Qubiz

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product owner of a warehousing software company. We make warehouse management systems (WMSs) as a fully cloud-based software system. What happens between the four walls of the warehouse, we guide it and direct it so that the user has less thinking to do. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Qubiz?

Our WMSs were based on old technology and couldn’t give us what we needed. We wanted to create a completely new WMS from scratch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Qubiz worked quite closely with us. We know everything from the functional side and described it all to them. In the past, we were a bit more involved in the technical solution, but that knowledge is completely with Qubiz now. We now make sure that the functional part is described well so they can do the technical part without any issues.

We’re building everything on Microsoft Azure components.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a total of 40 people last year. There’s a scrum manager, a system architect, and a quality control person who does automated tests, unit tests, running them every day to check what’s wrong and what’s working well. For the rest of the team, one-third are testers while two-thirds are developers.

How did you come to work with Qubiz?

When we started from scratch again, we searched for who would be the best partner. We had a lot of conversations with different suppliers. In the end, we felt Qubiz was the best fit from both a cost and quality perspective.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2015, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Running a warehouse can be quite complex. We are running a fully automated warehouse in the US with 100,000 other places with our WMS. If you could see the complexity and size of that warehouse, you’d understand that it’s quite an achievement.

How did Qubiz perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re really adaptable and flexible. We get 24/7 support. When the fully automated warehouse went live, Qubiz had a couple of developers on-site doing support. The relationship is good, and I really enjoy working with them. 

We work in two-week sprints. Most communication is between the technical leads and the functional leads in each of the three scrum teams. Everybody is allowed to shoot questions to me. We talk mostly through Skype. Each month, I spend a week in Romania.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We do a lot of social activities together. For instance, Qubiz supports a foster home in a village nearby where they’re situated. Each year, we go to that foster home together. Qubiz always brings some clothes and goodies, and we make sure that our side has some gifts for the foster children as well. They do a lot for the community, not just their own employees.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We have no issues. I have a lot of fun working with Qubiz.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go see them in person every now and then.