Promet Source

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a senior policy advocate at the American Library Association.

What challenge were you trying to address with Promet Source?

As part of a large-scale, grant-funded initiative with a third party, we needed to develop and launch a website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our existing website served more as a repository for information, and we wanted to turn it a more attractive and feature-filled platform. We presented Promet Source with mock-ups of our ideas, and they conducted interviews with our core product team to learn more about our ideal site. Our feedback from those sessions drove three separate design and development sprints. We had a very aggressive timeline as part of this initiative, so we challenged Promet Source to complete the work in about six weeks.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Andrew (President, Promet Source), Mindy (Director of User Experience and Design, Promet Source), and Melissa (Project Manager, Promet Source).

How did you come to work with Promet Source?

When our IT team outsources specific tasks, they typically choose Promet Source. Given that we already had a relationship with them, we were confident that they could help with this project.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $46,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October–November 2018.

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

Because of this website, the libraries that we’ve worked with as part of this initiative will now have evidence of the work they did to further the project. They will be able to show their administrators and funders that they were part of a nation-wide endeavor.  

How did Promet Source perform from a project management standpoint?

We worked very well together. Promet Source was patient with my team while explaining all of the technical aspects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated their design sprints and the iterative process. They masterfully took our ideas and translated them into specific pieces of the website. They gave us two or three different concepts during each team meeting. After we provided feedback, Promet Source successfully implemented our comments into a new version.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Given the short timeline, I don’t know if there’s much more we could have asked them to do differently. Promet Source advocated for user testing, but we didn’t have the time for that, and that’s not something we can hold them accountable for.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the former COO at a large association in the retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketing space. In my role, I led our web development efforts among other things.

For what projects/services did your company hire Promet Source?

I hired Promet Source to rebuild our association website in Drupal.

What were your goals for this project?

In addition to finishing on time and budget, our goal was to end up with a website that would impress our members and provide them with increased functionality. Implementing new tools would allow members to improve their performance and lift the level of our market.

How did you select this vendor?

I searched for 3–4 recommended Drupal firms that had done similar projects in the past. I interviewed each, checked their references, and narrowed the list down to two finalists. The final deciding factor was the price and timeline estimate.  

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail. 

Promet Source rebuilt our association website in Drupal. They provided turnkey web development services, from requirements gathering through to design, development, deployment, and continued support. 

What was the team composition? 

The core team consisted of about 4–6 individuals, however, others came in and out as their specific experience and skills were needed.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Upon completion and rollout, visits to our site improved materially. Not only that, but the time spent on each site also increased materially. We were overwhelmed with positive anecdotal feedback from our membership, and the site’s usefulness played a part in our subsequent acquisition. 

How was project management arranged and how effective was it? 

The project management was solid. Our team had many stakeholders, which can be challenging to manage—a bit like herding cats—but Promet Source did well. Whenever I had concerns over project status and velocity, they took my questions seriously and answered quickly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed with the end result.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, not without getting nitpicky.

Could you briefly describe your organization?

I own a company called Green Cab of Madison. We started that company in September of 2010. I’m one of the owners. We serve Madison, Wis., only.

Could you describe the business challenge(s) you were attempting to address when you initiated the relationship with Promet Source?

Currently, we own a towing company. My husband’s grandfather owned a taxicab company way back in the ‘60s and kind of got out of the business. Back in 2010, we decided to get back into the taxicab business. We wanted to start out with a hybrid. We wanted to do a rideshare taxicab service. Of course, we needed a way in which to effectively communicate with our cab drivers. We started looking at some of the traditional taxicab programs, hardware companies that used the meter cabs and two-way radios and all sorts of different options. What we found didn't really fit with our whole model of a shared service, green service, hybrid cabs, state-of-the-art cars in transportation. We needed a state-of-the-art communications system in place. It was then that we started thinking about using iPads. Why not use something that was flexible and intuitive, something that could processes credit card transactions, reliably communicate between drivers and customers, and allowed for all kinds of customizations. 

