Maven Mule

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm Associate Director and Head of Operations, working directly with the Directors and owners and am responsible for creating and improving all the process for how the business works and grows.

For what projects/services did your company hire Maven Mule, and what were your goals?

We had recently moved our entire process over to Salesforce using a freelance salesforce developer who was only available for the build and not able to provide any ongoing or further support. The build was excellent but there have been many further amends and tweaks we wanted to implement. We also needed to create a bespoke integration between salesforce and our woocommerce (ecommerce) website, with stock synchronization and importing or orders as invoices on completion of a web order.

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

We were introduced to Maven Mule through a contact who is a recruiter in the field. Maven Mule offered a team of developers, rather than an individual who's ability could be limited. The prices were higher than we had initially desired, but were notably less than we could expect to be charged by an English firm. The team have always been very clear and quick to understand what we are looking to achieve, offering reasoned and sensible solutions.

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

They created a bespoke integration between Salesforce and Woocommerce. This is for stock synchronization - our large product library is constantly and automatically updated on woocommerce whenever stock is added, removed or even just updated.

Any orders placed on line are also synchronized from woocommerce to salesforce, with all the various data points being automatically created and all the required records being populated also. This makes the process for online orders completely automatic up until the point of the order actually being picked for dispatch. There have been various other smaller amends that the team have done for us - this is always done to the highest standard.

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

We worked with 3 people. The director was our inital point of contact and is very hands on. Our main point of contact was the actual salesforce developer and we had another developer who had experience with woocommerce also working on the project.

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

The project was completed on time and to a very high standard. Any delays were down to our own capacity. They were always quick to respond and communicating the project status. The end result is exactly what we had hoped for and we are only waiting on completion of the web design for this to go live. We are continuing to work with Maven Mule and have just instructed a second phase large scale project with them.

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

The project was managed by the developers themselves which meant nothing could be lost along the line. They were always available and quick to respond. We used email, Slack and their own service desk.

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

We had direct access to the team, including the director. I'm always impressed with their attitude to the projects we put forward - They were constantly seeking to provide us with the right solution for our problems. Rather than just the solution that we think we need they challenge us and offer intelligent solutions that we might not be aware of. They're always quick to reply and assist.

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

There is always likely to be a problem with the language barrier, but I think both sides are aware of this and take the time to make sure we all understand each other. We have no or limited technological understanding and as we are speaking directly with the developers, sometimes this can cause confusion or delays. But the direct access is also a benefit!

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a private, family-owned law firm. We have three partners and employ five lawyers. We also have three other operational workers.

What challenge were you trying to address with Maven Mule?

We’re one of the only law firms in Israel that use Salesforce as their sole CRM platform. Through it, we run our business and manage daily tasks and client relations. We wanted to develop the system more and needed all kinds of automation, so we hired Maven Mule.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an introduction meeting on Zoom, where I showed Maven Mule how the system works and stores data. I told them the problem and explained how I wanted the solution to be for the users, and their team did the research on how to solve it. I also described how the filters and criteria would be operated, which their team has worked to implement. 

They ran the initial solutions in a sandbox and sent me a video. They made the modifications I specified and sent it to production. Maven Mule also gave me access to a ticketing system where I could request for each new development I needed done.

So far, they have made a lot of automations on our Salesforce, mainly related to the billing process and task management. We’ve also made an automation for changing task priorities to high when their due dates went below three days. This automation sends email notifications to the user that owns the task, and also sends emails to the admin for certain tasks.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with two people from Maven Mule: a customer support lead and a developer.

How did you come to work with Maven Mule?

Maven Mule had an extension called “A5 Documents” on Salesforce AppExchange, which I bought. It generates PDF reports automatically and emails them. 

Later on, I came across an implementation problem and had to make a Zoom call with a support person. I really liked the solution they gave me, so I told the representative that I had a lot of things to develop, unrelated to A5. That’s when they told me about Maven Mule.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost so far is $3,000–$4,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Maven Mule around December 2020. We update the system as our business processes change. We have new user requests every 1–2 weeks, so it’s an ongoing process, with no specific start or end.

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

Although I don’t have any metrics for Maven Mule’s work, we are enjoying the collaboration. We mainly work on UI and automations with the team, so I don’t have statistics to show the value of the implementation.

How did Maven Mule perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re professional and on time. Nothing slips away. Maven Mule provides me time sheets and product management solutions on what they’re going to solve first and what can be solved later.

