TWS

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a fashion design company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TWS?

We needed help with our website’s backend development and email marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

TWS has been involved in our Shopify home page, product pages, product descriptions, and updating our community page. We give them all of the creative copy elements, and they implement them.

What is the team composition?

I worked with three people, including their founder.

How did you come to work with TWS?

They came through a referral.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2019, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our e-commerce revenue has grown 700% since working with them. They’re very available and willing to do revisions. The team is very willing to do revisions. Overall, they’re humble and hardworking.

How did TWS perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive to our management. We utilize Google Sheets.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with them for so long because they’re easy to work with and available.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could be better about editing their work. We often have to catch their mistakes. They could make sure it’s correct before turning it over to us.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They have really great prices and they’re easy to work with. You do have to do a bit of hand-holding, but that’s commonplace when you’re working with an offshore developer.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of a company called Yacht Registration Holland — formal name, Blue Water Registrations Services Limited. We are highly specialized in yacht registrations, which you can consider as the passports of a yacht.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TWS?

Well, we first had an outdated software system in which we did the administration. Two and a half years ago, I decided to build a complete system from scratch, so I hired The Webie Storms, who came recommended, to do that job. We started with the first fundaments and in two and a half years, they've built a very, very sophisticated system which is the core of our business now.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built everything from scratch. There is an admin screen, which you can see on the left, all kinds of modules, and every button stands for a specific module in that system. There is the order system, the invoicing, insurance regularities, which you can say is a connection with insurance companies, and commissions for our dealers — dealers can make a withdrawal request for their commission. 

We also have a message center, which offers chats and takes bug reports. We have all kinds of users, dealer officers, direct clients, service providers, ship admins, insurance companies, and salespersons — we also have the registration steps on the platform. There is a part about expiring registrations, and we have the system modules with products, product modules, FAQs, roles, general settings, and user manual videos. 

Everything is in there and everything is highly automated. That means that a lot of routine ad links, which were normally being done manually, are now triggered automatically.

What is the team composition?

I pay for two programmers, but I get six people because there's a programmer, and then there are also other levels of the projects such as QA testing, and all kinds of things. In total, there is a team of six working on this project. The base is, of course, two full-time programmers, Muhammad (CEO), a chief software engineer who is managing the whole programming, and the tester.

How did you come to work with TWS?

I found them via Freelancer.com. I hired a recruiter and I just explained to him what I was looking for in the beginning. We were only planning to build a very basic system, but that system grew step-by-step and I had new plans, new demands, new ideas, and everything has been very well implemented by them without any problem.

How much have you invested with them?

I think in total, I’ve spent around €180,000 EUR (approximately $211,500 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together two and a half years ago, I think in March of 2018. The partnership is still ongoing since we are still building on the system. The system is expanding every month, and it's a lot of work to build such a thing in detail.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I am happy with the end result. The nice thing about The Webie Storms is that we have a button for bug reports. If something happens, it always shows you some small surprises, which we don’t expect, especially with such a big software system — they enter a bug report, and it will be solved within an hour. They are very, very on top to solve any problems or issues that may occur.

How did TWS perform from a project management standpoint?

They update me every week and every day. We talk through WhatsApp if they have questions or to get our thoughts on their ideas. At the end of the week, on Fridays, they will deploy the new software, which is developed the week before, after they’ve tested it — and then we have a meeting. I'm very happy working with them because they keep their promises. 

The problem with long-distance business relationships is that it doesn't work out as you hope it does, but the fact that I've been with them for two and a half years says a lot about how trustworthy they are.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're always available. Even if I contact them at 11 o'clock at night, I still get an answer.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I'm very happy with them.

Any advice for potential customers?

Just contact them, discuss your ideas, and they will come back to you with a plan.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Business Development Director of the company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Training and Consultations

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Edit website

SOLUTION

How did you find TWS?

Online Search

Why did you select TWS over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

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

The Starting Team developed a website that was not up to standard and had many bugs and mistakes that needed fixing. The vendor fixed everything in a prompt and professional manner as well as found new bugs that needed fixing and helped us make the website much more presentable and professional.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website is functioning well and we are receiving more visitors.

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

Project management was excellent. Delivery and responses were prompt, efficient and effective.

What was your primary form of communication with TWS?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their work ethic was impressive

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder of The Human Beauty Movement and Humanist Beauty skincare.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

TWS was hired to provide customization of two websites and manage day-to-day tech requirements for smooth functionality.

SOLUTION

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

I selected TWS to work directly with because of competency, affordability, responsiveness, and friendly client interaction.

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

My websites are both on the Wordpress platform with Woocommerce ecommerce integration. Significant customization was required for all the brand design elements and features I desired.

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

I believe up to three individuals from the team have been assigned to my account.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was extremely pleased with their performance.

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

We moved to Trello to track project management. We also use email.

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

Muhammad is a rock star. He goes above and beyond to ensure client satisfaction.

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

There are, as is always the case, some instances where I need to nag for updates to get done, but this is the exception rather than the rule.