Pontem Innovations

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Pontem Innovations, a digital advertising technology company. We focus on leveraging data to deliver digital advertising for our clients.

What challenge were you trying to address with Pontem Innovations?

We wanted to extract another level of analytic insight from the data that we had available for a client. The main goal was to draw insights from the connection between the demographic and customer location data. 

We reached out to Pontem Innovations because we thought they had the technology and skills to do an analysis and visualization on a higher level than what we could do in-house.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided them with some of the raw data we had, and they augmented it with the information they had access to. After that, they provided an analysis on the combined data set.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact was Rick D. (President). I also worked with Rick F. (Director of Analytics Solutions) and Tanner (Engineer).

How did you come to work with Pontem Innovations?

Both Pontem Innovations and our branch requiring their services are based in Edmonton, so that’s how we became aware of them. We selected them for this project because of their unique technical capability and willingness to integrate with our team in solving these problems. We were able to work seamlessly with their team.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than $10,000 with them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July 2019–December 2020.

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

All of the deliverables were completed on time, and the feedback from our customers was very positive. The work reflected well on what we offered to our end clients. We also were able to present the data in a way that we weren’t able to in the past. Thanks to the product we delivered, we achieved much higher engagement with our customers.

How did Pontem Innovations perform from a project management standpoint?

We primarily connected through our shared Slack channel, but we also communicated by phone and email at some points.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their commitment to understanding our needs was impressive. They went beyond what we were able to describe with our limited imaginations, and they delivered something that both met our needs and exceeded our expectations. Their skills and expertise enabled them to do something that we weren’t necessarily thinking about. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I’d improve. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared for a collaborative experience.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are the ATCO Group of Companies and I’m the manager of a center of excellence organization that supports ATCO’s fleets & fleet services, trying to make them as efficient, safe, and cost-effective as possible.

What challenge were you trying to address with Pontem Innovations?

We have a whole bunch of different data sources related to fleets such as asset management, fuel, and telematics. However, my team was lacking the skill to pull all the data together and present it in a way that would allow our business to make good decisions about their fleets. We’re working with Pontem Innovations to address this challenge.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We began with a business requirements gathering session with Pontem Innovations. After they learned and clarified our needs, the team brought to the table strong knowledge and ideas that could help us present the information in an effective way. We moved into the first phase, or data visualization, where Pontem Innovations consolidated the first level of our data and presented it back to us.

We then moved on to phase two which involves diving deeper into the data by pulling information from different sources to tell a better story. The team is now gathering material surrounding safety, idling, and speeding driver behavior. They’re also capturing data on capital projects, building and procurement of new vehicles, cost per kilometer, and maintenance costs. We’re right now just rounding the end of this phase.

Pontem Innovations uses Power BI as a data visualization tool to present in a level of detail that we’d never been able to do on our own. They’re also currently developing a data dashboard for employees of ATCO.

What is the team composition?

There are two people, that I know of, who’ve been assigned to this project. 

How did you come to work with Pontem Innovations?

The owner of Pontem Innovations and I have a loose connection through our kids’ sports. After I had expressed the skill gaps in my team in a conversation, he reached out to me so that we could give them a test scenario. They knocked it out of the park, so we moved forward with them from there.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re expecting to pay around $25,000 towards the end of this year when we have everything we need.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with Pontem Innovations for a little over a year now, since March 2020. I expect to continue working with them at least through the end of the year.

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

We and the leaders in our company are now using Pontem Innovation’s consolidated data to build cases for more resources and to build a better life cycle management that could tell us when we need to change our vehicle. I couldn’t be happier with the results of this engagement. 

We’ve released the dashboard, but so far, it is only reporting to a small group of people. We’re working on making it accessible to more people in ATCO by the end of April. I’m expecting more dashboard usage after that but for now, we’re setting up training and communication practices to ready ourselves for this big change in the organization.

How did Pontem Innovations perform from a project management standpoint?

We couldn’t do a lot of face-to-face meetings this year, so we used Microsoft Teams. I feel like we can easily get ahold of Pontem Innovations whenever we need them. Any one of us can set up the meetings and they will surely follow through with minutes and action items in a timely email. I’ve never felt like I was out of touch with them. 

Both of our contacts from Pontem Innovations have also been so receptive and responsive to everything we ask. They’ve been able to do more than I was able to conceive of in an extremely cost-effective way. They’ve done what they said they were going to do, when they said they were going to do it, even overdelivering on the timelines. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Almost everything about Pontem Innovations distinguishes them from other service providers. I can’t name a single thing, but I would pinpoint that they bring great value to the table. There’s a cost-benefit to what they do for us and they’ve been able to move our business years ahead.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have anything in mind.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re doing this type of project, make sure to understand your requirements and have a good idea of what you want it to look like or what you need to accomplish, because this will make everything run more smoothly. I’m not sure if we approached Pontem Innovations with really good business requirements, but they were able to take what we gave them and run with it. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of Customer Service for a eCommerce company based in Edmonton, AB. We specialize in sleep products, D2C.

For what projects/services did your company hire Pontem Innovations?

We brought Pontem on board to create an aggregated scorecard that brought together multiple data sources in to a single pane of glass.

What were your goals for this project?

To have data on demand to evaluate performance for individuals and teams with the Customer Service teams.

How did you select Pontem Innovations?

Worked with them at a previous employer

Describe the project in detail.

Once we selected Pontem, we had a few discovery meetings to discuss our goals and objectives. Within the first 30 days, we received a confirmation that the data we were looking for was available in a format that we could use in the project.

The biggest challenge was that all of our data sources are in cloud based systems, and are often quite limited by the platform in what data we have available to us. This was good that Pontem validated the accuracy of this data before the project was signed off.

