Bison & Bird

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Executive Director of Alberta Allied Roofing Association

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

AARA connects with established, reputable and respected roofing companies that provide quality work and have proven to have the required credentials to operate a permissible business in Alberta.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Bison & Bird to accomplish?

• Become more efficient and digital friendly

SOLUTION

How did you find Bison & Bird?

Referral

Why did you select Bison & Bird over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Bison & Bird were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We did a few research and discovery sessions regarding our association with Bison and Bird to determine how we can manage everyday administrative tasks more efficiently. Bison and Bird thoroughly combed through our business practices and future goals in order to determine what our needs were. 

They then spent time testing and researching different digital software platforms our association could use to use our time ore efficiently and reach our goals. We then spent a few months implementing that software and learning how to use it.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Training Agenda's and project Acceptance checklist

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

Meeting agendas and checklists were always provided and weekly project update meetings were held. All emails and inquiries were replied to quickly.

What was your primary form of communication with Bison & Bird?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Bison and Birds's company culture and innovative strategies and suggestions were impressive and appealing to us.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Bison & Bird could have done differently?

No suggestions at this time

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Executive and Department Manager of Piston Broke Brewing Ltd

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a Brewery and Restaurant that also provides community with entertainment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Bison & Bird to accomplish?

Provided us with direction to become optimized in the digital world we live in

SOLUTION

How did you find Bison & Bird?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select Bison & Bird over others?

• High ratings
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Bison & Bird were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The scope of work explores the following scenarios: 

1. corporate customer portal for custom-branded beer and label orders 
2. online store/sales 
3. quarterly/ event specific templates for custom beer orders

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have decided on the most usable cost effective digital strategy to quickly implement. The test and launch phase went great and we are seeing customers line up.

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

Their team was absolutely amazing. They were very professional, educated, and accommodating to our time constraints. We were never once waiting on them during the process of the Canadian Digital Adoption Plan.

What was your primary form of communication with Bison & Bird?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They really want to see our business thrive, you can tell that they care a lot.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Bison & Bird could have done differently?

I think the went above and beyond what they had to do for us, so there is not any improvements that we can recommend.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a department manager at a data automation company that provides clients in the energy and transportation industries with overarching control brain systems. We consider our products to be super data systems that control a number of other systems. Our technology is relatively niche and bespoke, so it depends on the client’s requirements.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bison & Bird?

Our CRM system was in disrepair, so we needed to reset our sales pipeline. Therefore, we hired Bison & Bird to help us determine what we needed and how we would be able to use our system from a practical standpoint.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bison & Bird worked collaboratively with us, each of us taking over certain elements of the overall scope. First, our team took over the research efforts between different team members and defined how our sales opportunities flowed from the initial contact with the client all the way to the contract or purchase order. As part of that process, I defined the project’s timeline, requirements, and budget.

Then, we met with Bison & Bird, and we went through our requirements and a thorough discovery process, which included defining the type of information they needed to see. After that, we conducted a data analysis, and Bison & Bird walked us through the process by asking additional questions to understand how we wanted to use the CRM system and how we thought about our data.

Bison & Bird took our input and helped us build the scope of work, defining how our data and pertinent information would flow through the CRM system. Finally, they did our system’s setup in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Moreover, their team was also in charge of the UI/UX design work behind the CRM development process, and they provided us with general consulting services.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Ryan (President & CEO), who acted as the solution architect, and Nathan (Project Manager).

How did you come to work with Bison & Bird?

We had a personal connection with them. Some of our key team members knew some of the individuals at Bison & Bird.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $50,000 CAD (approximately $37,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2022, and we finished the project’s first phase in December 2022. Still, Bison & Bird provides us with ongoing customer support to date, and we plan to work with them on the future phases of the project. They’ve actually defined the scope for those future phases, and they’ve offered a customer success contract to move forward. However, we haven’t decided to take on that yet.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Currently, our CRM system is in its first phase, so it’s still very basic. However, it’s easier to use than before, and everyone is very happy with it. Our team can now focus more on sales rather than entering data into our database.

How did Bison & Bird perform from a project management standpoint?

Bison & Bird was very good to work with. They learned with us, pivoted with us, and took the lead when they needed to, which I really appreciated. All of the challenges came from our side. We have a very dispersed team across the world, so it was difficult to get answers at times. Thus, Bison & Bird had to make a number of assumptions, which they did very well.

