SolidBrain

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder / CEO of an industrial maintenance and repair company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a company that provides maintenance and repair services for industrial and manufacturing equipment. We offer a wide range of services for equipment in industries such as metallurgy, mining, energy, and transportation. These services include repair, maintenance, diagnostics, and modernization of equipment.

The company also offers spare parts and technical support to its customers. Our goal is to provide its customers with reliable and efficient service, helping to minimize downtime and ensure that equipment operates at peak performance. The company employs highly trained technicians and uses modern equipment and technologies to provide high-quality services to its customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire SolidBrain to accomplish?

• B2B automotive eCommerce platform

SOLUTION

How did you find SolidBrain?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select SolidBrain over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing first our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

What was the size of SolidBrain’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

Scope of Work:

1. Analysis and Requirements Gathering: SolidBrain conducted a thorough analysis of our business needs, including an assessment of existing systems and processes, and identified the requirements for the new B2B eCommerce system.
2. Design and Development: Based on the analysis and requirements gathering, SolidBrain designed and developed a custom B2B eCommerce automotive system, which includes features such as inventory management, order processing, payment processing, customer management, and reporting.
3. Integration: SolidBrain integrated the new B2B eCommerce system with our existing systems, including accounting and CRM software, to ensure seamless data flow and process automation.
4. Testing and Quality Assurance: SolidBrain conducted rigorous testing and quality assurance to ensure that the new system was fully functional, reliable, and user-friendly.
5. Deployment and Training: SolidBrain deployed the new system to the client's servers and provided comprehensive training to our staff to ensure that they could effectively use the new system.

Key Deliverables:

1. Requirements Analysis Report: A comprehensive report that outlines the business needs and requirements for the new B2B eCommerce system.
2. System Design Document: A detailed document that describes the system architecture, design, and functionality.
3. Fully Functional B2B eCommerce System: The completed system, which includes all of the necessary features and functionality to manage inventory, process orders, manage customers, and generate reports.
4. Integration Documentation: Documentation that outlines the integration process and data flow between the new system and the client's existing systems.
5. Testing and Quality Assurance Report: A report that documents the testing and quality assurance process, including any issues that were identified and resolved.
6. Deployment Plan: A plan for deploying the new system to the client's servers, including any necessary migration of data and configuration settings.
7. User Training Materials: Comprehensive training materials for the client's staff to ensure that they can effectively use the new system.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Sprints with the result

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

Yes, everything was great. Everything was on time, and they responded to all our needs.n

What was your primary form of communication with SolidBrain?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Team spirit, good quality, and client-oriented approach.

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

I'm not sure, for everything was good.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re one of the largest automotive distribution companies in Ukraine, and we’ve been on the market for more than six years. We sell engine oil, brakes, and similar products from various popular brands. We have more than 400 employees, and I’m the owner and CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SolidBrain?

We needed a B2B system to optimize our warehouses, distribution system, and sales system, and we hired SolidBrain to help us develop that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SolidBrain developed our CRM system from scratch. The most important features we needed were for optimizing our logistics systems, so their team built out a webshop that can manage the entire delivery process. Our clients, who are resellers within the Ukrainian market, can go into the system, order parts in large quantities, and choose the delivery service they want to use. Everything works automatically from there.

SolidBrain also created an admin panel for us and worked on the CRM’s UX/UI design.

What is the team composition?

There were 12 people from their side in total. SolidBrain provided front- and backend developers, designers, and a project manager. We also assigned someone from our side to work with their team.

How did you come to work with SolidBrain?

They were recommended to me by my business partners.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $1 million on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SolidBrain in July 2018, and the main development project is complete. They’re now supporting the platform on an ongoing basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had around 50 sales managers before we started working with SolidBrain. Now, we’ve scaled down to 20 managers. The platform they developed has helped us save a lot of money across different business processes, and we’ve increased our sales by 240%. The quality was good.

How did SolidBrain perform from a project management standpoint?

In general, the process was good, and they delivered on time. I know their CEO, and I met the developers. We’re both Ukrainian, which made communication easier. 

SolidBrain used the scrum methodology, and we discussed tasks through Jira, Google Meet, and by phone. They also came to our office for meetings, but we worked remotely during the pandemic. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

SolidBrain was established in 2013, and a lot of their developers have been there since the company’s start. Their management is excellent, and so is the quality of their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything went well from our point of view. I don’t know what their internal processes look like, but they conduct business in a good manner.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you explain what you want and what your business is, SolidBrain will take care of it. Communication is the most important thing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm Head of E-Commerce in group of companies for the production, distribution and sale of lubricants, technical fluids and auto parts for cars and trucks. We work in the B2B sector and sell products to the end user B2C.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our goal was to develop a B2B platform for our customers, where they can see the price and balance of goods in warehouses and place orders.

