Fabrity Commerce (formerly Panda Group)

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of qoliber

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We specialize in Magento Open Source, providing tailored e-commerce solutions that enhance performance and drive success.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Panda Group to accomplish?

• Panda Group’s contribution was focused on UX/UI design and web design, which greatly enhanced the extension’s appeal.
• Their creative input helped produce a product that was not only functional but also user-centric.

SOLUTION

How did you find Panda Group?

Referral

Why did you select Panda Group over others?

• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Panda Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Panda Group’s creative frontend development added significant value to the project. Their ability to understand user behavior and translate it into a visually engaging and highly functional interface was impressive. The collaboration was efficient, and their attention to detail ensured the frontend perfectly complemented our backend work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Magento, enhanced by Hyva Themes and Checkout, proved to be the perfect platform for this project. Panda Group's frontend expertise was instrumental in optimizing it for a seamless user experience and robust performance. Their meticulous attention to detail and deep understanding of the platform's capabilities were crucial to the extension's success. Additionally, Hyva significantly accelerated the time to market, making it twice as fast.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Panda Group delivered the frontend development on time, meeting the deadline between December 2023 and March 2024. Their structured approach and excellent time management ensured the project stayed on track.

What was your primary form of communication with Panda Group?

In-Person Meeting

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

Panda Group’s contribution was focused on UX/UI design and web design, which greatly enhanced the extension’s appeal. Their creative input helped produce a product that was not only functional but also user-centric.

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

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am a Project Manager at MyBudapester.com

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We offer a wide range of stylish and exclusive footwear from top luxury brands, available for purchase online.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Panda Group to accomplish?

• Our goal is to maintain and develop a complex eCommerce store with many custom features.
• We need a savvy and skillful developers to run the store smoothly.
• Our goal was to implement a new payment method which is apple pay payments.

SOLUTION

How did you find Panda Group?

Referral

Why did you select Panda Group over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Panda Group were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Panda Group is our esteemed Technology Partner, and the scope of our collaboration is vast. We cater to both small and large-scale on-site frontend improvements, meticulously crafting a visually stunning platform to showcase premium products. Additionally, we diligently work on enhancing SEO strategies to boost visibility across search engines. 

A paramount focus lies on optimizing the UX and overall customer experience, exemplified by the recent implementation of new payment methods like Apple Pay. Moreover, with their immense expertise, Panda Group diligently supports us in integration analysis, making them an invaluable partners in resolving complex issues.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We value the implementation of Apple Pay, as it exceeds our clients' expectations and enhances sales, not only in the US but also globally. Moreover, the recent SEO enhancements have resulted in a surge in both website traffic and customer engagement e.g. automated tax and duty calculations on the price list.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The project is overseen by a highly dedicated and focused Project Manager, ensuring adherence to the project scope. In order to achieve results, we communicate any issues on a daily basis and provide updates within clear timelines. The Panda Team effectively implements Agile Scrum methodology to drive progress on the projects. With their expertise, they excel in their pursuit of project success.

What was your primary form of communication with Panda Group?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The Panda Group comprises not only a team of technology experts, but also adept communicators. They foster a friendly atmosphere in our daily interactions and exhibit a deep understanding of our business goals. Demonstrating genuine care for our business results, they generously share their knowledge, continuously educating and enhancing our expertise in tech stack optimization, all while considering our unique circumstances and future prospects.

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

Nothing in particular

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the SEO Strategist of a digital  marketing agency

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We aid businesses in solving digital challenges and transforming them into marketing strategies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Panda Group to accomplish?

• As a Digital Marketiing Team we lack of development skill and this is what we needed to accomplish marketing tasks for our clients operating Magento e-commerces.
• Panda Group’s Developers accomplish precise tasks focused on SEO and CRO. We focus on onsite changes and page optimisations to increase sales in Magento e-Comemrce.
• Panda also supports us in integrating third party tools and services e.g. GA4, Klaviyo, Yotpo.

SOLUTION

How did you find Panda Group?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select Panda Group over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Panda Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Our ongoing collaboration with Panda Group is currently focused on two projects. Both clients share a common objective - increasing sales. The first step involves gathering knowledge about the clients and their respective markets. Each country or region has its own unique characteristics, such as preferred payment methods. Panda Group assisted us in this phase by providing technical data about the stores and their specific requirements. 

