Pyxis

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CIO of a nonprofit.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Pyxis?

We needed their team’s development expertise.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pyxis helped with the project management for a large technology project we were working on. We had a discovery phase during which they learned about our project and then worked together with Pyxis until the project was complete. They worked as consultants and contractors to work with our staff.

They built the architecture from scratch and helped manage the projects. They also did some programming. They helped us with Drupal and Salesforce projects. Pyxis also built a PHP system and a mobile application for iOS and Android devices. They helped us build a customized grant management system, a single sign-on authentication system our teammates could use when logging in, and a point-based incentive system for our constituents, as well as other projects. We maintain and host the products.

What is the team composition?

I only worked with two members of Pyxis’ team, Claudia (Operations Coordinator) and another teammate. They had a large team working in the background.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Pyxis around November 2020, and the project was completed in September 2022.

How did you come to work with Pyxis?

They were highly recommended to us by a partner.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of the systems Pyxis helped develop got over 10,000 subscribers, so we definitely got a good ROI. They built seamless products; everything was great.

Pyxis was the best in the industry. They were familiar with all the technologies.

How did the company perform from a project management standpoint?

Pyxis delivered the work on time and on budget. Their communication was excellent. We used Microsoft Teams to communicate and store files; we also used Figma. Pyxis met weekly.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

Claudia was excellent.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Pyxis’ professionalism and communication were excellent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re great.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Stop looking at the competition because Pyxis will be your best bet.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Blockchain Technical Project Manager who is responsible for delivering Blockchain Ecosystem-centric projects and tools that promote community adoption.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Pyxis?

We needed a team that can complement the existing team in supporting and running the distributed nodes with a bulletproof infrastructure. Besides node deployment, there are other DevOps tasks such as deployments for the website, documentation, applications and services where we needed help to augment existing team by managing some of critical services end-to-end and that is when we started collaborating with Pyxis team.

SOLUTION

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

We researched the potential providers and chose Pyxis for based on the strategic vision to expand our Network with a dependable partner. We commissioned a Proof of Concept where Pyxis was to deliver a solution to one of the critical problem statements that we faced. They were able to deliver a solution to the problem with strong rationale to support the solution/approach, flexible options and detailed plan to manage and scale in the longer run.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

Pyxis team were commissioned to host and manage a production node using DevOps capabilities that will have the capability to autoscale when required. Scope of Work also include;

1. Creating a detailed Architecture
2. Capable design for Auto-Scaling
3. Automated Node setup using Infrastructure as Code
4. Managing Production Node and allied services end-to-end
5. 24x7 Support
6. Contribute to Open-Source, the documentation and other required materials accessible to all OSS community.
7. Create documentation, IaC and related configuration that is community facing.
8. Explore the possibility of deploying nodes on local hosting service providers within the LatAm region

Pyxis creating detailed Architecture, Infrastructure as Code, Documentation The service includes 24x7 support, be supported 24x7 . They came up with a detailed Architectural diagram and additional information is attached at the end of the document (Appendix) Monthly Maintenance and Node Administration:

Pyxis will provide 24/7 node administration, monitoring and support for the Node on production and will ensure production quality, full node administration especially during upgrades of the network. 1 Doc ID: 2068e2babbc07e1cd2afa6058798729e7386dcaaThis architecture will include an AutoScaling group, which is an AWS component that takes care of the instance’s lifecycle, in this case, the node's lifecycle.

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

The main contacts were their Director and Business Development Manager, and the daily/regular interactions involve DevOps Architect, Mid/Senior Level DevOps Engineer(s) and Mid/Senior Level Cloud admins.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Delivered a fully functional POC within the agreed timelines. Managed to create the POC successfully with limited inputs given to them. Delivered all the required architecture, design and other deliverables prompt on time or ahead of time in certain occasions. Documentation they delivered were detailed, easy to follow and user-friendly Their solution will help reduce the technical entry barrier in hosting a node and is expected to improve reach Customised and Open sourced their solution for of the community.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

During the POC we communicated via regular Google Meets, and emails. After moving from POC phase to Managed Services phase, we communicate the progress via weekly check-in calls, Telegram and Slack, and use Jira as the ticketing system to manage the sprints.

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

Quality of their solution, deliverables and the subject expertise that they possess in the area we engaged them. Though they were new to the Blockchain side of things, they quickly learnt the technical details with limited support from our side.