It took 2 months to get from this conceptual stage to a place where we could actually use the scorecard. The final product came as anticipated along with a few extra value-added suggestions from Pontem that weren't part of the initial discussion, but were really nice to see.

What was the team composition?

I, along with one of the other leaders in the department worked directly with 2 resources on the Pontem team to deliver this.

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

We're still pretty new to the practice of using this tool that was created for us. If anything, the addition of this tool has shown us areas where we need to clean up processes to get "good data" to use in our reporting.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was pretty good, I can't think of a lot that could be improved on at this time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We are impressed by their creativity and drive for new ideas that we didn't consider when we entered in to the project.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We're a GSuite shop, so naturally, using Google Analytics would be our preference, but Pontem is a MS PowerBI shop, so they work more frequently with PowerBI. This was not a roadblock.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-owner of a group of companies called the CSF Asset Management Group. We’re an independent debt-buying firm.

What challenge were you trying to address with Pontem Innovations?

We hired them to do data analytics for us to help us use our data better.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We engaged their team to assist us in the coagulation, organization, and use of data of all of our underlying assets. So, they’ve helped us develop reporting metrics, make strategic decisions based on data and information, and organize and catalog our data. 

We have a ton of data and we hadn’t been very good at using it in the past, so Pontem provides consulting services to help us make better decisions within our business by using our data better. 

What is the team composition?

We work with five people from time to time. We have two main points of contact, including Rick (Co-Founder) and Cameron (Director of Operations), but depending on the complexity of the data, they bring in 2–3 other teammates. 

How did you come to work with Pontem Innovations?

Rick and I did our MBAs together at school, so I used our alumni network. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’re in the arena of close to $100,000 CAD (approximately $75,800 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started these ongoing projects in September 2018 and we’re still working together. 

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

The quality of their work is excellent. I’ve used consultants in the past and haven’t felt like I was getting value for the dollar. With Pontem, I feel like I’m getting excellent value relative to the expenditure. We’ve taken on several projects with them and we’re going to do several more because the work they’ve provided us with is exceptional. 

How did Pontem Innovations perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re exceptional. They do everything a consultant needs to do, which is managing the client. I’ve had no issues; they’re prompt, true to their word, and follow up when they need to. They keep us on track and are excellent. We mostly communicate by email, phone calls, and a lot of video conferencing for the past six months.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They broke our data down into digestible formats, which is key for us since we have so much data and need to know how to use it. They’ve helped make sense of a huge amount of information. From a consulting perspective, they’re a pleasure to work with. They set out objectives, follow up on them, meet the goals, and bill us accordingly. I get a lot of value from the relationship and have built a lot of trust in them as business partners. 

As a small business, the idea of using data analytics to enhance my business always sounded like something that would be extremely costly, and only something large corporations could do. Pontem makes it so that we can utilize the resources and information to the best of their ability. 

Their outsourced model is quite flexible, so it allows us to tailor the requirements and needs alongside our budget, which is a big part for us. We were able to tailor that spend to match their services, so we receive exceptional value for our dollar. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s absolutely nothing they could do better for us. There’s nothing I would change and we’re going to continue working with them. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t hesitate. Every business should be working with them. There is value and skill that they can bring to every business. For small businesses, this is a great way to help companies scale and get value from their services without having to take on the full committed cost. I’d recommend everyone to work with them with no reservations. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am an director of the company and the Vice President of Sales and Projects. I oversee the bidding/estimating process and the project management of all our major projects.

For what projects/services did your company hire Pontem Innovations?

We hired Pontem to develop and interactive and up to date version of our KPI Scorecard.

What were your goals for this project?

We use a material tracking system for our production process as well as SharePoint for our estimating/bidding process. We released that we had over the year collected a lot of data but didn't have any great way to share this data or view this data in a effective way.

We wanted the data to be more interactive so that we could utilize it to make more informed decisions and set targets for our employees to help them measure both their own growth and our companies growth.

How did you select this vendor?

Pontem came recommended to us by our business coach. When we started this project we didn't have a very clear idea of how to would develop but Pontem clearly understood our values and our goals and was willing to work with us to create something that made sense for what we were looking for but also for the size of our company.

Describe the project in detail.

We started setting Key Performance Indicators that would help guide our business as we grew and help us make more informed decisions on the direction of the company. We had the data to track these Key Performance Indicators but we had no way to display them in an effective manner.

Moreover, as a medium sized business we didn't have the resources just to hire someone to be consistently collecting this data for us so we wanted something that would be more 'automatic.' Pontem suggestion that we could us PowerBI to mine our data and then display it in a 'Scorecard' format that would clearly and quickly show us if we were hitting our targets.

Moreover, if we wanted to, we could 'deep dive' into those specific targets and view our data over a certain period of time or within certain filters to get a real idea of what is going on within our business.

What was the team composition?

We met with Rick Dowel and Rick Feser, Rick Dowell handled more of the project management side of the project and Rick Feser worked on the development portion of the project.

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

The most significant outcome that came out of this project was that we realized that as a medium sized business we can still find affordable and useful ways to utilize the data we collect to help build our business.

So often we think that it's something that is out of reach or not affordable but Pontem made it possible. It also made us start thinking about the ways in which we can use data effectively and; more importantly, have important conversations about what data really matters and what data doesn't.

Lastly, it's given us a way to share the important data about our business with our employees to inspire them and make them aware about our growth and how we can all grow together.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow was very effective - they sent us weekly reports with tasks lists and responsibilities. We had frequent meetings about progress and they always sent minutes following those meetings. They were quick to respond to any questions and made sure to follow up with things when the ball was in our court.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They actually listened our values and our goals and were able to create something that was actually useful to day to day operations of our business. There were also very aware of our budget and made sure our time wasn't wasted going down roads that lead to dead ends.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. I really think they did an amazing job.