The second step involves SEO and CRO, which necessitate on-site changes that were expertly handled by Panda Group. They always swiftly implemented our suggestions. Effective communication played a vital role throughout the project. In this aspect, we could always rely on Panda Group. They were consistently available when needed, and we received updates on a daily or weekly basis, depending on our requirements.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The initial achievement we observed was a notable increase in traffic, accompanied by a noteworthy enhancement in Core Web Vitals measures, indicating an improved user experience. The secondary achievement involves a surge in sales, courtesy of Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The project is managed by Project Manager who is very dedicated and focused on the project scope. To achieve the results we communicate issues on daily basis and show progress on legible timelines. The schedule predictions were modified only because the project scope changed as the Panda team is flexible in this matter. Agile scrum methodology was used effectively to meet the individual requirements of the client.

What was your primary form of communication with Panda Group?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Panda Group is a really friendly team of developers. They focus on client’s business goals and deliver not only service but also educates clients in the technology issues to compose the best tech stack in the particular situation taking into consideration the future perspective.

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

No :)

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the eCommerce Manager of Postal Steel Group Polska Sp. z o.o.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Postal has made a name for itself as a supplier of top-quality metal products. During the thirty years of our work, we have created eight significant brands - under their banner, we offer more than 4,000 products. Steel and wrought iron components, accessories for gates and fences, tools, gate drives, as well as items for the home and garden - you will find all this in our offer.

Instant shipment of goods, safe transport and our own warehouse make us active in more than thirty European countries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Panda Group to accomplish?

• Separation of B2B customers from the B2C platform
• Implementation of the new version of the online store Bonmario.com

SOLUTION

How did you find Panda Group?

Online Search

Why did you select Panda Group over others?

• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

What was the size of Panda Group’s team?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The scope was Magento 2 upgrade to the newest Magento version. At this point, we revised so far used features and migrated the ones we really needed and developed new functionalities suitable for the present business situation. The technology we used predicts a few years in advance perspectives of business scaling up.

To catch up with the newest trends and even to become a trend setter with future perspective we also redesigned the frontend with Hyvä Themes for better performance and user experience.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Separation of B2B and B2C platforms
• Improve the performance and speed of the platform
• Stabilize platform operations

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Project management is very much business oriented and transparent. Our needs were always faced with several possible technical solutions adjustable to our individual situation. They do not only manage but also consult and give advice, and are aware of pros and cons of every solution. We worked with a stable and dedicated team consisting of frontend developers, backend developers, QA and Project management. We consider them a highly qualified experts.

What was your primary form of communication with Panda Group?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They were highly involved in the project details and flexible in priority changes. The whole process is transparent. We participated in every stage of the project pointing out the crucial issues from the business perspective, and we always could find the best solution respecting all requirements. They are fond of testing and making conclusions on which it was easier to take right decisions.

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

It's hard to say. We assess the cooperation as good , we do not know how a change in the schedule could affect the work on the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm Head of Center of Excellence in my company. We're one of the world biggest Digital Experience Agencies providing development and consulting services to our clients in around 15 locations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were looking for dedicated developers to join our projects. The main challenge was to get those developers ASAP to start working on our project. Project itself was for a big ecommerce vendor in Europe, Headless Magento setup with PWAS component.

SOLUTION

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

We were selecting CVs from different SIs and Panda Group was selected as one of the most interesting partners according to the interview results which we got.

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

As I've wrote already we were hiring dedicated developers from Panda Group. After the interviewing process, developers were allocated to our project and after the onboarding process they were included to our normal SDLC.

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

2 persons, BE and FE/PWA Magento developers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're happy about our collaboration and we had (have) no issues with Panda's team members. Everything is smooth and professional.

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

They were able to provide enough flexibility and give us to guide Panda's developers.

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

Amazing people! It is nice to work with each individual from Panda Group.

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

Provide us more developers! We're constantly asking :)

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an e-commerce director at Upper 90 Soccer. We’re a retailer specializing in soccer products like shoes, apparel, and equipment. Our company has a couple of brick-and-mortar stores in New York City as well as an e-commerce store, which I’m responsible for. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Panda Group?

Our company’s e-commerce store wasn’t converting very well and wasn’t bringing in much revenue. The challenge was to build up our online presence and develop the online store, as well as improve on all of our important metrics. 