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

Nothing at this time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CIO of an international direct sales company with operations in 60 countries around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Pyxis team to support our SAP commerce implementation. Pyxis CX team worked hand in hand with 2 other vendor companies to implement an MVP based on SAP Commerce + Spartcaus. Our goal was to assemble an agile and fast-functioning team comprised of several vendors that would work together as one team using agile methodologies.

SOLUTION

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

We had several conversations with the Pyxis team and all of them were structured, well-prepared, and thought through. They always stuck to their commitments and that made a difference. The Pyxis team was also very transparent in their approach to partnership, long-term goals, and ways of working together. That was a deciding factor for us.

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

SAP Commerce Platform. We also had several conversations about possibility of introducing Emarsys.

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

We hired 4 Engineers from Pyxis:

• Back-end lead
• Back-end dev
• Front-end dev
• Full-stack dev

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Pyxis team allowed us to deliver on the planned scope, we rolled out the MVP.

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

The team adapted to our project procedures being full flexible with that, using our communication tools (slack) and the roadmap defined by Kyani.

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

Transparency, speed and quality. They work very fast and deliver on their promises.

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

We held monthly Steering committee calls which allowed us to provide continuous feedback introduce improvements quickly and easily. So we never waited for any risk to turn into a serious issue and those were addressed together and timely.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the Comercial innovation manager, responsible to develop new opportunities to be in touch with our customers, but having additional information to generate insights to the commercial area. The company is Coca Cola FEMSA, the biggest bottler in the Coca-Cola System

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Was created a specific APP for the customers (mom & pop stores) with image recognition to review the cooler, which products are there, sodas or not, our brand or other and even in the right place. Sending a suggested order to replenish the products and an alert for the sales guy.

SOLUTION

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

The first approach was redirected by SAP as a good and confident partner. But when was possible to select other partner or evaluate the performance, was a direct selection, because the performance was outstanding, so we only extend the partnership with Pyxis without evaluation or RFP process.

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

The main scope was create this bi-directional platform to have interaction between the bottler (Coca-Cola FEMSA) and the customers (mom&pops stores). This includes a web platform, integration with SAP ECC, creation of an Android & iOS APP, and the TensorFlow training algorithm for the image recognition.

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

Was SAP and Pyxis as Front and Back End. Telcel as a Carrier and internal employees to create this result

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After this process, we tried to improve our mom&pop execution store. Increasing our Nielsen qualification. But what we really obtained, was a digital tool decentralized and 24/7 open space to interact with our customers, representing 4.3% increase sales in the traditional market.

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

Was a agile project, structured in 3 different releases. The first release was in 6 months, the other releases were developed in 3 months each. In general terms was a 1-year project. Part time executed in Mexico, development was mainly in Colombia and Uruguay.

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

They were business-oriented. They didn't just focus on the project but also tried to help the company. The effectiveness of the recommendations, this is only generated by the deep knowledge. And transparency, during the negotiation and even the project execution.

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

In that moment, will be easier if they have local offices to receive local invoice (in Mexico)

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the scrum master of customer DevOps and monitoring 24/7 team

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Pyxis?

We reached out to Pyxis when we couldn’t handle the scope of growing work. They supported us for the past 5 ears working on multiple major accounts globally. Thanks to their professionalism, dedication and deep technical knowledge the clients were always highly satisfied with the work Pyxis delivered.

SOLUTION

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

We were already in touch with them for other services

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

Pyxis has accompanied us on several challenges, including platform monitoring and support for several clients, responding to incidents on critical client’s digital products as well as participating on cutting edge technologies projects created from scratch for some of our clients.

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

20

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Pyxis always met client objectives and milestones. The outcomes were on time, within budget and according to the defined scope.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communications worked flawless. The team was available, transparent in their work and approach as well as addressed any issues that came up. They always communicated changes in the resources as well as any project timelines. The team always has a dedicated senior architect who oversees the quality of the work, provides direction to the team and is available for any escalations. That worked for us very well.

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

Pyxis team was always reliable, available for any issues and at the same time proactive coming up with the suggestions. They approached every problem thoroughly and took care of it with the highest quality.

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

Not from my point of view. We always worked as one team, had a common goal and communicated transparently. Those elements were introduced from the very beginning and allowed us to scale and grow together.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the E-Commerce product owner at a direct sales beauty company. We sell cosmetics through a network of more than 800,000 beauty consultants in Latam.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

With more than 50 years in the market, we had the challenge to redesign the direct sales model using digitalization to adapt to a new profile of our beauty consultants (younger and more digital savvy) and the COVID-19 context where selling door to door became a problem for them.

