Engineer ROI

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a medical training and marketing company that specializes in hormone balancing for men and women. We train practitioners in various methods of balancing hormones, primarily using testosterone and oestradiol pellets. We support practitioners on an ongoing basis in their marketing efforts to bring new patients in and expand their practices.

What challenge were you trying to address with Engineer ROI?

We needed a partner to develop our operating system.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Engineer ROI developed our primary operating system, which is the hub of our entire operation. Their team built the product to serve our three sets of users. For corporate users, the system manages inventory and financial processes such as accounting. Since we sell products, the platform handles distribution and includes an online ordering component. For our sales representatives, the system allows them to look at participating practices and monitor their performance. Engineer ROI built the system to enable sales reps to troubleshoot any issues and help practices in the order process. Engineer ROI also built functions to support practices and practitioners, who report to us on a regular basis about how many procedures occurred through the system. This enables them to access statistical information. They also use the platform to order both prescriptive and supplemental products as well as marketing materials. Practices can also order medical equipment through the system. Engineer ROI also developed a full commissioning system for our sales reps.

What is the team composition?

Our primary point of contact was Shaun (President, Engineer ROI).

How did you come to work with Engineer ROI?

Our CEO of the company met Shaun. We had a need at one point in time to develop a website that allows a practitioner to capture information related to a patient. Then, the product would recommend a dosage for testosterone and oestradiol. That’s why we originally connected with Engineer ROI.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent probably $300,000–$500,000 with Engineer ROI.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Engineer ROI in 2018 and the relationship’s ongoing.

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

We always solicit feedback from the various user groups, providing formal and informal surveys to get ideas for improvements. Our corporate team's the primary user, but I also ask for feedback from sales reps as well as practitioners.

How did Engineer ROI perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re structured, which I appreciate because of the system’s complexity. The platform includes a large database and a lot of interactions. If the development process wasn’t well controlled, the product would have a lot of issues growing. We spent a lot of time developing the infrastructure for development so that we can have predictable releases of enhancements. Their team rolls out well-tested advancements that experience minimal issues upon release. The process's a significant effort, but it pays off in the long run.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have rock-solid communication both formally and informally. Overall, I’ve been pleased with their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There's nothing of significance to mention. When we’ve had issues, it’s been one with communication that Shaun and I resolved. We figured out better ways to make sure that we had the same proprieties, which was something that we should’ve done at the beginning of the project. We have predictable communications and releases, so we’re in good shape at this stage.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do the homework upfront. Have an infrastructure in place going into the engagement. Make sure there’s a thorough understanding of the short-term and long-term vision.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Vinfo. We provide a picture-messaging platform specifically for vehicles. It’s designed to help automotive shoppers on third-party sites reach dealerships most easily by providing a compelling picture-messaging platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with Engineer ROI?

We needed a partner to build the platform not just from a development standpoint but also from a strategic one.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Engineer ROI built our platform, which was deployed in AWS. They provided rough design sketches but focused more on the product's functionality. The core application driver was done in Django and the backend in MySQL. They built code to process data feeds from car dealerships. The platform takes that data feed and creates keywords, which are unique to the dealership and the vehicle. Automatically added by the dealership, an action-text will be sent. The platform isn’t necessarily web or mobile, but text messaging is the core component. Their team also developed a portal for dealerships to log in and manage information using View.

What is the team composition?

We’ve interacted with Shaun (President, Engineer ROI) primarily. We’ve had other people involved in conversations but needed a single contact.

How did you come to work with Engineer ROI?

I put out a bid, which Engineer ROI responded to compellingly. When we met, Shaun and I jived. 

How much have you invested with them?

Typically, we’ve spent between $15,000–$20,000 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We had our first conversation in 2018 and continue working together.

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

From a customer standpoint, what’s really compelling about the app is that it’s super fast. It had to be because that’s part of the shopping experience. People expect immediacy. Typically, when a user texts, they’ll get a response within 20–30 seconds. It’s really a highly performant app.

How did Engineer ROI perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve used Slack and phone calls primarily. Engineer ROI has always been available and responsive. If there’s an issue, I don’t have to track people down. The collaboration has been seamless. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Engineer ROI has continued to be available. People can just disappear and there’s not a whole lot you can do about it, which is one reason people don’t like doing work with agencies overseas. Being responsive seems to be the easiest thing in the world. Surprisingly, a lot of companies don’t operate that way.

We’re comfortable providing Engineer ROI with independence. I’m not worried when I test their work. If I ask their team to push a product, I don't worry that it's broken or flawed. Consistently, their work has tested well.  We don’t get buggy code. What’s really helpful is that they’ll say when a design isn’t worth the effort and suggest different approaches.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing I can think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

At the beginning of a project, a lot of development teams don’t define the scope adequately. In general, the more detailed you can be when describing the expected outcome of a project to a development team, the more successful they can be. I’ve learned to give Engineer ROI an outcome I want and let them run with it. Let experts be experts.