Incepteo Labs

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

IT Director at a pet health product organization

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had a project to sort orders received from the web into the dispatch area, order fulfilment and order management up till pick, pack and dispatch.

SOLUTION

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

Incepteo had knowledge of our key business processes.

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

The scope involved the interface to our direct-to-customer selling platforms, have visibility of overall stock positions for e-commerce orders, a workflow to push fulfilment to the correct bay picking area in the warehouse floor and facilitate dispatch using Incepteo's cloud-based proprietary technology platform interface/integration engine to finance/WMS system interface to mobile devices and desktop UI, and implemented on dispatcher workbenches

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

1 developer, 1 customer services manager, 1 account manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After the launch, the user adoption was high. The new system coped with the volume and provided easier workflow on the warehouse floor.

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

The management style was to take the requirements and implement a solution. the methodology was agile. They trickle-fed the deliverables and tested the sprints on the warehouse floor in near-real-time. The delivery was not tool-heavy. We kept the use of tools like Jira and Slack to a minimum and focused on actual deliverables.

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

The project was delivered on time. They were responsive to working in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.

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

They could have documented the end-to-end solution better and given better visibility of progress leading up to launch.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Driver Logistics, a third-party logistics company based in India. We’re a supply chain solution provider that works with enterprise-level customers to help them operate their warehouses and further logistics. We do both solution designing and operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Incepteo?

We needed help with development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Incepteo made a custom solution for us to automate our billing process. Since we work with a lot of enterprise-level customers, our work is quite tedious. They’ve helped us automate quite a lot of workflows. They’ve made a separate module for us that can be integrated with our existing ERP system.

It took about a month to come up with the solution. They also came up with an MVP and then started developing it into a full suite product in terms of billing automation. This was done for one client, and then we repeated it for a few other clients.

We went live in April 2021, and we’re still working on adding more modules to the system. The web app is for our internal accounting and finance team. We have about 20 users who can log in and the system will generate invoices. These invoices are tracked in terms of the status of the invoices.

What is the team composition?

We worked with the CEO and a team of five people.

How did you come to work with Incepteo?

Incepteo reached out to me through LinkedIn. I felt they were a credible partner. I went to their pages, and I found a couple of documentations.

Their CEO has a lot of understanding of how technology works. I was convinced. We sat for 1-2 hours for them to understand our challenges.

How much have you invested with them?

For a one-time setup, we spent €2,000 (approximately $2,800 USD). Now, we spend €350 (approximately $482 USD) a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Incepteo started in November 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In order for us to do invoicing every month, it would take us 5-6 days. With this software, we’ve reduced it to a day; it saves us a lot of man-hours. It’s going to help us reduce a lot of time and resources as we scale. They’ve also given us great UX/UI as well. It’s so customized for us that it looks like we did it in-house.

I tried collaborating with quite a few tech service companies. They usually had the good technical know-how, but when it came to business logic, it was incomplete. The Incepteo team knew what we wanted. They’re quite smart and experienced, suggesting better ways to do things.

The software they developed is very nimble. Whenever we have a new customer, we can do quite a lot of things in the frontend. We don’t have to ask them to make changes for us. They developed the software in such a way that we don’t have to invest more time with them in terms of further development. The new client onboarding is much easier.

How did Incepteo perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management style is good. There was some miscommunication in the first month, but that was our fault. They picked up the pace, doing a great job.

I wanted it delivered before April, and they did it. Other than that, we didn’t have any set timelines. They had a project management tool that they built. Our project manager would monitor the progress through that. We communicate through email, and there was a Zoom call once a week.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team easily understands the business logic they put into the software. They’ve done quite a few projects with larger logistics companies.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They did everything remotely from the UK. It would’ve been nice if they had a team here that could come to our office. As far as the quality of the work, we got what we wanted.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Everything was fine.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Class for the Mass. We offer a service to customers and personal chefs. We’re like the Uber for people who hire personal chefs to cook or do meal plans for them.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Incepteo?

We needed help building our app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Incepteo developed our mobile app and accompanying web version. The app allows customers and chefs to connect. Chefs register, providing a copy of their driver's license for backup checks. Upon approval, they can log in to build their profile, including a link to their own website, indicate up to five recipe specialties at a time, and state their availability.

Customers can also register and log in, listing what they are looking for, such as date, type of food, location, number of people being fed, and if they want to provide the food or have it provided by the chef. We recommend it be provided by the chef to ensure proper ingredients and amounts.

Based on their specifications, a list of available chefs will come up for them to review. They choose the chef that best suits their needs, and signs an agreement for the price, limiting our liability. The chef is then notified that they have been selected for an assignment, reviews the request, and accepts or rejects it.