SOLUTION

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

We chose this company on the basis of completed projects in our field of activity.

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

Initially, we had a call with representatives of several areas from our company - finance, sales, marketing, we determined the list of functionality that the platform should have and transferred examples of such functionality from similar platforms.

The project began with the development of design and layouts of what the pages of the site would look like. Then, step by step, the development of back-end functionality began. Periodically, once every couple of weeks, we had a video conference where we summarized the stages we had passed and determined the tasks that needed to be solved. Also in chats we kept communication almost every day.

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

On the vendor side, for the entire active time of the project, we had contact with about 7 employees. The team included a project manager, a designer, 2 front-end developers, 3 back-end developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With this platform, we started wholesale e-commerce sales in our company, so it is difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of the platform, but the number of online customers and orders is increasing every month.

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

The team answered my questions almost instantly in chats. Tasks were taken immediately to work, there was no downtime in work.

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

I was impressed by how quickly the developers delved into the specific topic of the automotive market. All the technical features of the nomenclature, article numbers, and spare parts selection guides.

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

I think they should expand the team of specialists in order to comprehensively solve all types of tasks in the IT sphere

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a startup and a management consultant by trade.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SolidBrain?

I hired SolidBrain to develop a website for selling plots of land in Poland.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SolidBrain set up my web platform from scratch. On it, users can register accounts, create offers, and mark plots on a map. It also has a blogging functionality and a payment and invoicing system. Offers can be public or private, and anyone can post offers, but the vast majority of people doing it are real estate agents.

As for the scope of their work, SolidBrain has helped me deploy the website, organize the servers, and interact with other vendors. We also needed to integrate with government entities, and SolidBrain took part in those meetings. They’ve brought the necessary technical knowledge and become my main partner for the technical solution side of my business.

I’m not a very technical person, but SolidBrain has supported me with everything related to the technical aspects of my website from day one. The backend was built on Laravel PHP, and the frontend was built using Bootstrap, JavaScript, and WordPress. SolidBrain adapted to our needs, so we’re using a template for the frontend design for now.

What is the team composition?

I’ve interacted regularly with 2–3 people from SolidBrain, but many others were present during the introduction meetings. In total, I’ve seen around seven people working on the project. Their team includes two backend developers, 2–3 people testing the website, and one project manager.

I was first in touch with the person that presented their offer, and the project manager became my main point of contact after we signed the contract. Most recently, I’ve worked a lot with one of the lead testers during the final phase.

How did you come to work with SolidBrain?

I found SolidBrain on the internet. I presented them with my needs, and I discovered that their communication and price were very good. They were proactive in presenting different options to solve my problem.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent around €15,000 (approximately $17,500 USD) on the entire project.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our first interactions were in early March 2021, and our engagement is ongoing. We’re aiming to have my site live by next week.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have any success metrics, but I’m very satisfied in general. Our communication has been very good, and SolidBrain has always been supportive when I’ve had an issue outside their scope. Their organization, the testing process, and the interactions with me have been all great.

It’s not that easy for me to evaluate the solution’s technical sophistication. However, it fulfills my needs and solves my problems, and I’m very happy with the collaboration overall.

How did SolidBrain perform from a project management standpoint?

SolidBrain’s governance is very good. Whenever we’ve had a delay, they communicate the reason for it, and I’ve never been left in the dark. Additionally, they’ve delivered everything they could on time, and when we’ve had a challenge, there’s always a clear reason behind it.

We use WhatsApp quite a lot for direct messaging, and we’ve had calls over Google Meet. I know that they use Jira and Slack on their end.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive part has been SolidBrain’s flexibility in looking for new solutions. Whenever we meet an obstacle along the way, they always work to find a workaround. They suggest the possible options that are on the table, and they never give up. This trait was especially important when working with the Polish government institutions, which weren’t very willing to collaborate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

SolidBrain’s testing quality could be better at times. The intended workflow was finding a solution, developing it, and having a group of testers work on it before presenting it to me. However, we found additional issues, leading to a new development and testing cycle. Given the number of issues we found, I think that their work could’ve been tested better.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Work with them without hesitation, and stay in touch whenever there’s an issue or idea.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Incluze 8 and we’re an amber extraction company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SolidBrain?

We needed someone to develop our website and provide us with managed IT solutions.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SolidBrain developed our website, provided us with a B2B business plan, created a personal discount system, and helped us integrate logistics and CRM systems. In the beginning, they explained all the milestones, processes, and presented us with the documentation that they prepared.

We would have regular meetings and we consulted with them whenever we had any questions about the progress.

They’re currently providing us with maintenance support.

What is the team composition?

I typically communicate with the tech lead and project manager, and their team is made up of five developers, a designer, and a frontend developer.

