Slize Commerce

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the COO of a software engineering company that works in Microsoft's technology stack, specifically around business applications, including Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. We primarily work with customers from the EU. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Slize Digital?

We were trying to restructure our organization. We wanted to move our marketing to drive new business leads. Therefore, we needed to do more inbound marketing, which meant we needed a new website. We also needed a new way to interface with the market so we could make campaigns and landing pages. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I challenged Slize Digital to develop a cool website and CMS that we could afford. First, Slize Digital determined we needed a different CMS than what they'd developed previously. We looked to determine if we could utilize different components like Antdesign headless CMS. We ended up not using any components from their existing headless CMS, instead deciding to build our own components. 

Slize Digital developed over 20 components tailored to our company. They created the UX for all the components, following our branding guidelines. After discussing hosting platforms and which CMS to use, Slize Digital decided to move us from Umbraco to Strapi. They also use Cloudinary for our photos. 

We've been their guinea pig for the development of a lightweight headless CMS website.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with Alex (Designer), Denys (Frontend Developer), Pavlo (Senior Software Engineer), Brian (CEO & Co-Founder), and the lead content designer.

How did you come to work with Slize Digital?

I've known Brian of Slize Digital for a while, so when our WordPress and PHP website was hacked, I talked to our internal marketing team to determine the difficulties of working with an external developer to test new pages. I knew Slize Digital had just built an e-commerce site for a Danish company using headless CMS. I reached out to several companies, but Slize Digital was the only one open to taking on the challenge of turning our site into more of a business communication channel.  

I started talking with them about whether or not their processes could be used with smaller companies. We had that discussion on and off for a while but realized they could. We also determined we didn't need the more expensive aspects of e-commerce development, like API gateways. So, we hired them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested around €50,000 (approximately $51,000 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement began in October 2021. However, the development has slowed down because of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our goal with this project was to give our marketing team the tools they needed. Judging from how excited that team is to work with the new site and CMS, I'd say Slize Digital achieved that goal. It used to take a long time to create pages, but the new site allows our internal marketing team to create new pages within a day. The site is really easy to use, and the layout is really good — the site is very fast.

Next week we'll have a meeting to discuss the second wave of the project — we need to build more components. 

How did Slize Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

The project hasn't had any delays, minus the one we had at the beginning on how we wanted to start the project, but that was communicated clearly. I always know what is going on throughout the project; I have a good view of what's happening along the project timeline. We're pretty much on budget. 

At the beginning of the project, we had the luxury of face-to-face meetings because we were all in Kyiv. Our marketing department was a part of those meetings, where we determined the look and feel of the site. However, we've since migrated to video calls through Skype and Zoom. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Early on, I was really impressed with their design. It wasn't what we had in mind, but I fell in love with it once I thought about it some more. It was a step above what we would've been able to do ourselves. 

Knowing that the technologies we were using were also new to Slize Digital was exciting. I felt that they guided us well through the process and were very transparent throughout. They had cool designs and communicated clearly — we had no major surprises. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd advise you to put together a plan with Slize Digital at the start. They're good at describing what they want to do, and if you engage with that process early on, you can have transparent discussions about expectations. Challenging them and asking why they're taking certain approaches is also important. If you care and take part in project discussions, you'll make Slize Digital a little more invested in developing something cool. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of the digital marketing department at a stainless steel wholesaler.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Slize Digital?

We wanted to automate our selling process, so we needed Slize Digital to build our e-commerce platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Slize Digital has initially helped us build our site’s architecture and modernize our processes with new components and integrations. Upon finalizing that structure, they’ve deployed scalable solutions and conducted API integration. We plan to keep improving the site with updates and new features for the next two years.

What is the team composition?

We work with a team of five resources, including UI/UX designers, an architect, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Slize Digital?

Slize Digital’s owner was our former colleague. We engaged his team because we were aware of their expertise in web development and architecture.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing collaboration started in January 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve received positive feedback from our customers upon launching the platform, but our main success metric for Slize Digital’s work is the significant increase in our orders. They’ve built innovative e-commerce solutions that continue to help us be on track with our goals.

How did Slize Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Jira as our main project management tool. Slize Digital is a deadline-oriented and communicative team that understands our needs and how we prioritize those.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Slize Digital has a keen understanding of our needs as a B2B company. They’re always willing to impart insightful suggestions that greatly improve our plans and processes.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything off the top of my head.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

State clear business challenges because they’ll need that to accurately customize your architecture.