If accepted, a notification is sent to the customer, and a confirmation notification is sent to the chef. Once confirmed, information is given to the chef on how to contact the customer, and Google provides the location. There is also a unique password given for each assignment, sent to the chef and the customer.

Upon the chef’s arrival at the location, the system asks the chef and customer to confirm the unique password. The system keeps track of the chef’s expenses, which are reviewed by the customer for acceptance or rejection. It also keeps track of the time spent on the assignment, as there is an hourly charge. The chef notifies the system upon completion, the customer is billed to the credit card on file, and the chef is paid through the system. 

What is the team composition?

There have been two project managers, who serve as our main points of contact. There are also several development engineers involved.

How did you come to work with Incepteo?

We chose them from a list of about 10 vendors our CTO felt were qualified for the project. Their price point was much lower than local vendors, so we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested between $12,000–$13,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around January 2016, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When they give us a release of the app, we perform independent testing to ensure it’s operating as specified. That takes roughly a month, usually involving several iterations. We also do Beta testing with customers and make the necessary changes to improve customer experience.

Their work has been quite good overall, though their internal QA has missed a few things, and some tasks have taken longer than expected. The app is quite comprehensive, and there have been several areas of complexity beyond their anticipation. Incepteo stuck to the quote given, and they have fixed everything we asked them to fix.

How did Incepteo perform from a project management standpoint?

The project managers from Incepteo have done very well. They are responsive and easy to talk to. They schedule meetings; we primarily use Zoom but have used Join.Me and other platforms, as well. They also write up action items and notes from the meetings, and send them to me for approval, to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their project management is strong, and they’re creative. When we describe a feature we’d like to see, they delve into finding the best solution, including alternative solutions, and present it to us. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their in-house QA testing could be more thorough. They have missed several issues that we found in our testing. However, we brought it to their attention, and they changed their process. There is also a language barrier with some of the developers; they speak so quickly that it can be hard to follow at times.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Develop a relationship with the project manager. Make sure your specifications are well understood. They are customer-oriented and easy to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of TechSpire, LLC. We’re a tech company based in Dubai, and we specialize in developing applications for specific industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Incepteo?

We partnered up with them to develop some in-house technology, starting with our first product. We had an in-house designer and developer, but we lacked experience in SaaS products and developing long-term strategies to be successful.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first thing we worked on with Incepteo was a calendar-based application for real estate agents. They advised us on the direction we should take to enter the SaaS market, which progressed into them working with us to develop the actual application.

We had several workshops with Incepteo’s experts to dissect the application and look into the market we wanted to enter. They identified what our goal was for the app and who were the customers we were targeting.

We went from that to developing a concept for the application. We weren’t sure whether we’d be using Incepteo for development, but we liked their pitch and gave them the whole project.

From that, they also designed our website and branding. We’re also outsourcing tech support to them. There’s a variety of operations that they’re now managing for us.

What is the team composition?

I can think of eight people off the top of my head, but I believe there are more than that involved. Incepteo has a big team. We’re only working with two people now, but we spoke to many people in the beginning.

How did you come to work with Incepteo?

They were working with the sales and marketing company that we reached out to initially. Incepteo was brought in to provide us a bit more structure and help us understand the market we were entering. I had an initial meeting with their director, and he understood the value we wanted to bring to the market.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost to date is almost £50,000 (approximately $69,840 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Incepteo in December 2019, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve done what they promised so far. We’re still doing some work on the app and haven’t launched yet.

We wouldn’t be in the position we’re in now without Incepteo’s support. We’ve developed our idea into something commercially viable. This wouldn’t have been possible if we hadn’t turned to them for advice.

How did Incepteo perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re working closely with them every week. We have several meetings with the project manager to know how we’re getting on.

I’m sure that they have project management tools in place, but we haven’t seen anything like that. They give us regular updates. There’s constant feedback provided on where they are, and we get regularly-updated timelines.

We communicate through email and Zoom meetings, and they’ve provided us access to OneDrive folders exclusive to our project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’d spoken to a few companies before reaching out to them, and the most salient things to me were Incepteo’s experience and value proposition. The other companies had less experience in the field, and their fees were higher.

We got a cost-effective solution from a team that knew what they were doing. Working with them was a no-brainer.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could work on trying to understand the customer better the first time around. I’ve spoken to them about this issue a few times. It has to do with internal training: they need to make sure that whoever manages customer expectations understands the problem before saying yes to anything. It took a lot of time before we concluded that the issue wasn’t understood in the first place, and there was a lot of back and forth. That’s something we’ve addressed with them, and they’ve apologized and worked on it.