We decided to find a company that could handle all of our needs in terms of choosing the right solutions for our e-commerce business, modifying the front- and backend of the site, and integrating with third-party services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Panda Group developed our e-commerce platform in Magento. Most of the projects were funneled into the e-commerce site in one way or another. They also handle some other smaller projects for us, including a WordPress-based blog site. The team is responsible for all of our server infrastructures, including migrations from one provider to another and the setup of server maintenance optimizations. 

One of the major projects was a complete website redesign — including desktop and mobile sites — that took a couple of months. 

For the frontend of the site, Panda Group optimized site speed and remedied performance bottlenecks. This included improving the code on multiple pages of the website. For the backend, we worked on Magento modules while Panda Group provided some advice in terms of what might work best. They worked with our particular ecosystem, installing and modifying this module. 

Another major project was integration with our warehouse systems. We have multiple brick-and-mortar stores that have their own inventory and other warehouses.  They were all disconnected and we could only put so much online. The challenge was to bring them all together, and that involved connecting Magento into a warehouse system. 

We also needed more sophisticated reports for us to optimize and improve performance. Custom features were developed for security-related modifications, as well as a good amount of integration with third-party solutions like email service providers. 

What is the team composition?

We initially worked directly with two or three developers at a time and with one of the company founders. Now, the team is changing as they grow. We currently have a project manager that is assigned to our account. I still have direct contact with developers if needed. 

How did you come to work with Panda Group?

I was looking for a freelance developer and wasn’t even considering an agency. Then, I found a developer on UpWork and contacted the person. It turned out that they were starting a company and there was more than one person available to work for us. We started out with small projects with Panda Group, and then we renegotiated the terms and got a feel of what they are capable of. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $1.6 million–$1.8 million over seven years. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Panda Group in October 2013 and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Panda Group is extremely knowledgeable. I was always impressed with their expertise and what they could handle — just about anything. Some of the projects were very complex, but they carried them out smoothly, always on time, and on budget. 

How did Panda Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very responsive and we didn’t have any slippage in terms of major projects. When something unexpected comes up, they would respond immediately even though there’s a time difference. 

We’re located in New York and they’re located in Poland, but if there’s something critical or urgent, somebody would pick up the task and get down to it. That’s not something you typically get from an agency; you sometimes have to wait a couple of days. 

Panda Group gave us a completely different experience and it was very impressive. They’re extremely knowledgeable and responsive, and they go above and beyond when it comes to critical things that we need to do urgently. They get it done and everything is carried out within deadlines. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They specialize 100% in Magento development. I’ve seen agencies that do a little bit of everything, but they’re not really masters of anything in particular. However, Panda Group knows Magento inside and out. There’s really not a single Magento task they couldn’t handle. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Panda Group could expand their services to platforms other than Magento. For instance, even though we mostly work with Magento, we have a couple of stores that could be developed via Shopify. It would be great if they could find somebody within their company that could specialize in this platform. Otherwise, we would have to look for other partners. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s really important to define the scope of the project from the start, so there’s a clear understanding of what will be and what will not be done within the time and budget. That’s a typical problem when you work with agencies, and there are misunderstandings that come with that. If you could create a detailed scope from the get-go, everybody is going to be satisfied. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of digital for a manufacturing company. I head up the e-commerce, website and digital delivery, online marketing, and CRM.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Panda Group?

We needed a new platform for our e-commerce site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did a gap analysis of each individual asset in the market to determine what content we lacked, what needed to be migrated, and so on. From there, they migrated content from the old website, merging it into the new design on the platform.

They used Commerce Cloud and common technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. We taught them our backend, as well. They ran some AB testing projects and built different tests for different audiences to see which performed the best.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 8–10 people, including a project manager and senior resources on the front- and backend. 

How did you come to work with Panda Group?

I had worked with them previously.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between €75,000–€100,000 (approximately $89,000 - $118,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November 2016–May 2019. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re a really good company. They have good business ethics and are very knowledgeable. Overall, I’m very pleased to have worked with them.

How did Panda Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was above average; we were very happy with it. Communication was very clear and easy. We used Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated that they were down to earth, worked one-on-one with us, and offered easy communication. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have anything to complain about.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s great if you have a technical person on your side working with them. They really like to show the customer the work, and be engaged directly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of an electronics retailer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Panda Group?

