Forbytes

Please describe your company and your position there.

We manufacture premium shirts for consumers all over the world. Founded in 1899 we have been around for 121 years. We have a large number of retailers that sell our shirts and custom-made shirt. I am the chief technology officer.

For what projects/services did your company hire Forbytes?

We had a manual process starting with the measurement of a client in the shops, entering measures on a paper form that was faxed to us. We had poor data input and it was time consuming to reach out to customers when information was missing on the form or a fabric sold out and so on.

If we were going to grow the business, we needed to get digital already out in the shops.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to implement as many manual business rules as possible when going digital. Transforming common sense to data entry in a form was challenging but necessary. The goal is to double the number of shirts produced per week by getting the right information on time and get rid of all manual tasks related to producing a custom-made shirt.

How did you select this vendor?

Several companies were considered both in Sweden and abroad. We had a simple matrix with points scoring on different aspects that was important to us. Price, knowledge, track record etc.

We were a small group considering these factors and then approching the current vendor of the website and e-commerce as well as the company doing lot of our integrations etc in the ERP

Eventually, we decided to go with Forbytes as there price/performance was the overall best and Forbytes had the different skills needed for the project within the same company, which we think was a great plus.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We started with a furogh discovery phase where people from Forbytes came to us for a week or so, learning our business and digging deep into all possible aspects of what we wanted to do. The result was a fairly detailed spec over the project with requirements, suggested workpackages, delivery dates and so on that gave us a good understanding of time consumption, and total cost and when we could have a delivered solution.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

We have removed several time-consuming manual steps from the process and thereby increased speed, quality and amount of shirts possible, per week.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had project meetings over teams every week and in between on issues and questions.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I would say that the dedication from Forbytes in solving our problems and trying to understand our needs is very impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Sometimes we had difficulties in understanding in the team when it was good enough. I mean, maybe all test cases dont have to go well even if we initially decided what was a success. Then later when we realised it does not matter we ended up in beeing  questioned if we where ready or not because of this. In the ned its our decission anyway so its generally good but needs to be balanced.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of an e-commerce company that sells posters and frames.

What challenge were you trying to address with Forbytes?

To remain efficient, we built a lot of different platforms within the company. We made an internal platform to automate various tasks for our employees within the company. There’s also an e-commerce system and an actual webshop. We needed more developers to help with development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Forbytes worked mostly with the internal systems, which are built with PHP and use Laravel as the framework. They’ve also been making the frontend with HTML and JavaScript along with a Vue.js framework.

What is the team composition?

The team included one backend and one frontend developer.

How did you come to work with Forbytes?

Our CEO had some experience with their team. Compared to other companies we were considering, I received the best impression from Forbytes.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $50,000–$199,999.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Forbytes began in May 2019.

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

Forbytes played a key role in our company growth. Their team has been building components to help our business grow. In the beginning, they were focused on statistics and business intelligence to create tools that would speed up processes within our company. The results are great.

How did Forbytes perform from a project management standpoint?

At the start of the collaboration, we integrated the developers into our internal project management system and workflow. We treat them as employees. Along with their professionalism, their account manager and developers have excellent communication skills.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Along with the ease of communication, their team understands the importance of meeting business needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything has been running smoothly so far.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of The African Touch manufacturers of high end furniture

For what projects/services did your company hire Forbytes?

Advisory service on how to improve our e-commerce web site

What were your goals for this project?

To understand e-commerce and WordPress, and to utilise that understanding to improve our web user experience, conversion rates from the web site, improve SEO. The training greatly assisted in helping me understand the admin side of WordPress and WooCommerce.

How did you select this vendor?

Recommendation from a mutual contact

Describe the project in detail.

Forbytes gave me advice on working with my current supplier to improve my results for online sales. They also provided web administration training and aided in learning how to improve performance of the website. They did excellent UI/UX wireframes for us to consider and get implemented by our existing supplier and gave feedback and advice on how to use photography

What was the team composition?

