Brandweb

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the IT Hardware and Software Chief of the water supplier and sewerage company from Iasi, Romania. Our company has over 1000 employees and we serve the clients from all Iasi county.

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

Our company website was created more than 10 years ago. The user interface was outdated and it wasn't mobile friendly, the website sections were difficult to navigate through, and the website did not have a CMS (content management system) that would allow our colleagues from the marketing department to update the content without the help of the development team. Although we have an IT department in our company, we needed a specialized team in designing a new interface, reviewing the user flow and implementing a CRM with an intuitive interface. We wanted to have a new website with a friendly and modern interface, aligned with the current design standards. Also, we wanted to have an intuitive administration panel that could be accessed by colleagues from all the departments in order to quickly and independently update the content when necessarily, without asking the development team.

How did you select Brandweb and what were the deciding factors?

Brandweb was recommended to us by a previous business partner. We were put into contact with Brandweb’s CEO and we scheduled a meeting. We analyzed other projects developed by Brandweb, and after meeting and discussing with the CEO, we really liked the company and their approach. We decided to start the collaboration.

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

Within our first meetings, we communicated our expectations to the CEO - we wanted a new, modern and clean design, and we highlighted the most important sections from our point of view. Not long after our first meeting, we received an initial version of the homepage.

We discussed it with the heads of all important departments from our company and we communicated the changes needed. After receiving an updated version of the homepage, we received the layouts for the most important pages.

We discussed together the structure of the new website - we wanted to transfer most of the content, but they came up with suggestions regarding reorganizing the content in a way that would be more intuitive for our customers. We liked the fact that they always put themselves in the customer’s shoes and that they have this user-centric approach.

After approving all the layouts, they moved on to the implementation step. They were sending us weekly updates about their progress and quickly implementing our feedback, if there was any. After implementing all the layouts, they helped us in adding all the content on the website.

lthough we had access to the administration interface, our colleagues in charge of updating the content were not available in that period, so Brandweb team was a great help. They even helped our colleagues in transitioning to the new admin panel, offering them continuous support.

Throughout the project, I was made aware that the technologies used were:

• Apache
• PHP
• Javascript
• Mysql

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

After signing the contract with the CEO, we were assigned to a project manager to support us as the main contact throughout the project.

We mostly discussed with the project manager, but towards the end of the project, when we started to migrate the new website from their local hosting to ours, I started to get into contact with their CTO. However, I was made aware that one designer and another developer have been working on the project

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

The most important aspect for public institution’ contracts is respecting the deadlines. We were very pleased that this aspect was not a problem at all for Brandweb. Moreover, the new website was appreciated by our customers - we received positive feedback from them and also from the media. Also, our colleagues from all departments said that the admin panel is intuitive and easy to learn.

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

We were happy to have assigned a project manager who had a complete overview of the project. Mainly communicating with one single person was more efficient for us than having to talk to the whole team.

The project manager was easy to communicate with and she was quick in replying to our questions. We’ve mostly communicated via email. Only a few times, my colleagues had phone discussions with her.

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

We were impressed by their availability to offer us support, even if some requests were not included in our contract. For example, Brandweb offered support to our colleagues in learning how to use a new newsletter tool. They had several video calls in this sense. Also, they were willing to help us with some tasks even after the contract had terminated.

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

Of course there is no such thing as a perfect project, but overall, we are very satisfied with the team - the collaboration and the end result. We are happy to have chosen Brandweb for this project and we are counting on them in the next ones.

Please describe your company and your position there. 

I’m the CEO of Coriolan, a company that manufactures gold wedding bands and jewelry using the latest technologies. Founded in 1993, we have four shops across Iasi and Bucharest and produce jewelry for over 150 distributors.

For what projects/services did your company hire Brandweb? 

We needed to migrate and redesign our custom-made online shop to Magento 2 in addition to creating a B2B platform that could support all of our distributors. We’d already started the projects ourselves but approached Brandweb to take over the process. 

What were your goals for this project?

With our B2B platform, we hoped to start a new business with companies abroad. Our goal was to present companies with an easier way to sell our product while maintaining a good mark-up. 

How did you select this vendor? 

One of our former IT consultants referred us to them. 

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail. 

Brandweb took over the migration and redesign of our online shop. They were able to pick up the pace and hit the ground running, updating the theme, customizing Magento modules, and building new ones to fit our needs, including a well-received product warranty module. 

Currently, the team is developing the B2B platform inside the same Magento installation. This project would enable our distributors to place online orders quickly and have easy access to order status, delivery notices, and financial documents (e.g., invoices, payments). They’re extending the installation with modules for B2B registration, fast order, split order, a product prince formula, and dynamic product options.

What was the team composition? 

The team consists of five people: a project manager, a designer, a frontend developer, and two backend developers. During the weekly meetings, both the project manager and the more senior backend developer are present.

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

The B2B platform is still under development, but the full project value will be around €150,000 (approximately $171,500 USD). We expect to be able to start our new business easily thanks to Brandweb’s support. Price calculation won’t be a problem with the new platform, and all product options will be available to the end customer. 

How was project management arranged and how effective was it? 

Brandweb is both professional and fun to work with. We have weekly meetings to discuss our progress and future directions, and they have good control over their hours and deliverables. That way, I always have a clear standpoint of the current status. We established this level of transparency from the start, which helped me build trust in our partnership.

What did you find most impressive about this company? 

I appreciate their constant desire to come up with the best, tailor-made solutions, and their openness and reliability are impressive. They’re always there for us when something important comes up. This availability was incredibly valuable for us when choosing our business partner because we needed to have someone we could always count on.

Are there any areas for improvement? 

Brandweb thrives in a fast-paced work environment, and the team is very solution-oriented. However, this sets a quick dynamic, which is sometimes hard to follow. There are times when they need to take a step back and resync.