Project management is done through their online helpdesk. I open tickets when I need something new developed. We also use email, and have Zoom or Google Meet calls for more complex requirements.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They respond quickly, and their developers are open-minded about creating out-of-the-box solutions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m working directly with the developer now. I was working with the service-desk person during the first stage, and that was like having a broken phone. The developer initially wouldn’t understand what I wanted, but they realized quickly that it would be better for me to speak directly with the developer.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s better to give them a small project first, to see how it goes. It’ll give an indication of the pricing and the relationship itself. This is true for any company like Maven Mule.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an IT company. We specialize in delivering the best projects or people for projects in IT. We do that for different techniques, frameworks, and more. Our candidates work both remotely and in person for our clients in Holland.

What challenge were you trying to address with Maven Mule?

We had a specific challenge in a Salesforce project in Holland. We needed developers with specific skills and background knowledge, so we reached out to Maven Mule.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed several features in Sales Cloud and some parts in Service Cloud. Basically, we’re doing broad tasks; there is more than one requirement, and more than one skill set is needed. Part of their job is also code optimization. You need senior people for that — reviewing and rewriting code to improve it.

What is the team composition?

We’re currently working with five developers.

How did you come to work with Maven Mule?

I used to do projects myself in Salesforce, and I built up my own network doing that. The world is sometimes quite small, and I met Maven Mule again and started working with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since March 2020.

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

The quality Maven Mule delivers has helped us and our clients. In general, their resources are very skilled. Their communication stands out, as does their flexibility. They’re a good partner. I’d definitely recommend them to others.

How did Maven Mule perform from a project management standpoint?

They bring expertise into the project, but they’re not managing it themselves. They deliver specific expertise in agile teams, which are currently managed by either us or our client. We normally communicate over Slack and Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of knowledge of the people they bring stands out. Maven Mule brings in capable people that deliver high quality across junior and senior levels.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not at the moment. There isn’t one specific topic I would address right now, but everyone can improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The key is to know exactly what specific expertise you want to hire. If your requirements are crystal clear, then there will be strong cooperation. As the client, be sure of what you need.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the program manager at VodafoneZiggo, a telecommunications company. We provide both mobile and fixed services to consumers and enterprise customers.

What challenge were you trying to address with Maven Mule?

We needed help with our Salesforce platform as we were experiencing technical challenges. We also wanted a simple document creator solution.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Maven Mule is providing code optimization services — they’re refactoring triggers and API calls to have a smoother code base in Salesforce. They are providing us technical consulting, design, and development. 

The second project is implementing a document creator solution using Salesforce. I’ve only recently signed the contract, and we just started the project. We made a proof of concept (POC) based on both functionality and ease of use. We are expecting the first iteration in two months. 

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is Ivan (CTO). He is a Salesforce-certified technical architect, designer, and developer, and he leads the team that is implementing the code optimization.

How did you come to work with Maven Mule?

We chose Maven Mule because of their technical expertise — they are an authority on the subject that can deliver professional services. Their pricing was very competitive compared to other vendors as well.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over €200,000 (approximately $247,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2020, and it’s ongoing.

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

We’re satisfied with Maven Mule’s services. They work in an agile CI/CD manner — they refactor our code and make optimizations, and we get continuous feedback. Our Salesforce Center of Excellence approves their work, and they’re very satisfied with the results so far. 

For the document creator solution, even though we’ve only done a POC, I could say they’re solving technical issues for us, and they’re providing a clear path for its implementation.

How did Maven Mule perform from a project management standpoint?

Maven Mule communicates very well, and they’re very responsive. They are a team player — they are flexible enough to accommodate us even with items that aren’t part of the original scope. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re knowledgeable, flexible, and solution-driven.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I’d have them improve at this point.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be sure you know what you want as a customer and communicate that properly with the vendor.  

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CFO and board member at MET Croatia, an energy supplier in the Croatian market. It’s a production trading and supply of energy for mostly gas power.

What challenge were you trying to address with Maven Mule?

We needed a company to provide Salesforce consulting services.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team supports us in the implementation, development, and updates of our Salesforce CRM. They support us in any adjustments needed. The larger project we recently had was linked to a problem that we had with billing our customers.

We had a significant increase in our portfolio, and we now serve thousands of customers. We had manual invoicing where we would print out invoices for each customer, and Maven Mule helped automize the process. In Salesforce, we had all the data on contracts and prices that we needed for billing.