Project Management advice from CEO. UI/UX expert, SEO expert, Marketing expert. 4 from Forbytes, 3 from The African Touch

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Prior to this advice we were not getting enquiries from the web site. We are now getting regular orders

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had daily contact in the first month and then regular contact whenever required thereafter. The Forbytes team responded quickly and efficiently whenever we needed advice.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Forbytes provided quick, friendly, and efficient service. They managed the project through Jira to ensure the improvements were done timeously and properly.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No we feel everything was done efficiently

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the e-commerce manager at Motorsweden/Swebike, part of North European Trust AB. We sell mopeds, scooters, dirt bikes, and ATVs online.

What challenge were you trying to address with Forbytes?

Our company has four Magento sites in Sweden, Finland, and Norway. My team needed help with multiple Magento developments.

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

Although the project is ongoing, we expect great results from this incredible collaboration. Forbytes has provided a highly capable team and skilled developers.

How did Forbytes perform from a project management standpoint?

Forbytes has established strong project management. Their entire team is knowledgeable about appropriate processes and project expectations.

We utilize Jira and Slack.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our contact at Forbytes has been supportive and accommodating. The team has taken the time to understand our business and values. Their project management has been on point.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I cannot think of anywhere they can improve.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CIO of SOVA. We are a retail company that sells beds in 26 stores.

What challenge were you trying to address with Forbytes?

The beds we sell contain many different SKUs. We needed help with the development of a database.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built a database in .NET for the backend. They have two sets of price structures: one that is a regular, project-based structure and one where you outsource your department.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two developers and one part-time project manager.

How did you come to work with Forbytes?

They were recommended to me by someone who had worked with them. We gave them a try, and they understood the business well.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent between $90,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in May 2018, and it’s an ongoing project.

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

We now have better control of our articles and prices. 

How did Forbytes perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve been using Confluence and Jira for project management, in addition to GitHub for the source code. We’ve been pleased with their communication as well as their ability to meet deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Forbytes doesn’t just build a system; they want to understand how we are going to use the system. They ask questions about how it is supposed to work, and they want to have a clear picture of what is going to be done. They also challenge our ideas. It’s a great collaboration to be in.

They are quite direct and strict about communication, which is great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I can think of.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Offerta is a Swedish marketplace where we provide consumers the option to acquire or find companies for services like cleaning, moving, etc.

What challenge were you trying to address with Forbytes?

We’ve been in a big product development expansion for the last 12 months. We wanted to build a new type of marketplace for services and needed good developers to support our team.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The core platform is a .NET platform. We work with Azure service hosting and use their service CAL [client access licenses] report for workers, and Forbytes helped us set this up.

What is the team dynamic?

We have 3 developers working full time, who are part of our core development team. Forbytes has a strong process-oriented way of leading the company, with good respect for themselves and their managers. There's a certain level of trust you get with so many of their developers having worked there for many years. They made a choice not to become too big but build slowly on more qualified people, which is paying off.

How did you come to work with Forbytes?

I’ve known them for many years. My primary contact was Don [CEO, Forbytes]. They're a little more expensive than most external companies, but they have good developers and a good culture.

How much have you invested with them?

$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2016 and the work is ongoing.

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

We have bi-weekly evaluations of the quality, cultural fit, speed, and product services. They work at a slightly lower productivity than our in-house developers, which is good when you work distributed. They have high-quality developers, and now we’re investing more time in cultural relationships.

How did Forbytes perform from a project management standpoint?

They work within our system setup using Slack and Microsoft Visual Studio. They're good at leading and helping set up development processes, development flows, and working with feedback, which is a key strength. They’re helping us evolve our own development process so they can be more productive, which is really taking responsibility and doing more than just selling development time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their teams consist of experienced, excellent developers, which creates a productive culture. They help their customers not just with the development, but they also take responsibility for the entire process, and not just their team but also the team their developers are involved in.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a digital marketing agency and website developer. I am a project manager within the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Forbytes?

We were developing an e-commerce website for a client.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our group was handling the front-end, while Forbytes developed it using HTML, CSS, JavaScript and SASS. Forbytes assigned one main developer and a project manager for our project. They also had resources for internal code reviews.

