SolidBrain

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.

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.

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.

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.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

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

What challenge were you trying to address with SolidBrain?

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

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.

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.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

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

What challenge were you trying to address with SolidBrain?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Please describe your company and your position there.

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

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.

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.)

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.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are automating and optimizing ads on Amazon for sellers, vendors and agencies.

For what projects/services did your company hire SolidBrain Software?

SolidBrain developed our new website. We gave them illustrator templates and they made decent code out of it. It worked really well, since we only needed two review loops.

What were your goals for this project?

A nice new website that should replace our old one. It's made in laravel and they really managed to implement it well.

How did you select this vendor?

Previous contact.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We gave them an illustrator template and they built the website accordingly.

What was the team composition?

One SolidBrain frontend developer was working on our website. Marianna did all the communication.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The new website was important for our CR.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Marianna did a great job.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They have really good frontend skills.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Clear code, but it's already quite good.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Ketino, a women’s clothing store based in Ukraine and Eastern Europe.

What challenge were you trying to address with SolidBrain?

We needed an e-commerce website to sell our clothes, display our catalog, and post business updates. We wanted customers to be able to purchase our products online, as well as in our existing stores. In addition to the site, we needed an accounting system to track sales.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided SolidBrain with our ideas and basic mockups of the site, and they created it from there. The site was custom-built using the Laravel PHP framework. They also developed a 1C:Enterprise-based accounting system.

What is the team composition?

The team consisted of 7-10 people, including front- and backend developers and a designer who I worked closely with.

How did you come to work with SolidBrain?

They are a well-known company that is local to us. We had no trouble finding them online and decided their diverse range of services was a great fit for our project.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $55,000

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in January 2016, and we finished in January 2017. Though the project is finished, we are still in touch, and they always provide help if I need it.

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

The launch of the site was very successful. We’ve received a high number of orders through the site, and the accounting system is integrated with all of our stores. We can now track products and automate some of the work that we couldn’t do in the past. Our clients are pleased with the functionality of the site, and we’ve received positive feedback from our users.

How did SolidBrain perform from a project management standpoint?

We had many Skype and face-to-face meetings. They had an open style of communication, so they considered all of my suggestions and ideas.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their speed and structure throughout the project left me 100% satisfied. SolidBrain brought my idea into reality; working with them was a revolution for our company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At the moment, we are very satisfied with the site — but down the road, we will adopt a more modern design.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Choosing them for a project is the right choice, their speed justifies the cost.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a manager for General Auto. We provide auto parts for the local market.

What challenge were you trying to address with SolidBrain?

We needed a professional company to build our web platform.

What was the scope of their involvement?

SolidBrain developed our B2B auto part sales website. Our team prepared requirements, a wishlist, and details of our expectations for the product. We provided other documentation as well. They used JavaScript, HTML, and PHP.

How did you come to work with SolidBrain?

We received a recommendation from a business friend. It was ultimately a great decision.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work was $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SolidBrain in 2014, and we have an ongoing relationship. The project was completed, and it’s currently in support mode. The development lasted three years.

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

Everything works fine, so we’re satisfied with the results. Our main measure of success is the increase in sales we’ve seen. We’ve attracted lots of new customers thanks to this web service, and the customers who use it give positive feedback. We are grateful to SolidBrain. They are an excellent team and company.

How did SolidBrain perform from a project management standpoint?

Collaboration is great. We talk on the phone but mostly communicate through Skype and Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are quick to respond. When we contact them with an issue, they answer immediately and solve it promptly. They're professionals.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I highly recommend them. They're great at what they do.