EMERGE

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of STRIVE, an employee experience solution company.

What challenge were you trying to address with EMERGE?

We needed a company that could provide us with UI/UX design support.

What was the scope of their involvement?

EMERGE has done a complete UI/UX redesign of our benefits solution and transformed it into an employee experience solution, which is focused on connecting, evolving, and allowing employees to explore what their company has to offer. They’ve delivered an SDK kit with all of the graphics and images so our development team can take over. They use Sketch and Microsoft PowerPoint.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with Jonathan (Enterprise Sales Director), Damon (Creative Director), and John (Founder).

How did you come to work with EMERGE?

We found EMERGE through Clutch. They were very highly rated. We got them and a couple of other companies to do an RFP proposal, and they were, by far, the best.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $140,000 on the first phase of the project, and phase two is going to be $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

We’ve seen a 5x increase in our monthly active users with some of the features and capabilities EMERGE has designed. Nothing's been formally launched, but we also see an increase in adoption by about 20%–30%.

We really wanted to take the experience to a new level, and EMERGE helped us think through how to connect the overall experience for the employee and make it personalized, connected, and impactful. We've been showing it to investors, and it's been very well received.

How did EMERGE perform from a project management standpoint?

EMERGE. They've met all their deadlines and stayed on budget as well.

We typically communicate through Zoom and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

EMERGE does a great job of understanding our point of view and what they think is critical, challenging it, making it the best idea possible, and putting it to paper. We started very high level with goals and aspirations, and they really guided us through the journey of putting that to paper. They took what we wanted, noticed what we cared most about, guided it with user interviews and research, and then got us to the best end result possible.

Are there any areas they could improve?

EMERGE has a lot of knowledge and expertise, and I think sometimes they could have been more forceful with their feedback and pushed us harder to think through something rather than just accepting what we were saying. It ended up working out really well, but in the future, they can always improve by being more assertive with their opinions and their thoughts.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to spend time aligning your goals and timeline before project kick-off. Make sure that you have somebody that can collaborate and collect all the insights within your team.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing principal and CEO of Stuart-Lynn Company, Inc. We’re a construction consulting firm that primarily does construction cost consulting, supporting the design teams in their endeavors. Basically, we make sure that their designs are tethered to reality.

What challenge were you trying to address with EMERGE?

There’s a lot of moving parts and pieces around the services that we provide. We have to deal with incoming documents and information as well as coordinating across multiple remote teams. Emerge was tasked with finding a solution to streamline our production, both on our actual work and on the administrative side.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

We hired EMERGE to implement an IT strategy that would help us identify and address the gaps in communication. I wasn’t very specific about my asks since I’m not in the IT world, but they still willingly jumped in, rolled up their sleeves, and got things done.

The team was very proactive in making sure they had a full understanding of the situation — not just my perspective but also other key individuals within the company. They wanted to create a solution that would work for everyone, including some of our external consultants.

From there, EMERGE came up with a number of potential solutions for how we could improve our IT and communication structure. I was holding my breath about whether or not we’d have to develop a custom solution, and, thankfully, we did not. They provided the research and guidance to manage the whole process, so we were able to implement a turnkey solution.

They’re now working with us on a second project.

What is the team composition? 

It’s a core group of three. 

How did you come to work with EMERGE?

I’d met the principals some time ago and was really impressed with their knowledge. They seemed to be thoughtful in how they found solutions. My impression was that they were open-minded and explored different options to find the best solutions for any given situation.

How much have you invested with them?

It’s been about $35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We contracted with them in May 2020, and they’re still working with us on a couple of projects.

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

I’m extremely satisfied with the service. From the initial engagement, everyone on EMERGE’s team has been professional and accommodating. They clearly explained their work, and their presentations were spot on in terms of what I’d expected. The team was more than willing to answer any questions we had.

How did EMERGE perform from a project management standpoint?

