Collatree

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the director of Odox Soft Hub. We deliver a range of software development solutions that includes Business Solutions, Web Design and Development, and Mobile App Development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Collatree team to first analyze our business process and Identify the possible process optimization with ERP-like systems.

SOLUTION

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

We invited many such companies who were having ERP implementation experience, and we found the Collatree team to be fulfilling our multiple goals like they suggested using Cloud-based ERP like Odoo ERP which is Opensource by nature and globally well-adopted.

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

Once we selected Collatree, we had a series of meetings to define the structure and then decided that what is already available in the Odoo ERP System and what needs to be customized. We concluded the design and also set up backend modules like CRM, Sales, Inventory management, POS, etc.

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

We were assigned a team leader who was a particular point of a contact person who has served us throughout the project and also there were 1 odoo developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Every breakthrough, execution as per plans were communicated. Transition to this new Odoo ERP system was way quicker than we Imagined.

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

They have always been there to work upon any business problems that we talked upon and delivered well-planned discoveries onto our ERP systems. Conclusively me as Owner not-needed to be in every minor loop of requirement, it was naturally handled by the Collatree team directly communicating with our Operational manager.

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

Collatree skill and attention to detail are exceptional and second to none. Moreover, they have a large talent pool from which to draw that enables them to maintain forward progress if and when challenges arise.

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

They continue to exceed expectations in all areas. I am excited to watch them grow.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I run a company that develops software and ERP.  We are also consulting firm and we advise people on strategic technological and financial solutions. We don't provide any service; we simply provide the roadmap and strategy for our clients. I'm one of the co-founders and I'm the director of the strategy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Collatree?

We have a lot of clients who require our help on ERPs. Though we provide the technology roadmap, there have been instances where we were not able to fulfill it ourselves. We turned to Collatree to help us with web development, digital marketing, and ERP solution implementation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We use Collatree for the digital marketing needs of our clients. We also turn to them to develop ERP solutions for trade and management. Another service they provide us with is web and mobile app development. We come up with the strategy while their team is responsible for the advisory and execution aspects.

Their digital marketing service comes with social media marketing that encompasses Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. They also specialize in PPC and SEO. Apart from those, we can also rely on them for pragmatic marketing through Accredo and Google Ads. They create and manage accounts for us on various campaign platforms. 

We require Collatree’s assistance especially with clients that are not so huge. Large companies often have their own internal marketing teams and only require our guiding hand. In those instances, we leave Collatree out of the scene.

They also offer expertise in content marketing. We have used this service of theirs in particular for our company and not for our clients. They help us rank for keywords that we’ve researched jointly. 

When it comes to development projects, Collatree provides front- and backend support. They update websites, platforms, and other types of technology. The wireframes they produce come with either a Functional Requirement Document or a Business Requirement Document.

Finally, we rely on their ERP solutions to take care of financial and accounting matters. We tailor ERPs to suit the size and volume of our clients’ businesses

What is the team composition?

We work with around 10–12 people: two on the ERP side, 5–8 for website development, and another 3–4 for digital marketing. Depending on the requirements, a couple of team leads also come in.

How did you come to work with Collatree?

One of our offices is based in Kerala, India where Collatree is headquartered. We found them when we were looking for an agency that we could work with very closely. We also preferred someone local since the lockdown made it difficult to work with anyone outside of our surroundings.

Their presentation was very good and their pitch was pretty exciting. We liked that they had all of the solutions that we were looking for under one roof. We didn't want to have to go to multiple vendors, so we hired Collatree.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $150,000, which includes the budget for the ads.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together o=in March 2020 and they are still providing support for us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The ERPs that Collatree has created are spotless and free of any issues. We’re now better able to manage our invoices and billings through it. All of the websites they’ve built are also stellar in quality and receive positive feedback from clients and users alike. With their help, we’ve achieved a retention rate of about 90%.

The appearance of bugs is inevitable, but the team has been super responsive. They've worked extra hours in some instances just to make sure that everything is fixed. I’ve never had to report anything to them because they proactively seek out anything that needs special attention.

How did Collatree perform from a project management standpoint?

They've been always very forthcoming when it comes to small changes in the scope. There have been at least 2–3 instances where the deadline was pushed further because they were still trying to fix an issue. All of it is ok though because most of the time, our scopes are ad hoc. Those cases aside, they’ve delivered many projects on time.

