Reed Dynamic

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the president and owner of a graphic design and web design firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Reed Dynamic?

I had a client that was starting up a new business in the warehousing and packaging supplies business. We were developing the brand and the style guide for them and compiling product information for their catalog. They needed someone to spearhead the development of an online catalog and integrate it with their Salesforce and HubSpot platforms. They had a temporary frontend with a blog and some webpages and were using HubSpot. Their product catalog and sales information were in Salesforce. They were using a Salesforce product called CloudCraze for e-commerce. They had pre-chosen all of these platforms but had no way of integrating it all.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Reed Dynamic built an integrated platform for the client with HubSpot, Salesforce, and CloudCraze. We contracted Reed Dynamic, and the client paid them directly. We interfaced with them more than the client as their liaison for the project. We started by creating mockups of how we imagined the site to function. Reed Dynamic did a lot of custom scripting in the CloudCraze environment. There were up to 1,600 products in separate categories in the catalog. It took about four months to roll out.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with one counterpart.

How did you come to work with Reed Dynamic?

We heard about them through a friend of a friend. Our team interviewed them, reviewed their past work, and checked their certifications.

We had worked with other programmers in the past that were specialized in WordPress or JavaScript. No one had the systems integration capabilities that we needed. Reed Dynamic seemed to have the knowledge we needed to merge and leverage the systems.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000–70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2018–January 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site was up when promised. It's stable; it’s still running. The client can make updates to pricing, product details, and photos by themselves, which was one of the stipulations. They’re selling and getting new clients every day.

How did Reed Dynamic perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated once or twice a day. They asked the right questions and contributed best practices. The system was complex. The client had chosen the platform without a whole lot of vetting—and they were able to make the best of it. Their troubleshooting abilities were impressive. We didn’t have to compromise our design or our plans: they were able to find a way to make the system work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We've had programmers in the past that refused to work outside of their comfort zones on different systems. Reed Dynamics was willing and able to seek new knowledge and figure it out. This case was so complex that we didn’t know if the integration was even possible. They found a way to make it work. They have a craving for knowledge which was a real asset for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We manage multiple clients so sometimes it was tough to take calls or have meetings about this project twice a day. Instead of phone calls, it could have been easier to track things if we’d used a project management tool. The scheduling would have been tighter. Everyone would have been aware if something was going to be delayed and how it would affect the timeframe.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They're big picture thinkers. My advice would be to make sure that they know your intentions and long-term plans. When we started this project, we talked with them about how we would continue to expand the platform after the launch. As a result, they were able to program it in a way that laid the groundwork for that expansion.