I was thrilled by their project management. When they lay out a schedule, they’re right on top of it. It’s probably our team that has more difficulty finding time to go over their work. In terms of communication, we use email exchanges and Zoom meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed by their ingenuity.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There should always be something to improve, but I can’t really think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as open and candid as possible. For us and the exercise that we went through, it was really important to air some of our dirty laundry, which people don’t always want to do. But, you can’t fix anything if you’re unwilling to acknowledge what the problems are.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the digital product manager for a not-for-profit health system in the Northwest.

What challenge were you trying to address with EMERGE?

Our company desperately needed a new website. We had actually started a redesign process a year earlier and for various reasons that project was halted on our end. When the process started up again, we wanted to look at the work we already had to see if it could be salvageable for the new project, and then turn whatever we had into an entirely new site for the company.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Early on in the project, we realized that we didn’t really understand what our true needs and challenges were with the website, so we decided to split it up into a phase project with EMERGE. The first phase was to identify what our website needs were, talk to the correct stakeholders to figure out the exact challenges we were trying to address, and then make sure everybody was on the same page with our proposed solution.

They started by sending around a survey to our different company stakeholders, as well as identifying the needs of our website audience. From there, they tied everything they had found together into a presentation of the vision statement for what our transition from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8 would look like.

We just finished phase one and are in the process of kicking off phase two, so they haven’t done any actual work on the site yet, but we’ve gone through a lot of strategy interviews and planning sessions so far. Once we get started, they are going to be handling frontend design and we will do backend development in-house.

What is the team composition?

Jonathan (President & Strategist, EMERGE) and Mandi (Project Manager, EMERGE) have worked pretty closely with us since the beginning, and have pulled in a designer and a UX lead as well. I believe they have 5–6 other people working with them, so in total, I think there are about 10 people on the project.

How did you come to work with EMERGE?

The search and signing process actually took place before my time here, but I believe we were looking at a few different companies originally. EMERGE was actually more on the expensive side, but it came down to the value they could offer and the personality of their company that convinced us that they were the best fit for us.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of the phased project will be close to $400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in September 2019, and it is ongoing. The plan is to finish the redesign by the end of 2020.

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

The whole collaboration has been great so far. Everything that they do ties back to the user experience and how our work will influence that, which is a really useful anchor point for us. I also think one of their strong suits is strategizing and looking at the overall value the project is adding, so they have been really fun to work with so far.

How did EMERGE perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been doing a great job of managing all the work so far. Our project manager sends us weekly status reports, and everyone on their team is always very clear on next steps and timelines for the rest of the project, which is the main reason we feel so confident about going forward with them.

One of the main things I appreciate as well is the general feeling and trust that they’ve inspired in our company about the work that they are doing. It can often be very difficult to get that many different stakeholders on board with a creative project like this one, but they’ve made sure that everybody had a voice in the project and was able to contribute, which has been super helpful.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I would say that the personality of their company is what sets them apart from other agencies the most. They are clearly very down to earth people who really care about what they do. They are interested in solving challenges and are really good at following through on that, which has only reinforced our decision to work with them in the first place.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only hesitation we’ve had throughout the product has been in meetings where we weren’t totally sure what we were getting into, but the usefulness of those has always come out in the end. In our kickoff meeting, for example, we were expecting more housekeeping and specifics, but they ended up doing some creative exercises. That was great for the project in the long run, but perhaps setting a better expectation around those could help the teams align a little better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would highly recommend them. The price tag is worth every penny.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of Trifoia. We develop custom digital learning solutions for organizations.

What challenge were you trying to address with EMERGE?

We needed significant mobile development support for a project we were working on. We did not have the capacity internally to meet the approaching deadline. EMERGE stepped in and took care of our needs.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Our mobile app provides mindfulness training and content. It’s designed for a hesitant demographic who feel mindfulness might conflict with their cultural values. EMERGE worked with my team to set up systems and establish the requirements. Afterward, they developed versions for both iOS and Android. We produced the app’s design, including the branding, images, and all of the content. They then leveraged the underlying technology to deliver these materials into the build.