How did you come to work with Forbytes?

My boss met and talked with Forbytes' principal, who was providing consultation on working with Scrum projects. Forbytes proposed a partnership for any work which we couldn't handle ourselves.

How much have you invested with Forbytes?

The cost of our project with Forbytes was around $9,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our project was completed a couple of weeks ago, after a 2-3-months development period. 

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Forbytes delivered code which was assigned to our backend developers. Because I have experience in this field, I could tell that the quality of Forbytes' code was an improvement to our own. They structured CSS really well, making it easier for us to manage it afterwards. Our backend people found it to be uniform throughout the website's structure.

How did Forbytes perform from a project management standpoint?

Forbytes' principal called us once per month, making sure that everything was going well. Since we started, we've ended up having standup meetings every day. We realized that there were things which needed to be discussed on a regular basis, so the communication progressed as we went along. Forbytes also assigned a project manager, who kept in touch with me. I also communicated with their developer. We used Slack and Jira for project tracking.

What did you find most impressive about Forbytes?

I found Forbytes easy to work with. They've completed everything we asked for, and Forbytes' CEO has taken the time to know our company and understand what we do. This improved our communication.

Are there any areas Forbytes could improve?

Improvements were mostly on our end. Starting out with daily standup meetings would have helped us in the beginning.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a consulting company with the main focus on developing products for the hotel industry. We plan to release our product in 2016 or at the beginning of 2017, after a marketing stage. My position is chief executive and chief technology officer.

What challenge were you trying to address with Forbytes?

I was initially working by myself on another e-commerce product. I came to find that solutions of this kind for the hotel industry were not very user-friendly, and usually relied on local databases, instead of being in the cloud. My goal became to create a better product for this industry, which could solve many of the existing problems and be accessible through mobile devices.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Forbytes has worked on our software-as-a-service solution. It's hosted on Azure and uses modern designs and functionalities. We were using 2 developers in the past, but after working with Forbytes, we've only kept one in-house developer.

How did you come to work with Forbytes?

I have worked for another e-commerce company in Sweden. Forbytes was one of our outsourcing companies at the time, and I maintained a connection with them.

How much have you invested with Forbytes?

The cost of Forbytes' services has been around $6,000 per month. It was a large investment on our part.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with Forbytes for 4 years. The collaboration is ongoing. We finished the work on our last feature this week, and are now working on improvements. We haven't released the platform to users yet.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We have written extensive integration tests for every feature within the platform, through which we've been able to gauge general quality. Forbytes was a startup company in the beginning, but they've learned a lot throughout the process. Their Azure expertise is excellent, for example.

How did Forbytes perform from a project management standpoint?

We handled project management ourselves, developing the requirements for our system, and discussing them with Forbytes' team. The process was very good. We've tried to act as one team, instead of having a vendor-client relationship.

We used GitHub as a repository for features and documentation, as well as for issue tracking.

What did you find most impressive about Forbytes?

Forbytes has made an effort to do a good job. I had worked with their principal in the past when he acted as project manager. He has a customer-oriented mindset. If we were not happy at any point, Forbytes tried to solve it.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are the third-biggest sports nutrition company in the world. We have websites in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Austria, and so on. We have around 70 physical stores in Scandinavia, mainly in Sweden, but the bulk of our business is online, with over 100-million-dollar sales annually.

I am the chief technology officer of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Forbytes?

We were converting our e-commerce platform to Magento. It was hard for me to find either resources or a consultancy in Sweden, which could deliver the amount of work we needed. We started looking for an alternative.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Forbytes has mainly worked on our Magento platform. They have also provided some help with our custom-made content management system.

We are working with 3 developers and a quality assurance tester from Forbytes. Some of them have Magento experience, and all of them have worked with PHP. We use GitHub and Jenkins for deployments.

How did you come to work with Forbytes?

I receive offers on LinkedIn on a daily basis. I found that Forbytes had a long history with 2 companies in our group, so it was an easy pick. Everyone will promise to offer the best resources available, so having a history with 2 of our sister companies was the important factor for me. Besides lower prices, I wanted to find great people to work with.