How did you come to work with SolidBrain?

I asked my managers to contact the company with a good reputation and good reviews, and they found SolidBrain while researching online. They also came highly recommended by some of our partners.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2020 and our partnership is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

SolidBrain provided us with a good estimation and promised that they would deliver the product in 12 months. They were very quick to provide solutions and they ended up accomplishing the project before the scheduled release date. 

How did SolidBrain perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication is great. Whenever we have a problem, they’re always quick to respond. Additionally, their project management is great as it saves me a lot of time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with their responsiveness and delivery.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think they have anything to improve on. I still have great communication with them and they help me a lot.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re looking to hire an outside developer, make sure to keep SolidBrain in mind so you can compare them with your other choices.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of Vacation rental website www.villsy.com. We are one of leading vacation rental websites in Croatia

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

For our vacation rental website wee needed skilled developers who can develop new functionalities of our webpage.

SOLUTION

How did you select SolidBrain Software and what were the deciding factors?

We searched for new developers and chosen Solidbrain after considering 4 other vendors. After a round of interviews and offers, Solidbrain was proved the skills to work on our project, timely delivery and good price

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

After the kick off meeting and presenting documentation, we had regular meetings to ensure delivery. All the milestones were met and the project was succesfully finished.

How many people from the SolidBrain Software team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Most contact we had with project manager. Apart from project manager we were constantly in contact with our dedicated developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With help of Solidbrain we have translated our webpage to 12 new languages, improved rich snippets, added FAQ on our webpage. We saw a considerable traffic increase.

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

We used google meets for our meetings, also communicated on Whatsapp for faster communication.

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

They were professionals with excellent knowledge of their business. When we met a problem they were fast to react.

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

There were some minor bugs that were corrected immediately

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of the IT department at EVO Lubricants GmbH. We are an automotive lubricant company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SolidBrain Software?

We needed to combine every service that we use into one place. We wanted to hire a company that could provide different services like CRM and web services while also working on development and logistics.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had several meetings with their team and their head of the technology process. We discussed our requirements and all the features that should be on the website. We also reviewed the scope several times, and then we proceeded with development.

SolidBrain Software designed and developed our website from scratch using Laravel, PHP, and different integrations. Our B2B system and our CRM are also based on Laravel. After proposing different design versions to us, SolidBrain Software’s team did the UI/UX of the website. They designed, developed, integrated, and housed everything from our website in one place.

They provided tech solutions and business analyses related to tech decisions. At the same time, we worked on the marketing and vision for our products. We had several challenges associated with CRM integration, and they provided us with a great solution with several approaches. SolidBrain Software still provides support and maintenance.

What is the team composition?

There are approximately 15 people from SolidBrain Software that work with us. There’s a project manager, a business analyst, a QA person, designers, and architects.

How did you come to work with SolidBrain Software?

Our partners recommended SolidBrain Software.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent $700,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2018, and we continue to use their services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I like cooperating with SolidBrain Software, and I recommend working with them. I appreciate our cooperation and hope we can continue working together in the future. 

How did SolidBrain Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very professional and have a great project manager. First, they provide us with documentation of what was done during the week. Then, they discuss it with us to see if any changes are needed or implementations that should be done. They do a great job collecting and providing all of the flow, metrics, and analytics. We communicate via email and chat. We also have meetings and demonstrations of products in different messenger tools.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their delivery is always on time, and their work is of high quality.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could propose ideas for the development. For example, I might need more information, and they could provide us with other data at the discovery phase. They provide more than they need to during the support phase, but I still feel they could be more proactive during the development phase.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make an agreement with them so they provide a great discovery phase and propose several solutions that can be used in the future. Whenever we had challenges, they proposed different ways to solve the problem, which is a really good approach because it saves time and money.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of "NordicUkraineinvest" and the director of the office in Scandinavia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We contacted SolidBrain with a request to help create for us the first online platform for selling Ukrainian goods in Scandinavia. We needed a high-quality website that would allow us to present products from various manufacturers, actively sell, operate in various markets, and have multimedia functions.

It was very important for us that the developer company could quickly and efficiently develop the content we needed in the field of e-commerce.

SOLUTION

How did you select SolidBrain Software and what were the deciding factors?

We reviewed other works of SolidBrain and we really liked the quality of the work done for other companies. We also received references from other clients of the company who were pleased with the collaboration with SolidBrain.

It was important for us to hear that the company can perform large volumes of work in a short time, do it efficiently, offer interesting solutions in terms of design, content, and various technical functions, in our case in the field of e-commerce.

