Custom Software Development for Cutting Tools Manufacturer
- Custom Software Development
- $10,000 to $49,999
- Aug. 2018 - Ongoing
- Quality
- 4.0
- Schedule
- 4.0
- Cost
- 4.0
- Willing to Refer
- 5.0
“Their sincerity differentiates them from other providers.”
- Manufacturing
- India
- 11-50 Employees
- Phone Interview
- Verified
Suvrin Technologies has developed a customized software tool for a cutting tools manufacturer. The team works to resolve the client’s supply chain issues through the software and make their logistics seamless.
While there have been problems with their project management, Suvrin Technologies has impressed the client with their software solution. The company now has a faster shipment process, and their customers can communicate with them more efficiently. Overall, the team successfully meets expectations.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the general manager of P. Raj & Company, a manufacturer of carbide cutting tools.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with Suvrin Technologies?
Our supply chain is quite complex. We buy finished goods and raw materials from China. Then, we process them in India and finish them in-house, where they’re packaged and sold. We also have raw materials that originate and are processed in India, where the finished products are also completed. As a result, we’ve had a lot of problems managing our supply chain.
As an example, one of our suppliers provides 90% of our demand, and we buy finished goods from them in China. The number of stock-keeping units (SKUs) that we get is close to 3,000–3,200. With such a large variety of SKUs, managing the inventory and forecasting the demand has always been a challenge for us. On top of that, we’ve also had to manage the logistics between China and India. Managing the Indian customs laws is also a challenge in itself.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
Suvrin Technologies has developed a piece of software that brings all the relevant information to one single page. Using this, we manage the products depending on the previously established pattern by the software and on the suggestive forecast of the SKUs.
The Indian customs department is also fairly complex. In this case, Suvrin Technologies works to make the customs process as seamless as possible with the least amount of effort from our side.
What is the team composition?
Six people from Suvrin Technologies are assigned to this project. We have one main point of contact, who is also the project manager. We also work with the owner of the company, and five people are working on the backend.
How did you come to work with Suvrin Technologies?
I’d been looking for a company with a software solution that would meet my requirements when I met Sudeep (CEO) in my gym. We started talking about my problems, and he said they could help me out if I was interested. After that, we did a couple of meetings where he tried to understand what I wanted and to determine the scope of the project. Then, he suggested a particular software tool along with the customization it required. That was how we started working together.
Other vendors said they’d charge me on a per month and per user basis. We had 120 general partners across the country, and they should be able to come online simultaneously if required. Given that, it didn’t make much financial sense for me to go with those providers — I’d be paying too much money. By contrast, Suvrin Technologies said they were going to figure things out even though it wasn’t easy. They told me that if I was willing to put up money upfront, they could find a solution. From my perspective, as long as it was a one-time payment, I didn’t mind. In the end, I hired them.
How much have you invested with them?
They haven’t charged me anything for the server and software because the project hasn’t been completed. However, they’ll charge me around ₹1.5 million INR (approximately $20,000 USD) when it’s finished.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started the partnership in August 2018, and it’s ongoing. We initiated the actual project in the first month of the succeeding Indian financial year, which started in April 2019.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
In terms of results, the processing of our shipments’ backend used to take about two and a half working days. Now, it can be done in about two hours. This software tool from Suvrin Technologies also covers a host of smaller features in the backend. For instance, our customers used to send us emails for their purchase orders. Now, we simply give them access to a portal that links to the software. We also don’t need to tell them about our stocks, which used to take much time from our call centers. Nobody is attending to the calls anymore because stock information is available at all times.
On top of that, customers can view their stocks and pending orders using the software, which saves us a lot of time. Moreover, we previously received a lot of emails about outstanding payments along with a host of other smaller issues. Our back-office dealt with these issues before, so I had to provide the manpower to support them. Now, I’m not required to do that anymore because this workload has been transferred outside of the organization with far more dependability. The accuracy is also much better.
Another thing that I like about the software is that it always tracks whoever does anything on the platform. It tracks by username whatever is done, be it invoice creation, stock grants, or budget approval. Our organization consists of 55 people, and 30 of those are salespeople in the field, while 25 are in the office, not including me. We have about six people taking care of operations. Some of these people didn’t have usernames in our previous software. When things went wrong, people wouldn’t own up to the problem. Now, we have accountability and traceability.
How did Suvrin Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?
We use AnyDesk for small issues and Zoom conferences for larger demos. We have a WhatsApp group with their team and a Google Spreadsheet where we update our completed or pending points. Our team also makes phone calls, and we use emails when we need to send specific data. For any requirement, we create a write-up via email.
Meanwhile, if I have a question that goes beyond the understanding of the project manager, they put me in touch with the people in charge of the software’s aspects. I can explain my problem or requirements to them directly.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Suvrin Technologies’ differentiator is that they take notes when I mention my problems. They understand the core of our problems, and they give us solutions. For instance, in their initial proposal, they struck themselves down and said that the first proposal wouldn’t meet my demand. Then, they figured out which software would work for us. It took a month and a half for them to come back, but when they did, they presented a working solution. In other words, their sincerity differentiates them from other providers. They don’t care how much money they’ll get; they just want to give me the best product that they can give.
Are there any areas they could improve?
Project management has been a problem for us since day one. They’ve always had trouble focusing their energies, lining up the project into particular points, and executing it point by point. That’s one of the reasons the engagement is taking so long, though we also lost 6–7 months because of the pandemic.
However, once their team became serious about the project, things improved. In fact, the amount of work we did during the first quarter of 2021 was higher than the work we did in the previous year. Overall, it took them a while, but they came out on top, so I feel okay about it.
With that in mind, they should try to understand projects better, and they should have a clear idea of what comes first and what comes next in terms of the project. Even though what they’ve developed works without any bugs or issues, we’ll be wasting precious time if we need to go back to the first stages of development because they skipped a point.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Being very clear in your communication will lead to better results. In our engagement, my problems with Suvrin Technologies have been resolved through communication. When I started showing my discontent and point of view, they started responding better. Before that, I always assumed they understood what I was saying, and that was where problems arose.
RATINGS
-
Quality
4.0Service & Deliverables
-
Schedule
4.0On time / deadlines
-
Cost
4.0Value / within estimates
-
Willing to Refer
5.0NPS