BSS Commerce

Please describe your company and your position there.

Zone 45 Srl is a Media agency that offers several services for fashion e-commerce: shooting, adv campaign, contents, catalogue, insert data and more. I am a collaborator who has the task of following the technological part of the sites for which we work, interfacing with the development agency BSSCommerce.

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

To date we create e-commerce photos, campaigns, videos, social content, and so on, for six websites and we have completely entrusted the development and assistance to BSSCommerce (bernaitalia.it, maxfort.it, sophiacurvy.com, blockeleven.com, rada.it, crrcwear.com)

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

In 2018, BSSCommerce was already an established company, which we knew as a Magento specialist (platform used by the sites of our competence). After a first approach we decided to collaborate with them permanently. The professionalism, the availability, but above all the impeccable competence are the reasons that have convinced us that BSSComemrce is the best partner for us.

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

The websites we work for needed adjustments, improvements and assistance. We asked for a detailed analysis of the state of affairs and studied the approach for each of them with an estimate of time and costs. So we are proceeding with the partial rework of the code and the creation of new landing pages and graphic adjustments. A new development is going to a goal: an interface between ERP and Magento for some websites.

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

A project manager, a developer full-time, and if necessary additional developers.

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

The traffic is constantly increasing and we have had positive feedback from our customers about UE.

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

Trello is our tool for communicating. In case of a big problem we notify our project manager in advance through the dedicated Skype group. Either way, their response is always quick and on time.

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

Often, they help us step by step, because we don't have the technical expertise to manage Magento, so they are teaching us something new every time.

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

We have yet to make the code perfect, to delete some minor bugs... and they are working on this. We are satisfied.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of a sporting goods store.

What challenge were you trying to address with BSSCommerce?

We were looking to redevelop and upgrade our existing website, so we hired BSSCommerce as our long-term partner.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We began by discussing our goals with BSSCommerce. They looked through the coding of our website and proposed a timeline to redevelop it. 

They’ve upgraded our platform from Magento 2.1 to Magento 2.6. We also requested they install something to improve the functionality of our website, so they’ve presented us with a few options.

They’ve completed the first two phases of the redevelopment, including speed optimization, and have just begun the third phase.

What is the team composition?

The project manager is our main point of contact and responsible for interfacing with the development team.

How did you come to work with BSSCommerce?

We had used two of their extensions and were impressed with the services they offered. Of the three companies we considered for this project, they offered the best solutions. They were also approachable and responsive as well, so we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in October 2020, and the project is ongoing.

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

There are no quantifiable metrics at this time because we’re looking to finish the redevelopment work before doing any sort of marketing. However, BSSCommerce has met all objectives to date, on time and within budget. We don’t have any problems with their work; they are very proactive. 

Their team also interacts with our hosting company, so they’re able to resolve any issues with the server and website communication, even if these arise overnight or when we’re closed. 

How did BSSCommerce perform from a project management standpoint?

They do very well in terms of project management. They’re always available and responsive, addressing all of our issues and queries and proposing further solutions. We communicate primarily through Jira and use Skype as needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their knowledge of website development is impressive. They’re focused on customer satisfaction, making this experience much better than what we’ve had with other providers. They are patient with us and never push us to move too quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have no complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be specific as to what you’re looking for.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of Discount Equestrian.

What challenge were you trying to address with BSSCommerce?

We hired BSSCommerce to develop our website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our website is built on Magento and BSSCommerce has provided speed optimization work and fault-finding. They conducted an audit of our site and put together a list of tasks to be prioritized.

Since then, they’ve been our go-to developer for any work that needs to be carried out.

What is the team composition?

We have a dedicated account manager that serves as our main point of contact. We don’t talk directly to the developers; the account manager liaises between us and the developers, updates us on the progress, and answers our questions. 

Their technical director becomes involved when there’s an aspect of the project that is particularly tricky. 

How did you come to work with BSSCommerce?

They were Magento-certified and had reasonable prices, so we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent around $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with BSSCommerce in February 2020. The partnership is ongoing.

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

The site has become faster, more reliable, and more visible. It has stopped breaking down every day. Development has also become a bit more structured and follows a better process. I’m happy with BSSCommerce’s services overall.

How did BSSCommerce perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re good in terms of communication. Even though they’re based in Vietnam, their English is very good and puts mine to shame, to be honest.

What did you find most impressive about them?

BSSCommerce is pretty responsive in dealing with anything urgent. Their technical director is very approachable, and we can go to him anytime.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. There are always things the customer would love to have, but aren’t feasible for BSSCommerce to do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They should have a clear list of objectives. That’s all we do, really. We have a list of tasks and some of which are marked as priorities.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the e-commerce manager of Optical 88. We are an optical retail chain, and we offer online and offline services to our customers in Hong Kong. We provide eye checks, microsurgery, and professional eyewear services.

What challenge were you trying to address with BSSCommerce?

BSSCommerce developed our websites.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had BSSCommerce help us with the development of our websites. We had two domains — one was used for the corporate site, and the other was used as our e-commerce platform. We gave them our idea of how we wanted the website to look like, and they completed the design for us. They built our websites from scratch using Magento.

We also gave them a flowchart to implement on our e-commerce website. Our system is quite complicated because, for our eyewear sale process, we combine online and offline, so we needed the website to connect with our offline system.

What is the team composition?

We worked mainly with a CTO and a project manager, but we had a team of around 10 people working on the project.

How did you come to work with BSSCommerce?

I found BSSCommerce on Google. I knew them because I worked with them in my previous company, and that's why I recommend them for this project.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested 500,000 Hong Kong dollars (approximately $65,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in October 2020. BSSCommerce delivered the corporate website by December 2020 and the e-commerce website in April 2021.

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

Their work was excellent. The most challenging part was the implementation of the system that connects to our offline system. It was important for us since we are building a loyalty system that is not just for online sales but is also fulfilling for our customers.

How did BSSCommerce perform from a project management standpoint?

The coding and UI/UX were on point. BSSCommerce always met the deadlines, and everything was delivered in excellent condition. We used Trello and Google Workspace to manage the project, and they responded very quickly to any bugs reported. Overall, it was a fantastic collaboration.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The process and the quality of the service that BSSCommerce provided were what stood out the most for us. Also, the timezone wasn’t a concern for us because they were stationed in Vietnam which has a very similar time zone to Hong Kong. They were a good choice for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything that BSSCommerce can improve because I'm very satisfied with the service and the deliverables they provided.

Any advice for potential customers?

BSSCommerce provides a good quality service with fast response times at an excellent price point. I strongly recommend them to others.