We decided to do the billing system in Salesforce, then transferring the data to our accounting software. We did the development of a module within the software and connection that was linked with Navision, which we’re using for accounting.

What is the team composition?

We had 3-4 people working on the project, but my main point of contact was one of the managers.

How did you come to work with Maven Mule?

When I came to the company, we were already doing business with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over €50,000 (approximately $59,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

On this particular project, we worked together from July 2019-January 2020.

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

We wanted to be able to invoice by the first of January 2020 from this new system. After a few test runs, we went live without any problems.

How did Maven Mule perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly calls to see the current issues on the project and how we progressed. On the state of the project, we had a clear timeline on where we want to stand at the end of each month.

We stayed on track with the timeline. Email was our primary communication channel.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their response rate is impressive. They respond to our suggestions in a matter of hours.

If we have a complaint from a customer, they need to change the invoice. They’re able to implement it in a very short period of time. That’s very important for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have any negative feedback. There are some errors in the process, but from my point of view, in projects like this, there are always going to be some errors. The way you handle it is the most important thing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Start working with them. You’ll be satisfied because they’re very good and respond very well. The pricing is very good. Maven Mule makes a really good partner.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

At the time I was working with Maven Mule, I was the VP of a travel company called Swain Destinations. I recently left that position to start my own Salesforce consulting business, although I still work for them as a vendor. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Maven Mule?

We were installing a robust Salesforce application, but we needed some customization done to a portion of it. Maven Mule helped us with that. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

In our most recent collaboration with them, we purchased their Maven Mule connector, which was a configurable integration tool that allowed us to use Salesforce to send data to a third-party travel company. 

They isolated all the bad codes in the app and gave us a roadmap of how to get things working. They also helped us tweak our requirements to get the solution that we needed. Overall, instead of developing our own tool or spending endless amounts of dollars for API development, we used their plug-and-play platform.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact from Maven Mule was Dragan (CEO & Technical Architect).

How did you come to work with Maven Mule?

Maven Mule was brought to us by the creators of the application that we were installing. We were undergoing a significant technological transformation. It wasn’t going well, and it had been going on for about a year. The application provider recommended bringing Maven Mule. They came on board and took over the entire development process to help us, and that was really our first engagement with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $50,000, although it could be higher than that.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership with them lasted from May 2017–March 2018.

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

Maven Mule was incredibly responsive and detailed in the descriptions of their challenges and solutions. They always achieved the scope of work they said they would do, and they even usually exceeded it, so there was good value in their service. Further, everything that they did actually worked, and that was a big metric of success for us. The implementation of their connector was also super easy. 

It was a great relationship, and our Salesforce platform benefitted from it. They helped us without any additional charge for the extra work that they did. They also helped us identify bad codes and advance our code coverages. They taught us some best practices, and the future of our organization was modeled after the clean and precise work that they did. 

How did Maven Mule perform from a project management standpoint?

They were always accessible and ready to assist us. I was always able to reach them, specifically Dragan. To communicate, we used email and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Maven Mule members were great developers, and they were truly responsive. We received great value for their involvement.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. We were at a challenging spot, and their expertise was very welcome. I didn’t have any concerns about their work. There was never a point where I felt we weren’t getting what we needed. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very open about what you're looking to do. They're great at translating what you say out loud into what needs to happen, so just be very clear in what you want in your business terms. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of Digacon Software Solutions. We have a wide portfolio but our main focus is SAP Hybris, and we have a custom software development department.

We have customers all over the world, including the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland), Australia, and the UK. We have around 32 employees in Zagreb, and we have a consulting department in Stuttgart, Germany.

What challenge were you trying to address with Maven Mule?

We had a Salesforce project, which wasn’t our area of expertise, so we hired Maven Mule.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Maven Mule provided complete Salesforce frontend development, and they made upgrades and payment-provider integrations. They made the platform scalable for other regions and for franchising.

Our part was mobile app development, which we did in-house, but Maven Mule did all the backend integrations between the Salesforce platform and the app. They’re currently providing support and fixing bugs. We plan to work with them on the next phase. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with up to 6–7 people from Maven Mule, including developers, solution architects, a project manager, and governance staff.

How did you come to work with Maven Mule?

There aren’t that many Salesforce experts in our market. Maven Mule had the best references — they’d worked for international telecom companies and were very experienced in that area.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost was over €500,000 (approximately $595,100 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

The main project ran between October 2018–July 2020. They’re currently providing support and bug fixing. We plan to work with Maven Mule on the next phase.