We decided to build them a B2B2C platform, where each of them would have their own online store and could sell to their customers, receiving a commission of their sales. Our goal was to migrate and increase our sales through this new channel.

SOLUTION

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

We already worked with Pyxis for the B2C e.commerce platform three years before. They not only proved quality in their developments but also were deeply familiar with the business model, which made easier the onboarding stage of the project.

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

We had a design week with a team of Pyxis where we align the project scope and the main features to be developed. From there, we started working pretty quickly and achieve an MVP in less than two months. It was developed in SAP Commerce and the main product features were: a unique link for each consultant with three brands e-commerce, where the consumers could navigate and shop, a payment gateway, a split commission system linked to Mercado Pago, and a connection with all the company commercial, financial, analytics and logistics platforms.

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

The number of team members varied towards the evolution of the project, but we had a solution architect, a team of developers, QA's, and a SWAT team for urgent matters with 24 hours assistance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched the MVP in two months for 9 countries, and in less than a year, we achieved 5% of sales through this channel.

The team was deeply committed to our business and the quality of the product. They also were very flexible during the evolution of the product, as we had changes in scope or in features prioritization. They exceeded the expectations showing commitment and integration with the commercial team of the company.

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

We worked using agile methodologies, having daily meetings, planning sessions, and retrospectives for each sprint. Also, we used Slack and JIRA to communicate as we migrated to virtual work during the pandemic. We had constant communication to be aligned in every stage of the project.

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

Pyxis was a company that looks after their employees a lot, and that is reflected in the way they work. They are not only very disciplined in the ways of working and the quality assurance, but also don't hesitate to help in other matters such as emergencies, changes of scope, and also understand the business to make further recommendations.

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

As we were in different countries, the communication in case of emergencies during after-hours was a little bit hard at the beginning, but they quickly suggested building a swat team, a dedicated 24 hours assistance team to help with any issue if happened.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a marketing director and all digital channels are within my work area. Prolesa is the main b2b of agricultural inputs in Uruguay and is part of the Conaprole group, it sells more than 7000 sku of the most diverse types that are used in dairy production.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Prolesa, one of CONAPROLE's companies, has had an ecommerce sales portal on the SAP Hybris platform since January 2018, which was experiencing performance issues that affected the user experience and limited greater use of the channel. The service objectives were:

• Optimize the portal in speed and user experience, with the goal of reducing the size by 70% and load time by 80%.
• Introduce customer behavior and anonymous analytics: Integration with third party tool offering "heat mapping", "customer journey" (sales funnel) markups and review of user sessions.
• Analysis of consistency strategy between institutional Prolesa and Ecommerce: Integration plan between platforms to improve navigability. 
• Analysis of the current SAP Commerce infrastructure in order to validate how optimal it is for current needs.

SOLUTION

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

The provider was selected for its extensive experience with the hybris platform, a system used by Prolesa for its ecommerce, in addition to the multiple work areas it covers, being a benchmark within the Uruguayan and Latin American markets.

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

The project sought to improve the performance of the front end having as a framework the following objectives:

• Improve site loading
• Integrate analytics tools
• Improve existing analytics
• Optimize SEO.

Some technologies used in the project:

• Cloudinary: image autoconversion
• Lazy Loading: image loading optimization
• Newrelic: performance monitoring
• FullStory: user session recording
• Google Tag Manager: tag management.

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

The project involved an architect, a developer, a quality control specialist and a project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was executed within the agreed times and with the fulfillment of the established scope, the impact of the work being reflected in the different deliverables. The relationship established with the supplier was more than satisfactory, prioritizing good communication with the PM and the entire team. The adjustments made in the Prolesa online store generated a great impact on the user experience, considerably improving the loading speed as well as the tracking of user data through the implementation of google analytics and fullstory.

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

The style of the PM has been appropriate, with good use of communication and making a report that allowed knowing the progress of the project with precision.

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

They have the ability to understand customer needs and set up good communication throughout the project. They're a team of professionals who are trained in various areas, and this allows them to provide multiple solutions.

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

Everything was excellent

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Director of Marketing for a blockchain infrastructure company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were a start-up that needed a website up quickly.

SOLUTION

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

Referred by several other notable companies.

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

The company used a CRM that they recommended and built it quickly.

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

Two key members.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The company delivered quickly and delivered as promised.

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

The company met with us weekly.

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

They were very fast and kept to their word with deadlines.

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

We shared feedback with each other after the fact. They were open to ideas. Ultimately, they were fast and delivered exactly what they promised.