Robots & Pencils

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Senior Director of Technology Operations at United Road Services. I was recently hired to relaunch and maximizing our Salesforce instance. Without internal resources, we needed to partner with a company that would reboot our Salesforce system with analysis and development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Robots & Pencils, and what were your goals?

The first goal of the project was to do analysis on the current state of the environment. Our Salesforce instance had been around for 10+ years but never had a true "owner". After the analysis of the current state, we needed Salesforce to be at the center of the sales universe. It had to trigger the sales process including order creation into our TMS (Transportation Management System). The system also had to receive updates on the progress of the orders. Previously sales reps had log into multiple systems to quote, place order and log calls. The goal was to accomplish all of this within the Salesforce eco system.

SOLUTION

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

We met a couple couple larger firms but found R&P as a nimble dev show understood our complicated business and legacy systems. They had expertise not only in the Salesforce but had design, BA and QA teams to assist in the work.

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

Using Asana to capture requirements, we met with sales, operations and finance to ensure all the business needs were met. R&P design team presented their findings with FIGMA drawing for instant feedback. Asana cards were handed off to the devs. As the project kicked off, I sent out weekly updates via Asana to keep the sponsors aware of our project goals progress and recent wins.

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

There were 4 people on the team.

• Two Devopler
• Analyst / QA
• Project coordinator

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All sales associates are were removed from the system and can do their job entirely from Salesforce. We started with a few reps and now have expanded to other sales teams and operations.

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

The project management was done through the URS Asana project. We did daily standups on progress on Zoom calls. R&P had open communication with email, slack and Asana.

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

Their ability to adapt to changes is impressive. During the project we had a some personnel changes and their were able to fill the void quickly.

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

During the start of the project, R&P did not have any inhouse resources available to use. They hired contractors who were new to R&P.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of an information technology company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

My company develops and distributes communications software.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Robots & Pencils to accomplish?

• Proof of Concept software build

SOLUTION

How did you find Robots & Pencils?

Referral

Why did you select Robots & Pencils over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Robots & Pencils were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Develop mobile communications software to move data from point A to point B. Deliverable: Using Apple's software development Tool Kit to identify user data. Deliverable: DSP (Digital Signal Processing) accessing user data and send on a signal path. Deliverable: Producing precision accurate transfer of user data. Deliverable: POC Proof of Concept achieving the original goal stated above.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Robot's & Pencils developed a Proof of Concept Application for my company and their work was successful producing the software that I hired them to produce. On time and on budget. Their work is exactly what I was hoping that they would produce.

What was your primary form of communication with Robots & Pencils?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Everyone at Robot's & Pencils exceeded at their work. Communication was relevant, frequent, and produced clarity. They very much spent a lot of time identifying and understanding my needs as a client. They set expectations and then met them. Friendly positive staff which is a pleasure to work with from top to bottom. Everything was produced on time and on budget.

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

Professionalism, integrity, clarity, accurate proposal of work and fee's. On time and on budget. Most importantly success.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Robots & Pencils could have done differently?

Everything went as planned.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CDO of (a/an) Financial services

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Residential Mortgages

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Robots & Pencils to accomplish?

• Native Mobile App Development
• Customer Engagement
• Customer Satisfaction

SOLUTION

How did you find Robots & Pencils?

Referral

Why did you select Robots & Pencils over others?

High ratings, Great culture fit, Good value for cost, Referred to me, Company values aligned

What was the size of Robots & Pencils’s team?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Native iOS and Android App development including UX design and customer engagement strategy.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Development Velocity
• UX Usability
• NPS Results

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Robots & Pencils was fantastic in their support of our mobile app goals. They were amazingly response as we reacted to pandemic impacts and subsequent regulatory, market pivots including the CARES Act.

What was your primary form of communication with Robots & Pencils?

Virtual Meeting, Email or Messaging App

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

Their culture was incredible. We didn't just work together and deliver great results; we made lasting friendships.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Robots & Pencils could have done differently?

Nothing comes to mind