We’ve gone through multiple iterations and reviews without any bumps in the road. After the fact, we both realized the scope was missing a component, so we added a change order. They got back to us right away with a quote and began working on it after we signed off. The app is still a prototype, but we have a larger project planned for later on. 

What is the team composition? 

Our project manager communicates with Mandi (Producer, EMERGE). Julian (COO/CTO, EMERGE) has resolved scope or bug issues. The main developer is also involved and chimes in when needed. I am sure many other people are writing code behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with EMERGE?

My team alerted me to resource problems that posed internal issues. We couldn’t meet our deadlines if we didn’t get more support. I had my project manager reach out to three companies I knew in Portland and elsewhere to outline the basic scope of our project.

EMERGE was the only company that got right back to us. They had the most competent and competitive proposal. My team indicated they’d like to hire them. I felt very good about the decision based on our past experience together, so we put a contract in place.

How much have you invested in them?

We have invested between $45,000–$60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together on this project since May 2018.

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

EMERGE has done a fantastic job from what I have seen so far. They created a tool that functions as intended. It fulfilled all our expectations and is ready for distribution. EMERGE was also highly responsive about addressing the requirements we'd forgotten. 

At this point, we’re moving into collecting end-user evaluations. They set up every single thing perfectly to collect the data we need to inform the next phase of the project.

How did EMERGE perform from a project management standpoint?

EMERGE performs well from this perspective. There were no problems. They were super flexible with the scope and schedule. My project manager communicates with Mandi at least every other day, if not daily. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

EMERGE’s customer service sets them apart. They are very responsive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The price is expensive, but that’s natural for expedited work that needs to be completed quickly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

EMERGE knows what they are doing, so give them the flexibility to perform their work. Ask the right questions and let them guide the project the way they need to.

While other companies offer lower prices, EMERGE's quality, hassle-free service makes up for the expense. They deliver good quality products as promised within the budget. Their customer service should outweigh concerns anyone has about how much they charge.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing acquisition manager at Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield. We’re a health plan company.

What challenge were you trying to address with EMERGE?

We needed help creating an educational tool and experience. Our web tool helps simplify the decision-making process for people who are turning 65 and need Medicare coverage. We wanted to make healthcare simple with a tool that would give our consumers the answers that they needed. We wanted to contribute to making healthcare more simple by developing a tool that would give our consumers the quick, accurate, and simple answers they needed during this particularly complicated time in their health plan shopping experience.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a custom-built interactive website tool. We had Salesforce integration requirements, lead capture requirements, and wanted a differentiated frontend design.

We started with a thorough discovery session. They interviewed me, several people on my team, and business constituents about the problem that we were trying to solve. There was also a comprehensive background done on our end users, which is the senior audience. This coupled with a competitive analysis of our competitors gave us a good baseline to work with.

Then we had a formal RFP process where we documented what was actually needed, what we hoped for, the timelines, and the fundamental base requirements. From there, they came up with a proposal for the solution and the various steps that we could expect from them.

We did different wireframes to get an idea of how the tool could look, creating different design iterations and mood boards. Once that was approved, we worked on the content and actually built the tool itself. They provided ongoing maintenance, hosting, and some tweaks after launch.

What is the team composition?

There were five people involved at different times, including developers, frontend designers, account management, and QA specialists.

How did you come to work with EMERGE?

From the five that were involved in the RFP process, we narrowed our list down to three, including EMERGE. EMERGE had a good reputation within Portland from their local clients, and they were also pretty active on LinkedIn for their thought leadership. As a result, we decided to move forward with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $110,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April 2016–March 2017.

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

The tool serves as the primary piece of content in our online content strategy to get consumers to engage and interact with us in a meaningful way. It provides all the information they need to make the right decisions.

It also plays a big part in our email campaign, our content marketing campaign, and our social media. The tool generates leads, and we have an integration where we can act on those leads. On our homepage, it’s one of the main resources for relevant, useful content.

How did EMERGE perform from a project management standpoint?

