Infoshore Software Private Limited

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

It's a group of European companies. We are a parcel distributor offering cost-effective solutions for retailers across the world. We have operations in seven European countries. We are just setting up in China and the United States.

What is your role and responsibilities, please?

I head our U.K. operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the business challenge that you were trying to address?

Our issue has always been getting smaller retailers that sell on platforms like eBay and Amazon Marketplace, and some of the software providers like Magento to share data properly. The challenge is getting the parcel data what we need out of their systems and into our system. We need the parcel data, because we handle retailers' parcels that have been prepacked and pre-addressed. We need a barcode on the outside, which is linked to a data upload.

We’ve always had problems with smaller retailers, saying that they can’t do the data upload and can’t get the information out of our system or Amazon. Then, we can't get the tracking information back in so that we can provide it to the end consumer.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

We asked Infoshore to provide a solution, which meant that they would pull the parcel data from those platforms. Initially the three solutions that we asked for were eBay, Amazon, and Channel Advisor to pull the parcel information, convert it, and translate it into the right format for uploading into our system. Once we’ve processed the parcels and have the tracking information, the solution actually uploads the tracking information with the supply details back into the platform that it came from. It's a conduit between the retailers and these platforms, which most of our smaller customers use.

We are hosting it now on a new cloud server. We also wanted it separate from our system. We didn't want it integrated with our current IT [information technology] team because we have some internal pressures within the IT team with respect to the development of other projects. I outsourced this because I knew it could be done without involving any of our current IT team in the process. There's a plan that the IT team will take this on and will maintain it going forward. But, I wanted to outsource the development work because I knew that if I left it, it would never get done, and all the time scales would be a lot longer.

Did Infoshore Software design the system?

The reason I was so impressed is that the spec was a verbal spec of what we wanted. There were no detailed specifications, which I'm used to, having worked in bigger companies and provided them, to make sure you get them. They were very flexible. They ended up changing a lot of things because we hadn’t really thought through the process. They never complained once. We had multiple conference calls.

There were periods of time when, because we had pressure internally, we went three months without contacting them. They wanted to interact, but we couldn’t because of one thing or another, either illness or other internal projects. I have to say that we weren’t the best client in the world, and going forward we would work in a completely different way. They didn’t complain at all throughout the whole process.

What was your process for selecting Infoshore Software for the project?

We found Infoshore through Elance and looked at their reviews. I talked to a couple of references to check their other clients.

Is the work still ongoing?

The original project was started in June of 2013, and we just moved it to the host company and are tying up the last few details and debugging it. It's 99 percent finished. I’ve paid out on the project because I know that they will support it. It's ongoing work that they will continue to support. The project would have taken three months if we had the continued focus.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

The cost was under $10,000. The future work will probably be more than $10,000 because we plan to continue to add to it. They finished building two platforms, and they’ve done all the grunt work. Adding the next supplier system will be a lot easier. We'll probably add another 10 or 15 different platforms whether they are marketplaces or software providers like Magento.

I think, because they have mobile application specialists, we are looking to develop mobile applications for a number of projects within the group. I’m fairly sure we'll be using them for that project as well, rather than developing it in-house, where we don’t have the skills. If you find someone that's good, why would you not continue to use them?

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

Our big issue has always been converting customers because of the tracking systems integration. Now, there is nothing that can stop us from integrating a customer to our network. We can ensure that they can integrate to us. We are expecting to go back to about 30 or 40 customers that have said they love our services and would love to use us, but they couldn’t integrate. We are now revisiting all of those with a benefit that converts customers. I would anticipate that we will increase sales between 20 to 25 percent during the next 12 months.

Is there anything unique about Infoshore that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

They are extremely tolerant and flexible. They do not complain. We didn't have a single complaint, even after a number of situations when we told them to develop something then later wanted it changed. A week later, we told them we wanted to go back to the way it was. I’ve worked with a lot of developers, and in those kinds of scenarios, they would have completely lost it at that point.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

We certainly would provide far better specifications to ensure that they knew exactly what we required. It's not fair to them to provide such an open spec, which was what happened.

BACKGROUND

eCommWeb makes e-commerce solutions for small- and medium-sized companies that sell online. We are located in the United Kingdom. We have a small team and use outsourcing companies like Infoshore to bolster our team when necessary. The work ebbs and flows, depending on need.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

The project's challenge was to enable syncing of inventories between various sales channels. We needed their help to develop the system.

SOLUTION

Using the eBay API [application programming interfaces], Infoshore connected various ecommerce platforms to a central hub and provided a user interface for admins and users.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

The software is in use currently by three companies and we expect to involve more during the coming months. We are happy with the results and are growing the project because we are satisfied thus far.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

My firm is called Immovil, and we mostly work in the social networking space, primarily in Latin America.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I am the president and CEO of the company, and I head the company's operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Infoshore Software?

The goal was to develop the website and have a backend partner for coding.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

In addition to developing the website, we also have a maintenance contract with them, and as new technologies evolve, they help me with mobile applications in iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. It is mostly new development, maintenance, the backend work, databases, cleanup of the system, PHP code, and small tasks.

It started as a small engagement, with the development of additional pages. Later on, we did a large contract with them providing important deliverables. As the mobile industry developed, they focused on that and added that work to the initial contract. Their work for maintaining the website is ongoing.

What was your process for selecting Infoshore Software with which to work?

I found them on Elance.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

They’ve been working with us for three years, anywhere from one to five resources at a time.

Is the work ongoing?