We started working with 1 developer from Forbytes, gradually increasing the team size. I've been very picky in this regard, so I've traveled to Ukraine in order to meet the people personally. Forbytes also traveled to our location on a couple of occasions.

How much have you invested with Forbytes?

The cost of Forbytes' services has been above $100,000, for 3.75 dedicated resources.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Forbytes in December 2015. Our e-commerce work is done on a continual basis. There are always new functions and systems to integrate. 

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Forbytes has done a very good job in finding the right developer profiles for us. Our work is conducted by our internal lead developer; we also have 5 external resources, all of whom work together building our products. I can't attribute any particular result to Forbytes' work, but I am satisfied with them. They've been in charge of bug fixes and developing new functions in collaboration with our other consultants, so it's hard to determine who was responsible for what.

How did Forbytes perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Jira and Confluence for logging the work and for documentation. We have an Agile process which works well for us. Since we're working remotely, there needs to be a good routine in place. My main developer handles most of the communication with Forbytes, their quality assurance person reports to me, while the developers also work with our user experience designer and the e-commerce manager. The development is done in sprints, through a roadmap.

I know that Forbytes can assign project managers, but I've preferred to do everything myself. The senior person on their end has a sort of team leader function, but they all report to our own lead developer.

What did you find most impressive about Forbytes?

Forbytes has done a very good job recruiting our resources. We're a very picky group, but we've been given some excellent profiles. I wouldn't have been able to find the same level of developers in Stockholm. Forbytes' lead developer, for example, has been coding for 10 years and has worked on some big projects.

Are there any areas Forbytes could improve?

We're a special client for Forbytes, in the sense that we manage the team ourselves. Forbytes has done a good job recruiting people for us and measuring the performance of everyone in the team.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Trademax is a Swedish furniture company selling products online to the Scandinavian market. We were founded 8 years ago, and have been growing fast. Our turnover for 2016 has been 100 million US dollars, [1 billion SEK] growing by around 35% each year. Our company has around 180 employees.

I am the chief technology officer of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Forbytes?

In the beginning, we were using a basic solution which wasn't tailored to our needs. We started an in-house development team, but I came into contact with Forbytes and found that they had experience with companies like ours. We wanted the ability to control every aspect of the development flow, so we needed a partner that could provide the developers and allow us to take care of project management. Forbytes was a perfect fit in this sense, taking care of the recruitment process, as well as the daily HR tasks.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our platform was built using PHP and ReactJS. Forbytes initially assigned 2 developers for our project, but the number has been scaled to 8 full-time resources, including a dedicated quality assurance person. Our senior technical lead is responsible for the technical architecture of our system.

How did you come to work with Forbytes?

We found Forbytes through a friend who had worked for another Swedish development company and knew Forbytes. I didn't have any experience with offshore development, so I had an initial discussion with Forbytes and started a trial period using 2 developers. Things have worked well since then, so we decided to scale.

How much have you invested with Forbytes?

The cost of Forbytes' services has been between $250,000 and $300,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Forbytes 5 years ago. Our work is completely ongoing. We see Forbytes' team as our own employees. 

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We measure success by our site's conversion rates, so I don't have any specific metrics for Forbytes' team. We are very satisfied with them, which is why we've grown the team. The developers assigned to us by Forbytes have been very loyal, which is a hard thing to find, especially locally.

How did Forbytes perform from a project management standpoint?

We are using Jira for project timelines. Forbytes' team flies to our location 2-3 times per year in order to work closer to us and get a better feel of our culture.

What did you find most impressive about Forbytes?

In the beginning, we were looking to build an in-house team. Forbytes has made us feel almost as if they were our own employees. The management has been available when I needed it, but I've been free to run projects directly with Forbytes' developers the rest of the time.

Because Forbytes works with a number of companies, there is a lot of knowledge-sharing between their teams. We wouldn't have this if we simply employed in-house developers.

Are there any areas Forbytes could improve?

No at the moment. I'm overall satisfied.