They were really tight, and there were no surprises. Everything was on time and budget, and they were very open and honest. It was a difficult project given the scope of what we were trying to do, but they helped us bring it to completion smoothly.

We had daily communication back and forth to make sure we didn’t miss anything or waste any time in edits or small issues. We also had onsite meetings every couple of weeks. When there was a creative presentation or something big, we’d have onsite meetings and weekly status calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very up to date with their account management, their insight into current and contemporary design aesthetics, and what’s available with trends and browsers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Definitely include them in the RFP process because they have some unique perspectives. They’re a diverse group of people, and they see a lot of different types of clients. If you’re looking to get a fresh viewpoint, they’re great. They’re not too expensive, either; they’re not so big where the overhead fees are high. They’re perfect for nimble, new web projects.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the former senior producer at Hot Studio, an interactive design agency with locations in San Francisco and New York.

What challenge were you trying to address with EMERGE?

At the time, our company didn't have any internal engineers, so we worked with several partners to assist us with development projects for clients.

What was the scope of their involvement?

EMERGE provided development services for clients as needed, which often included web redesign work. For some clients, they built websites using their proprietary CMS, working closely with our design team in the process.

What is the team composition?

We mostly worked directly with the co-founder and head of technology.

How did you come to work with EMERGE?

One of our clients wanted us to collaborate with EMERGE to build their website in 2006. After working with them on that project, we decided to engage them as a partner on other projects based on our positive experience.

How much have you invested with them?

We probably invested around $300,000 in total over the years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on multiple projects with them starting in 2006 until our company was acquired in 2013.

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

EMERGE's work always left our clients happy. Their team not only built high-quality websites but also took the time to educate our clients on how to continue using their CMS. They were quick to fix any bugs or answer any follow-up questions our clients had. Client satisfaction was always at the forefront of their work, which was a good reflection of our company as well.

How did EMERGE perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very hands-on and responsive in every project. Compared to other vendors I've worked with, EMERGE was the most transparent and realistic about their timelines. I also appreciated how they were able to explain the elements of their work in layman's terms and very respectful in communications. While we mostly communicated through email and phone, we also tracked projects through Basecamp.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were authentic, thoughtful, and produced high-quality work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They did a great job on all the web development projects they worked on. We only had to start engaging other vendors as we developed more of a need for mobile app development projects, which were outside of their expertise.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They're great business strategists, so I would suggest leaning on them for any advice when it comes to organizational, development, and team-building opportunities. They're good at rallying groups of people to make decisions collaboratively.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a technology program manager at CDK Global. We’re a leader in automating business process for auto dealerships, providing a variety of solutions. We have a big presence in the US and globally. My particular program involves development of a new product that represents a modernization of the dealer management system.

What challenge were you trying to address with EMERGE?

We have a new application that we're quickly getting into the market and wanted to fast-track usability improvements for our customers. We identified a number of critical usability issues and contracted with EMERGE to help us remedy those issues.

What was the scope of their involvement?

EMERGE is refactoring and improving a number of application components. EMERGE is leveling the user experience across our application, enabling a consistent experience. They utilize specifications from our UX team and product managers to implement better versions of our components for reuse. They demo new functionality to our stakeholders for feedback and approval.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact's Julian (Co-Founder, COO, and CTO, EMERGE). We also work with Mandi (Producer, EMERGE) who’s our project manager as well as Django (Director of Technology and Principal Solutions Architect, EMERGE).

How did you come to work with EMERGE?

We found a list of local Portland vendors that had expertise in frontend work but some of the vendors also had backend expertise. EMERGE was one of the vendors that had end-to-end expertise. I screened a number of service providers with the same criteria utilizing our frontend developers in the interviews. We screened them on criteria such as an ability to work with us, the maturity of their process and skillsets, and technical expertise with toolsets that we use. EMERGE scored at the top. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $600,000 with EMERGE.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in mid-October 2019 and will be concluding in early 2020.

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

We’re satisfied with their work, which is really high-quality. They have really good code quality. As our development managers and developers review their code, I hear a lot of compliments about its quality. Their team manages the workload professionally. 