We were on an e-commerce platform that was being shut down, and we needed assistance moving to a new one.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us migrate to a new platform. First, they looked at our needs and transferring the data for us. Then, they looked at the UI on the site and worked to make sure it was compliant with various web standards. Next, they deployed security patches and launched new features with us. Since then, they’ve been providing maintenance, security, and support.

What is the team composition?

I work with Szymon (CEO & Co-founder). There are probably 3-4 others that we deal with.

How did you come to work with Panda Group?

I found them through a freelancing platform. We ended up working directly with them for a significant period of the time we’ve dealt with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2015, and the engagement is ongoing.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our revenue is up over 100% from our first year to our fifth year together.

How did Panda Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They communicated well. We have a ticketing system that’s very satisfactory.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team was honest with us when we looked at solutions that proved to be too complicated or very expensive to fix. They felt the marginal gains that we would get by going down the custom development route vs the cost wasn’t a good return on investment. They were quite informative and warned us when we were incurring costs when we didn’t need to.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The few problems we had, came down to a bit of a language barrier. That’s a problem that happens around the world, though, even with other English-speaking countries with different phraseology. We’ve only had 1–2 misunderstandings over the course of five years.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a retail company. We specialize in children’s furniture and accessories.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Panda Group?

We engaged Panda Group as a development partner for our Magento-based web store.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Panda Group took over maintenance for our existing store. They’ve also built new websites for Holland and France. They developed a brand-new user interface as well as many new functionalities for our stores.  

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with the owner at first. Over time, the team has grown and evolved to meet our needs.

How did you come to work with Panda Group?

They were recommended to me, so I reached out to Panda Group’s owner and was impressed with our conversation.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend €2,500 (approximately $2,800 USD) per month on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2015, and the partnership is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our web stores experience minimal downtime. Panda Group is a highly stable developer partner, and they have contributed to our company’s growth.

How did Panda Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was lacking at the beginning. However, now they can efficiently manage our more complex projects and stay within our timeline and budget. We’re satisfied with our cooperation.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Panda Group is exceptionally responsive, which is very important to us. We use a ticket system to address issues. If we note that a request is urgent, Panda Group replies within just a few minutes. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re happy with our partnership, and we hope they maintain their high quality and level of service going forward.

Any advice for potential customers?

I’d definitely recommend Panda Group for any project concerning Magento development.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Big Berkey Water Filters. We install gravity water filtration systems for homes and sometimes businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Panda Group?

We needed help in improving our website’s UX from entry all the way to checkout. We also wanted to improve its look and make it faster.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Panda Group has done everything for us. There were times when I provided them with designs that I had created with someone else, but they also do design work. They’d often take those designs and make it work better with our website’s Magento backend. Furthermore, they worked on the website’s UX.

If a customer runs into something on a product page that is confusing, Panda Group is able to provide a solution, whether it is on how to make popups better or ways to automatically show different options to customers. It’s important to us that users aren’t slowed down in the learning process of the site. Panda Group has been crucial in ramping up a user’s journey with their design changes.

Additionally, they created a water filter calculator that helps people choose which water filter system to buy based on a step-by-step process that analyzes various household factors. Over the last year, our work with them has increased. From a competitive standpoint, I’ve been trying to keep the site up to date as much as possible, and am giving Panda Group projects at least once a week that take anywhere from two to 15 hours.

What is the team composition?

I work with four to five people, who are all of top quality.

How did you come to work with Panda Group?

I found them on Upwork.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent $55,000 on their services so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2014 and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I often get feedback from customers saying that our website was the easiest to navigate and learn from, which is why they made a purchase from our site rather than our competitors. It validates our belief of always tweaking and making improvements to the website because clients are always comparing you to a competitor.

How did Panda Group perform from a project management standpoint?

I always feel well tended to. They tell me who’s going to be handling what task, and I always hear back from them relatively soon with updates. They’re probably the fourth development group I’ve worked with and are the best by far. I often send emails on the things that I need to be done and the specialist in whatever area I need help in is who responds to me.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Panda Group is a client-centric company. They make sure clients know where things are in the pipeline and how long they’re going to take, as well as the risks and benefits compared to the cost. They’re also reasonably priced, which is hard to find in this space.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend them to anyone. They’re great across the board.