Our client is a Swiss outdoor activities company, and they’ve dealt with some restrictions due to COVID-19. We paused the project because of this, but they’ll be opening their business again.

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

Our client was very impressed with the speed and quality of Maven Mule’s work. The project was a success.

How did Maven Mule perform from a project management standpoint?

We all used Jira, Confluence, and HelpDesk. Their project manager was PMI-certified (Project Management Institute), and Maven Mule won a PMI Project of the Year Award. They ran the whole project with PMI standards. Maven Mule’s flexibility was also impressive; they sometimes worked until 2 a.m. and on weekends when we had tight deadlines. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility and level of experience stood out most. Though they were a smaller company, they had experienced members from larger companies who had a good knowledge transfer. They were a focused team. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s hard to say if they had anything they could improve. Everything went well, and we’re going to continue working with Maven Mule on minor things.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

They have to have a really clear scope. Maven Mule has to understand the project and the customer, so it’s important to be prepared for the first meeting.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the system administrator for Novocommerce International. We sell John Deere and agricultural machinery.

What challenge were you trying to address with Maven Mule?

We needed some help with our Salesforce system, so we hired Maven Mule.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They support us with our Salesforce system. If we have a bigger job for them, we create a task on their dashboard for them, and they take it from there. If the job is something I can do as a system administrator, they’ll advise me on how I can fix the problem. 

What is the team composition?

I work with Tomislav (Senior Consultant & Software Developer) and Dragan (CEO).

How did you come to work with Maven Mule?

Our company got Salesforce from our Romanian sister company, and we needed someone from Croatia to set it up for our country, so we hired Maven Mule.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since 2017 and our collaboration is ongoing.

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

Out of 10, I’d give them a nine. They’re very professional, and we’re very satisfied with the work they’ve done. The feedback has been very positive, and we’re not looking to change companies. 

How did Maven Mule perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Slack and we also communicate through their help desk. If something is more complicated, we speak on the phone. We use a dashboard for our tasks. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Although I can’t compare them to other providers, I’ve had a very good experience with Maven Mule. They fix things quickly and are fast and professional. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing at the moment that I can’t think of.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO of an international treasury and risk management firm. We employed the services of Maven Mule to design, build and implement a heavily customised CRM management system using a wide range of APIs.

For what projects/services did your company hire Maven Mule, and what were your goals?

We struggled to find a system that could manage live market movements keeping our clients informed as to any material changes at very short notice.

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

Maven Mule were referred by a personal contact. After a number of fact-finding exercises the board decided that the comprehensive presentation Maven Mule was the most appealing by some way.

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

We predominantly offer clients the possibility of opening FX deals direct with the market. Asymmetrically this would create an open position within the live market and we needed our CRM to monitor this by use of direct price feed APIs.

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

4 people in various departments depending on what level of work was being done.

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

Work completed in a timely fashion and to a very high standard.

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

Slack was the preferred method of ongoing contact.

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

They are always on hand to provide assistance throughout the project. Ended up using Maven Mule for a number of side projects away from the initial engagement.

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

No

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CPO of a travel technology SaaS platform based on Salesforce

For what projects/services did your company hire Maven Mule?

We hired Maven Mule to establish our customer solution architecture best practices and ways of working, and worked with them on several client implementations for the delivery of Salesforce and Kaptio.

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

The experience of the team is second to none. They have a full understanding of what is needed to deliver a Salesforce project, but also an ISV project which has different sets of challenges and considerations

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Mavenmule came into existing projects in recovery mode and instantly delivered value to our clients. Without them, we would have not been in a position to successfully deliver the projects into production. During the projects, they also successfully helped us improve our offering and technical implementation capability but identifying areas of the system that were not scalable or easy to extend or configure.

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

Their CEO was our main point of contact, and then we had a team of 3-5 people coming in and out of project as required.

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

Mavenmule helped us mature our product and delivery capability as a ISV partner.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication was totally fluid and we always aligned on the ways of working, the definition of done, and used an agile kanban approach to prioritization. Both companies put great emphasis on customer collaboration and this was key to our combined success.

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

The amount of care and support they were willing to provide was incredible.

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

No, I think they are one of the few Salesforce SIs that really walk the walk and talk the talk. Can't recommend them enough.