible for development proces. We have also discuss a lot of solutions during this process.

What was the team composition?

hard to say how many persons were involve in our project. They working on more than one project in the same time. We had dedicated "Project Manager which was resposible for contact with us. They probably recruited new employees during our project but probably not only because of our cooperation.

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

Despite some small issues during development, the project was successful. We can see more interest given by our customers and collecting more inquiries.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The management of the project was quite positive. There was dedicated for us Project Manager that way of contact, responsiveness were very good. Deadlines were not kept but the reasons were not only up to vendor site. The project evolved during development process and that extend the project time. But there were also some delays from vendor side. We used Asana, Google docs

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Quite positive consulting feedback given by Project Manager. It is hard to compare with other vendors. We have outsourced this kind of project for the first time.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Some solutions could be better prepared/discussed before implementation process: options, functionality, management options, updates, etc

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I own an online B2C store with nutrition, vitamins, supplements, essential oils, beauty products, food & more.

What challenge were you trying to address with ADVOX Studio?

The goal was to design a user-friendly store using Magento 2 Platform. I needed to make an online shop that was simple, transparent and responsive, with a product page and an uncomplicated cart.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The site is built on Magento2. They created the graphic design and implemented it. It was important to include a section with categories on the homepage, and they also created a glossary with descriptions of each supplement I sell.

I can manage offers, view price comparisons, create mailings, and add banners to the homepage. I also have access to important shipping solutions. It was very important was to have external drop-shipping warehouse connected to the supplier software. I can ship products from multiple warehouses and can expedite shipping as needed. Languages they used included PHP, HTML5, and JavaScript.

What is the team composition?

I work with four people on their team.

How did you come to work with ADVOX Studio?

Six years ago, I ran another online store that they helped me with. I was very satisfied with their work and decided to work in another store with them. They were originally recommended by a coworker.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent around $70,000 USD.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in March 2018 and finished in April 2019.

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

They delivered great solutions for my customers, and the website has definitely helped my business. The glossary is very helpful, and the administration panel has a lot of useful functionality. It's a big store, and the solutions are made very well.

How did ADVOX Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via email or by phone. They are very easy to reach.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They made an advanced, highly developed system. They delivered everything on time and were very reliable. They always respond quickly, and I'm very happy to work with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I'm very satisfied.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My only advice is to work with them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Power Body Nutrition deals with retail and distribution of supplements and health products. I’m the general manager.

What challenge were you trying to address with ADVOX Studio?

We were working on an old CMS [content management system] that was run by one full-time web developer. He was the only one that knew the solution. We didn’t want to rely on just one person.

What was the scope of their involvement?

ADVOX migrated the whole system to Magento. The migration took well over a year. In the meantime, ADVOX redesigned a website for us that runs on Magento. The website has been customized a lot so around 60%–70% of the modules are custom made. Our customers have given us some ideas on how to make the website better. We gave ADVOX ideas on how we wanted the website to look, and they gave us their feedback. During the migration, we had another idea to do drop shipping which evolved into selling licensed websites. We initially started working with one project manager and two web developers. Now we have nine web developers working on the frontend and backend.

How did you come to work with ADVOX Studio?

One of the co-owners of ADVOX Studio used to do some PPC [pay-per-click] for us which is how our company first became aware of them. I wasn’t involved in the company at that time.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with ADVOX in March 2012, and the work is ongoing.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The project went better than I could have imagined. Regarding our wholesale business, which has been our aim since hiring ADVOX, we have doubled the turnover every year. The first website was a pure retail website selling to consumers. We are now the biggest distributor in the UK, and ADVOX played a huge role in that. This whole system is probably the most advanced system that any UK company in our industry has. Not long ago we had a meeting with one of the manufacturers from our industry, we presented them a couple of modules to show them how their samples will be distributed, and they were impressed. We had never seen anything like it.

How did ADVOX Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

ADVOX meets deadlines and communicates well.

What did you find most impressive about ADVOX Studio?

No other agency I’ve worked with in the past delivered what they promised. That’s why we were using a single developer before ADVOX because we weren’t impressed with agencies. We’ve been with ADVOX for five years, so that speaks for itself.

Are there any areas ADVOX Studio could improve?

No, I have nothing to suggest.

Please describe your company and your position there.

YASUMI Sp. z o.o. Sp. k. is a company based in Poland. Its main business is distribution and production of health and beauty products (equipment, cosmetics) for use in beauty clinics and SPAs. The company is also an owner of the biggest chain of franchise stores on the polish market with almost 100 points. My job at the company is overseeing its IT and marketing projects .

For what projects/services did your company hire ADVOX Studio?

Creation of a custom software which would enable each of nearly 100 YASUMI points to run their own website through a CMS system. Each website is customizable to the extent allowed by the administrator designated by YASUMI.

What were your goals for this project?

Main goals included updating old sites which were outdated to a modern RWD with set of restrictions on content possible to be individually modified by each of franchise owners.

How did you select this vendor?

I was happy with a small previous project run by ADVOX :)

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

web development, CMS development, design, server solution

What was the team composition?

On YASUMI side it was just me and one more person. On the ADVOX side I was mainly in contact with project coordinator who communicated with the rest of their team. I am not aware of team composition on ADVOX side.

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

Our business partners (franchise owners) are very happy with how the site works, looks and SEOs.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

It was a fluent two way communication between YASUMI and ADVOX which incorporated emails, phone calls, skype and google docs.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their team is friendly, educated, and experienced. They have a broad knowledge in the areas of their expertise.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Some of the functionalities did not work the way they were supposed to and needed to be repaired, so maybe more testing before release would be an area for improvement. It was not a big deal but would be nice if everything was tested twice before.