It was during our evaluation of this idea that I thought of Andy, who is the cofounder and owner of Promet, and who we already had a relationship with. We had worked on projects in the past. I reached out to him and said, “Here is what we’re thinking about doing." I basically described our project and requirements and asked him if it was something they could deliver within a 30 day timeframe. Andy took our project specifications and reviewed them with his team. He reconnected a few says later and said, “Yes, we can do it. We’ll put it together for you.” It’s gone into three stages now. And we were successfully up and running with 10 operational cabs in 30 days.

Could you describe in greater detail the scope of this project? For instance, did it involve custom visual design, backend development, training, support, etc.?

They didn't have experience working with a taxicab service before. We exclusively in the towing business. We certainly knew what we wanted it to do going into the project. We would put it all together and say, “Here is what I think it should look like. Here is what I think our dispatcher should see. This is what we want to pass along to the drivers.” We'd provide them with very rough drafts of our requirements, mostly in PowerPoint format. They would come back and say, “This is how it can be done,” and often offer us suggestions on how to modify the process in our favor. It’s definitely been a collaborative effort. It’s our vision and they made it a reality. 

How did you select Promet Source as your solution partner?

It’s simply because of my past business relationship with Andy. We worked with a company called Sundial.com during the whole .com craze. I was working for Bell Cells at the time. I’m not actually even sure where Andy was, but there were about three or four initial partners that started Sundial.com, and we built an e-commerce site for the sales distribution of cellphones.

That particular relationship lasted almost five years. We had different ownerships along the way. Everybody parted their own ways after about four and a half years. That’s how I met Andy. Knowing what he could do when I was working with him at Sundial, how our site was working, and all the different firms that we partnered with, was an important factor. I was impressed with how all that happened and knew that he had started this company, Promet, and reached out to him. Also, prior to building our green light, which is what we call our dispatching software, they had built our SchmidtAuto.com site, our towing website, too. I knew that he could build websites, but this was a different kind of project. 

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

Taxicab software could range anywhere from $10,000 to $200,000. It was all dependant on what you wanted to spend. We originally went in and said, “We had a budget of $75,000. Let’s get this up and running,” which included of the ability to book online through our primary site, as well as through our dispatch software, run on our iPad application. That was our initial budget. We ran that for a year and a half, almost two years. We always knew we wanted to make enhancements because we’d certainly like to market this. I’ve had numerous people contact me about it. We’re the first one to use iPads as a full dispatch solution. There are various Droid versions out there. I think we might be one of the few companies that use iPads as primary solution. We went in this last year and rewrote everything. We did Drupal 7. We did a lot of enhancements to it. Now, we’re in the six-year range. When all is said and done, we're talking about the $150,000 to $200,000 range.

When was this iPad application completed and launched?

Phase 1 was completed within thirty days. By September of 2010, we were out the door with 10 cabs completely operational. We ran on that for a good year. As we began to add more taxicabs, we knew we wanted to build an enhanced version. They then worked on phase 2 for a good year. We just rolled out phase 2 in September of this year. Actually, it might have been the first part of October of 2013 when we completed phase 2. We probably won’t go much further than phase 2, unless something changes significantly within our business plan. We’re currently operating 35 cabs. It’s a great system for a small- to medium-sized cab company. If we were to get into the thousands of cabs, we'd probably need to do perform some additional systemwide enhancements. For now, we’re set. With software, there are always a million things you can do. In the end, it's really about what brings the most value. 