Yes. I plan to work with them for at least one more year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

I don’t really have stats or metrics, but I can give feedback on their performance.

How was their performance?

They’ve been on time almost always. They are very proactive. They knew all the technologies: PHP, SQL, Web development, design, and mobile development. They are very responsive and jumped in to do the work. They did the project management, so they’re flexible in terms of ramping up and ramping down. We didn't have any issues.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

Infoshore offers a strong mix of all the skills that are required for any small company. They have the PHP, the backend, the jobs, helping with the servers, [and] mobile. They have a deep skill set, so we don’t have to look to other companies for those skills.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

Not that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Could you provide a brief description of your company?

We sell pro audio equipment that bands, bars, DJs, and karaoke parlors use. Everything we sell is our brand and it’s 99 percent e-commerce. I am the owner. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges you were trying to address?

They’ve done a few different things for us. They’ve built an IMP, inventory management program. That system was for all of our marketplaces and websites to talk to one another with inventory control. We sell on eight different marketplaces, eBay, Amazon, Best Buy, plus our website and various other small marketplaces. The widget they built allows us to sell on Amazon, so we need to deduct the sold inventory from our website. It allows us to sell bundles as well, speakers, cables, and speaker stands all in one listing in eBay. We would want the individual items to reflect in the inventory on our website and in the bundles on the other sites. Our goal with this particular project was to do inventory control.

SOLUTION

Can you describe other services that were provided by Infoshore Software?

They created an admin/login software for us to update with a widget of what’s in stock or if we received something, we can update it with whatever quantity necessary. That program communicates with various APIs [application programming interface]. It ended up adding totals to our marketplaces and to our website. Then we sell a card, the API sent the information to this platform they created for us. It deducted it from the other marketplaces and our website. It was an internal platform that they built for us. We have our own dashboard and log in.

How did you select Infoshore Software as your solution partner?

We originally found them on Elance. The first project they did for us was a long time ago, back in 2009, they built a Twitter program for us. If somebody would send us a message on Twitter, it would send them tracking information on the packages that they purchased from eBay. That worked flawlessly and great until Twitter made you start following everybody in order to communicate with them. We had to nix the program because they wouldn’t allow auto-following at the time. From there, it grew to a bit more complex projects.

Was it just these two projects?

No, we’ve had them create internal apps just for myself and employees to use. They worked fine. It was great.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in monetary terms?

Our IMP was probably the most expensive. I think the cost for that is around $5,000. It took about two months to get it developed, but it does a lot more than what I initially described. It gives reporting for us tells us how many widgets we sell in what particular marketplace, and allows us to figure out if a particular cable sells really well on a particular marketplace, but not so well on eBay, for example. That was one of the more expensive systems that allowed us to account for inventory being sold to Amazon.

The Twitter program was maybe $500. They created two apps for us in the neighborhood of $1,500 total. Usually the turnaround is sometimes a week, up to three or four weeks. The IMP program took about two months for it to get off the ground and function. The next stage was to use and test the system with my team for about one month. We found bugs and made suggestions so they could tweak it. The final product was great.

Is the engagement still ongoing?

For right now, we’re done. We just switched to a brand new Web platform. We have a personal endeavor on this new platform, so the team that’s created the platform is doing everything for us free of charge at the moment to get it working the way it should be.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the effectiveness of the work they’ve delivered?

Everything worked the way we said we wanted it to work. They’re able to fulfill what we asked. With one of our apps, we asked for something that couldn’t get done. They got really close to what we asked for. We had to do a work-around, but it wasn’t Infoshore’s fault. It was the eBay API that’s not allowing us to do what we wanted to do. Overall, they were able to do everything we asked for. Even to this day, when our IMP has a tweak or one of the marketplaces change their APIs, they jump right in and fix it.

We really had to debate keeping an employee or downsizing, since we launched the program, our oversells really dropped significantly. We still oversell every now and again because we put in the wrong quantity, so not a programming issue. Before we got this program, we would put 10 on Amazon, 10 on eBay, 10 on the website and if we sell 10 on the website, we still have 10 listed on Amazon. We were constantly calling dozens of customers per day to apologize for overselling. We still have problems, but the employee who was making calls all day now has very little work to do.

Overall, the program eliminated a problem we had, which was overselling. It eliminated man-hours of going on every marketplace whenever we get new stock and have them populate it. It automates it for us. It gives us reporting, saying how much of each we sell, so we know what to order. To verify if it was working correctly, I would go to our shipping software and pull out that widget to see how many we shipped out and then I’d look in the program to the number we sold, 99.9 percent of the time, it was correct. We’re dealing with multiple APIs, [so] something could go down. However, the system almost always functions properly.

When working with Infoshore Software, is there anything you’d consider unique or special about their approach or development methodology that distinguishes them from other vendors you’ve used?

I’ve worked with probably three India-based guys. They were really the only software experts. The other two were Web-design people. They immediately answer questions and are responsive. They even stay up late to support American clients.

They were not afraid to tell me something couldn’t happen. They didn’t put a ton of hours trying to make it happen, they didn’t charge me money and then not get results. There was only one time I didn’t get exactly what I asked for and they told me upfront it wasn’t possible.

Overall, they’re great. They Skype or email me promptly. We’ve spoken on the phone with no problem except for they have an Indian accent and I have a Southern accent, so it was very difficult. For the past two or three years, we had an agreement to just Skype chat. That worked out really well. We have spoken, but usually we’re able to describe what we need to describe in text.

In retrospect, are there areas that you think they could improve on or that you would do differently?

Nothing comes to mind.