How did EMERGE perform from a project management standpoint?

They work hand-in-hand with our team members and come on-site to get good traction occasionally. Their team works in our environments and with our tools. We use JIRA and they maintain their own JIRA project. We also use Confluence. Their team created a confluence page that’s integrated with JIRA to outline all of their work and track progress. It’s a nice way to share the progress and work on requirements with them. We also use Slack for quick communication. They’re responsive and professional. Their team manages their work carefully so it’s well organized.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Aside from the quality of their work, I’m impressed that they're able to change course. As we brought them on, we foisted several challenges on them.  We didn’t have our environment ready for them, so that was delayed. Some of the early requirements that we gave them weren’t ready and there were some requirements that were inaccurate. Their team rolled with it. They’re positive and always looking to satisfy the customer. Their team continues to deliver reliably and with a strong sense of customer orientation.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m struggling to come up with something for them to improve. They’ve done a good job in this regard, but I encourage them to continue to reach out to our developers and product managers to make sure that their work isn’t slowed down by a lack of requirements.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

This goes for anybody: Make sure that your requirements are well-ordered and well-vetted before entering a statement of work. Also, make sure that all stakeholders including development teams, product managers, and architects are onboard with requirements.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior director of global products and solutions for the Wacom Technology Corp.

What challenge were you trying to address with EMERGE?

We were bifurcating a well-known product used by industry professionals to launch a consumer version. This required us to rebrand our core product line and correctly communicate information to our target market, while also differentiating the two products. We hired EMERGE to assist our digital communication efforts by creating product pages for our global website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we collaborated with Jonathon (CEO, EMERGE) and various members of his team to scope out the project. Then, they started developing the product pages for our company website. Scheduling around a product launch that involves translating copy into 14 different languages yields a tight timeline. The rebranding aspect required close collaboration to find effective visuals and to take our messaging content in new directions while developing impactful copy. This required a lot of internal oversight, so their project manager gave me the background information that informed their decisions. I’d present their creative deliverables to our executive stakeholders for approval.

We’d hold regular meetings with them, sometimes three or four times a day, to review images, creative decisions, and strategic direction. As with any project, we experienced ups and downs like not getting administrative approval on something or having to make significant changes to design elements. EMERGE was able to maneuver through that process and complete the project on schedule.

What is the team composition?

In addition to Jonathon, we interacted with a project manager, their creative director, and at least two other resources. Once development began, the primary working team consisted of three people.

How did you come to work with EMERGE?

This was our first project with EMERGE. Johnathon was introduced to me by a colleague who’d worked with him in the past. Once the rebranding project started, we requested bids from creative agencies based in the U.S and considered several different firms. Ultimately, we appreciated the thoroughness of EMERGE’s proposal the most. Not only was it strategic, but it was creative and specified deliverables, timelines, and pricing. Hiring them was an easy decision.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project took place from April 2014–March 2015.

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

Marketing to consumers requires a different approach than marketing to professionals. EMERGE was able to overcome this challenge and display our products in a way that resonates with consumers on an emotional level. The new pages received positive feedback and were imperative in differentiating the two product lines during the branding transition.

How did EMERGE perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re one of the better agencies I’ve worked with in terms of completing tasks on time and within budget. We primarily communicated via phone and used Skype for video conferences. Our conversations were always honest and productive. Overall, their managerial staff performed excellently.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team at EMERGE listens. They came up with unique ways to demonstrate the attributes of our products while communicating the benefits of each one. The visual solutions they designed made our pages more effective. Genuinely high-level thinkers, they were able to develop a strategy and execute it efficiently.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Technically, we couldn’t fully implement their vision into the limitations of Sitecore. We were simultaneously relaunching our website, so that created a lapse in understanding of what our platform was capable of doing. As a result, both parties spent too much time considering technology that wasn’t possible for us to implement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re a highly reliable and creative firm with a great strategic perspective. I’d hire them in the future because of the effective outcomes their digital content generated and the overall value they brought to our project.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

At the time that I was working with Emerge Interactive, I was the VP of VTM Group. We provide our clients with management services such as financial administration, event management, and HR solutions.