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

We have certainly grown this business. Obviously, that growth is attributed to a lot of different things. One of the things that we do is we have the ability to tell consumers that they can know what their fare is going to be before they ride. That’s the beauty of a zone-based pre-calculated fare system. Instead of getting in a cab and going into the city, so to speak, and not knowing exactly what the trip is going to cost, you can know before the cab even arrives. This is great because many people get out of the airport, hop in a cab, and they have no idea what it's going to cost them by the time they get to their final destination. We completely remove that uncertainty. We think that we've been able to capture not only our share of the market place. We have put some serious pressure on the other three existing cab companies in this area. We have grown the business in the first two years by 35 percent. And our current projection for this year is a growth rate of 25 percent. There are a lot of things that contribute to that, but this software allows us to offer rides in the most efficient manner. All of that contributes to more rides, which means more revenue for our drivers, as well as the company. We've provided more than a half a dozen permanent jobs through dispatch. 

When working with Promet Source, is there anything you would consider unique or special about them compared to other vendors you’ve worked with?

We have a very strong relationship. I'm completely comfortable calling up Andy directly, or simply stopping by their office if issues arise, or if I have questions or concerns. Our relationship is unique in that sense. They’ll put a product manager on with you. In our case, it’s Johnny Fox. He’s been very attentive to us. With other vendors that I’ve worked with, I would say that they've never been as attentive to us and our needs. Issues have and do arise, but they always go out of their way to address these things in a timely and responsible manner. I felt very comfortable with their expertise and their ability to effectively allocate their resources during the entirety of the project. 

In retrospect, are there areas that you think they could improve upon, or are there things you'd do differently as the client before approaching this type of project?

We’re a 24 hour, 7 day a week, 365-day business. It never stops for me, whereas there are a lot of companies that work Monday through Friday, the typical nine-to-five. That's not how we operate; in fact, we can't operate that way. Issues and problems can arise at 3 o'clock in the morning. The ability to maintain consistent and reliable communication is essential, because we’re running around the clock. We need to ensure we have that customer service access around the clock. The other thing would be responsiveness. Everybody wants everything done yesterday. All of our tasks come with an extreme sense of urgency, because in the taxicab business, time really is of utmost importance. From our end, making sure we devised reasonable and attainable timelines was a challenge to begin with. The more complex the issue or task, the more time and resources it takes. There were definitely times when we established some unrealistic timetables for completion, but we got through it. 

Could you briefly describe your company?

I work for the federal government. My particular office manages the patenting and licensing of intramural inventions for the Department of Health and Human Services.

What is your position?

I’m the deputy director at the Office of Technology Transfer.

Could you describe the business challenges you were attempting to address when you began the relationship with Promet Source?

We were looking to enhance and upgrade the website we utilize for our marketing and public relations efforts.

Could you describe the scope of the project? For instance, did it involve custom visual design, backend development, training, support, etc.?

We essentially delegated the technical development of our website to Promet, and they helped us build out various modules. They provide support on a case-by-case basis.

How did you select Promet Source as your solution partner?

We initiated a government procurement process. We conducted preliminary research into potential vendors with the appropriate capabilities and then distributed a series of RFPs to the most viable candidates. Promet was among a handful of firms invited to demonstrate their relevant expertise, and we decided they would be a good fit for statement of work specified. We were confident that they’d be able to deliver the solution we sought.

When was the most recent project completed?

We have several projects that remain ongoing.

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

I don’t have any specific metrics or figures for you. The most important factor for us has been deploying an enhanced and functional website that both external and internal users can utilize with relative ease. From that standpoint, the project has definitely been a great success.

When working with Promet Source, is there anything you would consider unique or special about them compared to other vendors you’ve worked with in the past?

They are extremely responsive. They’re very professional. They wait until they understand the project specifications in complete detail before they begin to build, which is different from other vendors I’ve worked with. Ultimately, I think that’s where they offer the greatest value. I’d rather have a vendor invest the time needed to comprehend the challenges at hand, so that way the solution they engineer is well tailored to the problem.

In retrospect, are there areas that you think they could improve upon, or are there things that you’d do differently as the client before initiating a project of this nature?

I would recommend that they spend more time on quality assurance and quality control before launch. That’s my only real critique.