It was important for us to find a company that will not only be able to develop a website for e-commerce for us but will be able to act as an expert, offer innovative solutions, and so on. These were the main factors why we entrusted the production of our website to SolidBrain

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

We had only one meeting with a company representative to whom we explained the tasks and goals of the project. A week later, we received a ready-made step-by-step work plan with a budget, which we quickly approved and proceeded to design and develop the format of our online platform.

Within a few months, an online store was created for us with the solutions we expected. Scope: create a multilingual store with payment gateway, several delivery options. Project steps: project investigation based on business strategy, design creation, front-end development, back-end development, 3-rt party solutions integration, testing, deployment.

Everything was delivered consistently based on milestones. The backlog was created by the SolidBrain team, the same with the sprint log. Technologies: PHP, OpenCart3, JavaScript, work with API.

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

In total, six SolidBrain employees worked on our project (1-designer, 1-front developer, 2- back-end developers, 1- QA, 1 - PM.)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our partners and clients were satisfied with the result. The site is accessible and easy to use and navigate. Each manufacturer can clearly see the series of presented products.

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

Solid Brain's team has always behaved professionally in relation to our project. Almost all project deadlines have always been met. There were no delays or poorly executed work. If we came with questions, as a rule, the guys always quickly found a solution to the problem.

There were never any delays in communication. They always respond promptly, are pleasant to talk to, professional, and focused on achieving results.

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

The company has a lot of interesting innovative proposals. They are ready to offer non-standard customized solutions for the client. They are experts in their field, whose advice has helped us a lot to get results even better than we expected. No project downtime. The team is always result-oriented.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There are probably areas for improvement, but they are unknown to us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of the representative office at Avellana Gold, a natural resource exporter.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SolidBrain Software?

We needed help with development. Our aim was to build a B2B platform and create a website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SolidBrain Software developed our website and B2B solution. The solution includes manager accounts for communication, discounts, purchases, a logistics system, delivering tracking, and CRM integration. There are 50 modules for headquarters.

What is the team composition?

There were 8–10 people, including a web designer, front- and backend developers, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with SolidBrain Software?

One of our co-founders recommended them because he had previously worked with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with SolidBrain Software started in October 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everything was good. We’re satisfied, especially with their communication. We didn’t dive deeply into the technical solutions. We were just in conversation with the management team, and we explained our thoughts, and they turned it into technical solutions.

I’m glad to have found a good technical partner who helped us solve our problems and to move forward to automate our processes. Our B2B platform is working well, and we have no problems with it.

How did SolidBrain Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is good. They did everything in terms of what they were supposed to. They also met our expectations about the deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We like our cooperation with SolidBrain Software. We’re really glad that we found a technical partner that we’re satisfied with. We’re planning to work with them in the future.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything went smoothly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you don’t have a technical partner and you don’t know who to choose, SolidBrain Software is the right partner who can help you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

TopDrive has been on the market for 15 years, and I’ve been working here for five years, as the marketing director. We sell different kinds of automotive oils, for transmissions, engines, brakes, steering systems, and so on. We’re the official Castrol distributor in Ukraine.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SolidBrain Software?

We used to sell our oils through customer representatives that contacted different retailers manually and visited their physical stores. We made the decision to build a B2B platform where different retailers could order online. We have eight warehouses in different locations in Europe, and it’s been a bit difficult at times to check every single CRM. We’re using 1C:CRM, which is very popular in Ukraine. The platform would bring together our partners and managers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SolidBrain developed our custom platform in Laravel PHP. We have different search options, so a retailer can filter by vehicle type, manufacturer, model, or VIN code. Our managers can implement different discounts and promotions for particular users. The platform integrates with our CRM in order to locate products across our eight warehouses and check prices.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with around 13 people from SolidBrain: 6–7 on the backend, three on the frontend, one designer, one business analyst, and one tester.

How did you come to work with SolidBrain Software?

One of our partner companies had used them to build a similar solution for auto parts, and they recommended SolidBrain to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay them an average of $35,000 per month. The cost of the platform development and CRM integration is around $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SolidBrain around January 2020. We’ve launched the first version of the B2B website, and we’ve started working with SolidBrain on a logistics solution with GPS functionality.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The platform looks fine and is working properly. I can’t speak to the quality of the code, but the functionalities are working fine. SolidBrain gave us good advice around the CRM synchronization, which gave us a good advantage. It was difficult to handle different warehouses, and they came up with a good solution.

How did SolidBrain Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They developed the platform in different phases and gave us a demonstration for each one. we communicate with the business analyst during the requirement gathering stages, who translates our issues into technical tasks. They have a project manager in place during development. I never challenge them on timelines, because I don’t have a good notion of how much each functionality should take, but they stick to the deadlines we agree on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have good expertise, and they can advise us on how to implement different components.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was nothing crucial that affected our timeline or budget. Everything went as agreed.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

SolidBrain is a good option for people looking to create B2B platforms similar to ours.