What challenge were you trying to address with Emerge Interactive?

We used them for various marketing and interactive projects.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided a variety of services, from creative to design and coding. They also executed all of our digital ad campaigns. When we brought them in, we were trying to use digital marketing to grow our client base and generate additional referral traffic. In addition, they helped us provide targeted marketing to existing customers in order to interest them in new services as our brand expanded.

Aside from that, members of the Emerge team collaborated with in-house staff on some web design projects and web app development that we offered to specific client organizations. We’d work with them on the creative briefs, but after that, they handled all the execution. Emerge’s team also helped develop user tools and online forms for us. In addition, they occasionally stepped in to take over projects for our clients if they’d had a bad experience with a third-party vendor.

What is the team composition?

We probably worked with 10 to 15 of their employees over the course of our collaboration.

How did you come to work with Emerge Interactive?

I was introduced to their founders by a mutual friend back when they were still a new company.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $30,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I worked with them at VTM from 2006 until I left in December 2010.

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

Our clients were consistently impressed with the sophistication of the websites Emerge delivered.  Their professionalism and reliability went a long way toward making our collaborations successful.

How did Emerge Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team members are very creative. They’re able to translate even your wildest ideas into something that’s both plausible and innovative. I also appreciated how they drew on their experience doing campaigns for other clients to make suggestions about strategies that might be successful or a good fit for our needs.

In terms of day-to-day needs, we primarily communicated by phone and email, but we also held in-person reviews.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re definitely thought leaders. Part of what you’re buying when you hire their team is the fact that they’re deeply engaged in what's happening next for digital media. They’re experts in connecting to customers through that medium, so I consider them anytime I have a high-visibility, highly technical project for myself or a client.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Early on in their business, there were times I’d bring them a project that didn’t really suit their strengths and they weren’t good about saying no. They’ve definitely refined that process over time as the company’s expanded and gained more experience. They bring a level of talent and sophistication that’s best for clients with a high level of expectation and the room to budget accordingly.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Viridian Wood. Our company makes flooring, paneling, and tables from sustainable wood for commercial interiors.

What challenge were you trying to address with EMERGE?

We used QuickBooks Enterprise, Salesforce, a homegrown ERP, and a Microsoft Access database for inventory. We had all these disparate products that didn’t talk to each other and approached EMERGE to create a better system that would allow us to have e-commerce capabilities.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We reviewed our current software and business workflows together to understand all the steps in our processes. Their team created a visual map for us after many sessions with our team during which we discussed the usage of our systems, the locations of data, and any database integrations.  

We reviewed our sales process and envisioned what it could be. Their team created blueprints for touchpoints that would provide customers with good service. Those blueprints included what would need to happen in the backend.

Their team provided options for a couple of different solutions. We decided to pursue a full ERP system transition with the company that supports our ERP. EMERGE still works on the e-commerce integrations, which involves custom development and Shopify.

What is the team composition?

I directly work with John (Founder & CEO). My team worked with other people on the EMERGE team too.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $25,000–$30,000 on their services so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in April 2019, and it’s ongoing.

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

They gave us a detailed flow chart that included all of our systems and processes that we weren’t able to create ourselves. It illuminated the necessary changes and solutions that would meet all of our different requirements. The tangible deliverable was a great service flow map and then a strategy for implementation.

How did EMERGE perform from a project management standpoint?

During the initial phase of the project, we were the ones that held up the show. Their team is timely. They’re great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I loved the way EMERGE facilitated our workflow meetings because they enabled my employees to answer honestly. The meetings were about delivering the best customer experience and not about the past. Their team clearly explained our objectives and facilitated the meetings in a way that lead us to a solution.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they did exactly what they set out to do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When they pitched the service map and blueprinting process, I thought it was ancillary to the core of the project. However, it was critical work. Trust the process to achieve the best results.