Orange35

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a small manufacturing and retail business. We handcraft shoes in Oregon and sell them from our workshop and ship them around the world. We’ve been here for 30 years. I manage online marketing and the website development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Orange35?

We want to reach out to our customers in a way we haven’t before. We wanted to reduce our rate of returns. We sell handcrafted shoes and we allow people to choose their own colors. The problem is that our website didn’t have the ability to show a preview of what they look like. We didn’t have the means to hire a developer to do that. We saw Orange35’s image constructor extension and realized that that is what we need. It gives our customers a better user experience and a direct image of what they’re ordering.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They gave different options for how involved they would be. They gave us the option to purchase the extension and install it ourselves. The next level would be for them to install it for us. We have a unique version of the Magento platform that requires customization to get it to work for us. We asked them to do some developer work to modify their extension in order for it to work on our site. I was working with two people from Orange35. We ran into problems, which we expected, but they were able to work with us and got the extension to work. Our communication was mostly by email.

How did you come to work with Orange35?

We find them through a Magento extension. It’s been on different sites. I did research. I’ve been looking for a while to find an extension. When theirs came up, we jumped on it. I knew there was nothing else like it.

How much have you invested with Orange35?

We have spent under $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

It began in September 2015 and finished in November 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re still waiting for the stats. We have someone running that. The customer feedback has been very positive. They love the tool. Before, we had many complaints because people didn’t know how our colors would look together. It was very labor intensive because we would take pictures of color swatches and email them. The biggest impact is what we don’t need to do anymore rather than what we do need to do. It’s much less labor and fewer complaints.

How did Orange35 perform from a project management standpoint?

Fantastic. We were more than satisfied. They exceeded our expectations for the development services. We had many custom requests and they tackled them without complaint very quickly. It was the first time working with a Magento developer who really knew what they were doing. It was a pleasant surprise to see how smoothly the process went. We communicated by email. It wasn’t a regularly scheduled thing. They were on a different time zone, so we tended to communicate at different hours. They were very efficient considering the time change.

What did you find most impressive about Orange35?

They have great customer service. They responded quickly, very positively, and enthusiastically with every challenge we gave them. Also, their proficiency with Magento is great. They knew what they were doing.

Are there any areas Orange35could improve?

No. We’re very happy. My only thing was that the time change made it a little difficult. It would have been convenient if they were in the same time zone or if they could be available during our working hours. But we were able to work around that OK.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

DentalEX is the middle man between the detal class course provider and the dentist. The course provider posts courses on our site and we display them to dentists, and they’re able to purchase them through our site. It narrows down the search of courses around the globe so they can come to one site instead of multiple sites.

I’m doing everything from marketing, to strategy, to implementation - everything.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Orange35?

We worked with a company in Ukraine before we hired Orange35. The previous company had many errors that weren’t getting fixed. Our site was crashing over and over. Once we contacted them [Orange35], they figured out what the problems were. They said the easiest fix would be to redo it completely, but they said that it could be done down the road after we start making a profit. They fixed the problems and implemented a lot of advanced functions for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I’m not sure what technologies they used. I would give them a problem and they would get back to me. When they got back with me, they would see the whole 360 around that problem. They really go into depth about how one function can affect the whole system. That’s what I love about them. They’re not just there to get it done and get paid. They want to be sure everything is functioning. We’re using Magento. They’re very good with that. They taught me quite a few things. They don’t mind showing me how it works so I can do things myself.

How did you come to work with Orange35?

It was through a reference. I contacted my cousin in Ukraine when we knew the problems weren’t going to get solved with the previous company. He told me about them.

How much have you invested with Orange35?

We have spent $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them for a year. We probably started around last August. It’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

What we’ve created with them is something that no other competitor has. They made sure to do their homework on our industry to make certain that what we have functions easily and nobody can replicate it easily.

How did Orange35 perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been great. When I want a meeting, they are ready in 5 - 10 minutes. They let me know where we’re at. There have been a few setbacks, but it was understandable because some of the challenges were more than they anticipated. They thought things out. They weren’t in a hurry. It was done with good time and with good knowledge and care. We had a project manager. We used a site to track things, but I don’t really like those. I keep the information in my head. It wasn’t a huge project so I didn’t think we needed that.

What did you find most impressive about Orange35?

When you ask them to do something they don’t just do it. They really think through how everything’s going to work. That’s not what we got from the other company.

Are there any areas Orange35 could improve?

Nothing comes to mind. We were very satisfied with their service. We’re still working with them, so it’s good.