Nansen

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

As VP of Global E-Commerce & Digital Strategy, my core responsibility is the strategic execution of our brand's online advancement. U.S. Polo Assn. is the official brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA), the nonprofit governing body for the sport of polo in the United States, and one of the oldest sports governing bodies, having been founded in 1890.

With a multi-billion-dollar global footprint and worldwide distribution through some 1,100 U.S. Polo Assn. retail stores, department stores, sporting goods channels, independent retailers and e-commerce, U.S. Polo Assn. offers apparel for men, women and children, as well as accessories, footwear, travel and home goods in 180 countries worldwide.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Nansen for the development and ongoing maintenance of our global brand website.

SOLUTION

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

Our global brand site has many unique challenges, leveraging several third party data sources to create a comprehensive digital experience. We reached out to these platform partners and inquired about agencies that have proven experience with their platforms and technical onboarding. This was the most important factor, we did not want to use an agency that was "learning" on the job.

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

The scope of the project involved integrating several data sources provided by our third party platform partners, onto one centralized website that can be scaled per our global growth needs.

The website uses a headless CMS called Contentful, and several API integrations with Yext for store listing services, Transperfect for localization and local language requirements, amongst others.

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

The agency assigned several stakeholders to the project, including a project manager and full stack developers. Executive leadership was heavily involved in strategic decisions and direction.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are very pleased with the incremental results obtained from our website. Since inception, the site has served millions of pages to people around the world. The most visited section of our site is the store locator, something our licensees appreciate as the regional sites are driving foot traffic to physical locations as well as online referrals.

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

The project management team was very transparent and communicated with us frequently. Project updates were plentiful, and organization of deliverables helped delivery the project on time and within budget.

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

Their ability to find solutions to unforeseen challenges has been impressive.

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

Not have us visit Chicago in the dead of winter... :)