Depending on the size of a project, we conduct weekly meetings and regular sprints. We communicate through WhatsApp and Slack, and Collatree gives us constant updates through those channels.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Out of all the vendors we’ve worked with, Collatree has been the most transparent. If they mess up, they will tell me right away and will not back down until everything is back in order. That's something I appreciate about them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They tend to get too focused on minute details, but we want agility over perfection because we can never really be 100% perfect. The team could benefit from focusing more on getting things done than striving for perfection. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want quality work, then Collatree is your best option. Be absolutely transparent with them about everything you want to achieve.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the IT department head of a clothing company in India.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Collatree?

We approached Collartree to develop our B2B multi-vendor platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Collatree developed our Magento 2 site from scratch, and any vendor could register and showcase their products on our platform. The team also integrated features such as a payment gateway, shipping management, and other typical functions found on B2B platforms.

We started with a kickoff meeting where Collartree gathered all of our requirements into a draft. After we approved their draft, they produced designs and gave us the wireframes in the end. That way, there would be no confusion in our project flow. They delivered their work on a milestone basis, and we checked each of their outputs and cleared it.

What is the team composition?

They provided a point of contact to coordinate with us, along with three developers, one tester, and one product manager.

How did you come to work with Collatree?

We were looking for Magento experts, and we got their contact online. We also looked at other providers, but we liked Collatree’s approach, expertise, and clientele the most.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost was $50,000, not including the changes we implemented.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Collatree in October 2020, and they delivered the beta version in June 2021. We’re in the process of uploading products on the site.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered more than what we asked for, and there were no issues on our platform. We faced a tougher design integration on Magento 2 than on earlier versions of our platform, but Collartree was able to pull through and deliver. In fact, our managers across all segments had already utilized the dashboards to upload their products. Overall, they had a very good team.

How did Collatree perform from a project management standpoint?

The team had an excellent project management process, and we collaborated very well without a lot of friction. We used Jira for project management and had meetings over Zoom and Google Meet. We also communicated through email.

They were attentive in quickly addressing any errors we encountered so we could immediately complete the phases of our project. On top of that, they met all of our deadlines within a margin of a few days and submitted all of their requirements.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed by their solid client management. Whenever we needed something, they were ready to discuss and sort things out. They were also open to implementing a few changes we asked for during the development.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could put more focus into the testing part. They didn’t fail or did it improperly, but it could’ve been fine-tuned.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I’d strongly recommend working with Collatree. We had a wonderful experience with them, and we have no hesitations about referring them. We’re sure that you’ll get the same treatment if you decide to partner with them.

In order to have a successful collaboration, you need to properly disclose and explain your requirements to avoid confusion in your future project’s milestones. Remember, you’re also responsible for making your product successful.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work for an IT consulting firm as the sales director. In the tech industry, we advise enterprise-level clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website had been up for more than 5 years and had grown obsolete. We engaged this team to design and create a WordPress site for us because we didn't have in-house developers that could invest in a new website. We hoped that by doing so, we would be able to significantly increase our traffic by the year's end.

SOLUTION

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

We looked online for web developers and came up with a shortlist of five. We chose this vendor after interviewing them based on their previous projects, design expertise, and cost estimate.

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

We conducted a kick-off meeting to talk about our objectives and goals. The team then created mock-ups and wireframes for our website. Their team planned and developed an informative WordPress site after a few modifications. They modified the content to reflect our company's services and built a contact form-filled landing page.

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

Our main point of contact throughout the process was a project manager. Behind the scenes, there were two full stack developers and a designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We witnessed a 70% boost in traffic after releasing our site, and our incoming leads increased month over month owing to the landing page. The new design is well received by clients, who now have a better grasp of our offerings.

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

We met with their project manager on a regular schedule, and he spoke with the rest of the team. They informed us ahead of time if there would be any delays so that we could plan accordingly. To communicate, we used Slack, Jira, and GitHub, which all worked well with our team.

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

They created an excellent, easy-to-update website for us. Because my team had never worked with WordPress before, they took the time to show us how to update the material on our own.

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

The contact form had a few small problems when it originally debuted. We informed them, and they promptly resolved the concerns.