Apart from that, I’ve not had a single issue with Incepteo. They’ve always been helpful. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise you to do the initial workshops. That impacted us before we jumped into the deep end and had any contractual agreement with Incepteo. It was important to spend what I feel was a small amount of money to save us from the long pain and disappointment of developing an app that’s not worth it. The workshops made us decide to go with Incepteo, and it gave us a lot more confidence in the app itself.

The workshop is almost like the entry package for Incepteo. Not only will Incepteo learn about your product and industry, but you’ll also learn a lot more about Incepteo.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a mid-sized manufacturer of industrial microscopy equipment with offices in 10 countries around the world. We also sell metrology equipment to the industry, educational establishments, and research organizations. My role is the group marketing communications manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Incepteo?

We had 14 sites globally that were getting pretty old. We needed to bring those legacy sites up to date in terms of performance, functionality, content, look and feel, and brand representation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Incepteo redesigned all of our websites over the course of a year, moving them to WordPress. These were 14 single-language iterations that covered all of our international markets. They started with our three highest-trafficking websites and finished with the remainder and our trade-only distributor hub during the latter half of the year.

While they didn’t do the content, they understood that our page layouts needed to be flexible enough to cope with translations in other languages, particularly ones that didn’t use Latin characters. They catered the content presentation to allow for different alphabets.

What is the team composition? 

We initially scoped the project with their CEO, but our main point of contact was a project manager. He liaised between us and the development team. My personal engagement with them was relatively small.

How did you come to work with Incepteo?

Incepteo’s CEO approached our CEO at a trade event, and we discussed how our previous attempts to upgrade our platform had failed. Talking to them was an opportunity to reevaluate that process. We ended up choosing Incepteo because they had a clear understanding of WordPress, and we liked how they were structured and resourced. The cost estimates they provided also fit our requirements.

How much have you invested with them?

By the time you include hosting costs, development, and extra add-ons, we were in the region of about £100,000 (approximately $137,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from January–December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Even though the scope of work was very broad, we aimed to stick to our development timelines. There was a lot going on in 2020 with the pandemic, so we did our best to develop and launch our first sites mid-year and then the final set by the first week of December. All in all, we were able to hit our targets but did have a two-week slippage in the final delivery because a few members of their team had contracted COVID-19.

In terms of the quality of the output, we saw huge improvements in our website speed and performance. Everyone was incredibly happy with that. We went from taking minutes to load down to under 10 seconds, even with a pretty stiff firewall. Mobile pages load in under a second. 

They’d also greatly improved the presentation of our products by introducing a new layout. This design afforded us the opportunity to present much more in the way of images, links to videos, and so on. It’s been universally well-accepted. Having nuanced, localized translations helped distinguish us in terms of our global presentation.

How did Incepteo perform from a project management standpoint?

From day one, our dedicated project management had been absolutely excellent. He knew how to communicate with us, understood how to go about difficult calls, and could manage both Incepteo’s resources as well as our expectations. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

It was very obvious that each member of the organization who worked on our project wanted our project to succeed. That was particularly evident during the run up to the launch of our first three websites. Everyone was pulling late nights and weekends, working incredibly hard to deliver the best UX. It didn’t feel like it was “us” and “them”; it felt like one team working together toward a higher outcome.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t see how they could’ve done anything better. For a project of our size, the number of issues that we had to deal with was comparatively small. We had systems in place to catch any issues and resolve them quickly. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

One of the things that worked well for us was having really clear briefs upfront. The meetings that they led were well-put-together, and everyone understood what we were collectively trying to achieve. Having clear briefs removes ambiguities once the development is passed on to the development team overseas, and I’d urge anyone working with Incepteo to do so.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Sizzle, which is in the infotech space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Incepteo?

We were looking for someone to handle the UI/UX designs for our product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We collaboratively developed designs and put them into wireframes.

What is the team composition?

I worked with the CEO, an account manager, and designers.

How did you come to work with Incepteo?

My friend recommended them to me.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested £11,000 (approximately $15,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September–December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They did a good job of translating ideas into design as well as providing ideas and improvements to user flow due to their experience. I’m happy with the designs they developed and delivered.

How did Incepteo perform from a project management standpoint?

They managed the project effectively overall. They were results-oriented, available, and responded quickly, as well as delivered on time. We communicated via email and phone and used Miro as a collaboration tool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re proactive and have a good understanding of the UI/UX market.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their management could improve on various levels.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Understand the market and the benefit of the product you’re trying to develop so you can effectively communicate.