Due to these challenges and other hiccups with licensing, the project wasn’t delivered on time. However, Bison & Bird did a very good job managing the project overall. The delivery was six weeks late, but we were already expecting delays. Moreover, it was an internal deadline, so it didn’t really affect the project. Bison & Bird was also very responsive. We communicated via email, Zoom, and Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Bison & Bird was very personable, quick to respond, knowledgeable, and professional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing I would change about the project would be the level of detail we put into it. We missed the mark on a couple of items, but it had to do with us, especially since the sales team was relatively new. Still, it was a learning experience, and it had nothing to do with Bison & Bird’s work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ensure you have a good understanding of your organization, needs, and revenue flows. If you don’t understand your needs clearly, Bison & Bird might end up designing a CRM system that doesn’t necessarily work for you.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the General Manager of Streamline Process Management Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We specialize in instrumentation and automation in mobile environments

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Bison & Bird to accomplish?

• Create a digital plan
• Optimize current tools
• Leverage AI
• Look at new phone systems

SOLUTION

How did you find Bison & Bird?

Worked with an employee prior to joining

Why did you select Bison & Bird over others?

Company values aligned

How many teammates from Bison & Bird were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Creation of digital adoption plan, audit and walk through of government grants. 

IT security consulting.

MS education 

AI eduction 

Phone 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Completion of plan

securing of systems

ongoing education

phone and information system integration ongoing

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

Delivered on time and delivered on budget. 
They respond appropriately (immediately) if an emergency. 

What was your primary form of communication with Bison & Bird?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

"They're flexible and business-focused, adding immense value to any business."

Are there any areas for improvement or something Bison & Bird could have done differently?

Still on the learning curve as IT and developments are ongoing, they may not have the answer but they do their homework. I have no complaints. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner of Rebel Outdoor Inc

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Landscape Construction, Landscape Maintenance, Snow Removal

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Bison & Bird to accomplish?

• CDAP Plan
• Overall Business Consulting

SOLUTION

How did you find Bison & Bird?

Other

Why did you select Bison & Bird over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Other

What was the size of Bison & Bird’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) Plan

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

CDAP Plan Complete

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

Project Management and Communication were solid throughout the process. Timeline for delivery of completed CDAP plan was on point

What was your primary form of communication with Bison & Bird?

In-Person Meeting

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

They were a good listener, and they were able to find the required details in a lot of information provided.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Bison & Bird could have done differently?

I think the model they have for collecting payment and releasing the document (CDAP Plan) does not show a lot of faith in the customer paying the bill. I understand they may have had a bad experience in the past that has caused this mistrust but it definitely comes across as if they do not trust the client to pay for the service provided.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Supreme International makes vertical feed mixers for agriculture and environmental businesses. CEO

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bison & Bird?

To review wear characteristics on our equipment and options to reduce wear and increase product life.

SOLUTION

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

Price, experience and ease of doing business with.

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

Reviewed equipment wear characteristics and provides options to extend life.

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

Two.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Currently testing options provided.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

There was an effective project kick off, followed by timely follow ups on progress and then a final report review.

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

Their knowledge, experience, and timeliness in delivering results were impressive.

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

No. Great work and results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Vice President, Sales and Marketing for a company that manufactures measurement equipment for natural gas, refining and chemical industrial applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bison & Bird?

We had an existing price list in a program, Quoter, that needed to have an automated download to a formatted spreadsheet that could be sent to out distributors for easy upload into their CRM or ERP systems. The importance was to eliminate manual price input into the spreadsheet and make the process easy and automated for current pricing.

SOLUTION

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

We looked at performing the project in house but realized that having an outside company do the work would be more efficient and cost effective. It was cost and time that drove the project decision.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

First we presented our current procedure for generating and validating price lists including all the steps and the desired outcome. Once we reviewed the project we discussed alternatives to generated the desired finalized document. After discussing, we decided on the version that would perform and automated update of pricing in the spreadsheet so our company could generate and distribute price lists quickly based on market requirements. A beta version was provided to Galvanic for evaluation and feedback. There were some minor tweaks and a final evaluation before rollout. In all it took only a couple weeks to get the project accomplished and would have taken us a few months, with distractions, otherwise.

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

We had one predominant person work with us from the implementation and project team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Current inflationary pressures have caused us to update pricing twice in the last six months which ended up being a seemless rollout to our distributors.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was highly effective. There was scope definition with check in points to make sure the project was on time, on scope and on budget.

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

They did not try to sell us a specific solution. They listened to our issues and collaborated on a business solution that helped solve them and increase efficiency.

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

Nothing at this time.