Bridge 2 Solutions: Online Retail Provider Seeks Full-Lifecycle Partner

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Testimonials

"I just wanted to thank you for all the hard work you and your team put in for us. We know you go above and beyond the normal expectations to ensure a high-quality product. Over the past several weeks we have given you some tight deadlines in new areas of functionality – and you delivered each time! I can’t tell you how thankful we are. All I can say is that we will keep giving you more and more work because you implement it so well."
Craig McLaughlin, Founder
Bridge 2 Solution

Business Results

With help from Symbio, Bridge 2 Solutions was able to create an innovative product and deliver it to the market in a timely and cost-effective manner. Symbio also helped Bridge 2 Solutions expand its sales revenue by 100%, and it reduced average annual expenses by 50%. By working closely to exceed Bridge to Solutions’ requirements, Symbio became the client’s full lifecycle service partner and today, it is an inseparable part of Bridge 2 Solutions’ business.

Client: Bridge 2 Solutions

Summary

In 2006, Bridge 2 Solutions discovered an opportunity to help online retailers provide consumers with up-to-date inventory, wide selection and quick delivery. In response to this, the company created Bridge 2 Rewards, one of the newest innovations in the world of incentive, consumer and performance rewards for corporate employees. With Bridge 2 Rewards, the company today enables its clients to provide greater product selection & content, easy start-up and seamless integration, new rewards categories and high participant satisfaction.

Symbio partnered with Bridge 2 Solutions at the beginning of the Bridge 2 Rewards project, brought the idea from concept to reality, and provided the following solutions:

  • Product specification analysis and planning
  • Product development
  • Product customization
  • Quality assurance
  • Server hosting support
  • Maintenance support

Client Background

When Bridge 2 Solutions first developed the Bridge 2 Rewards concept, it outlined the following goals for the solution:

  • Real-time integration with leading online retailers and service providers to enable new reward categories and selections that were not yet available in most reward programs
  • A design that seamlessly and efficiently integrated with an incentive point platform
  • A customized look-and-feel according to the needs of Bridge 2 Solutions’ clients

In order to meet these goals, Bridge 2 Solutions sought for a partner who not only could develop the product in a cost effective manner, but was also skilled enough to deliver the goals outlined above. In March 2006, Bridge 2 Solutions decided to outsource its project to China and partner with Symbio.

Business Challenge

Similar to many other emerging start-ups, Bridge 2 Solutions was strapped for cash during the early phases. The Bridge 2 Solutions team needed a couple of engineers who could build a prototype for Bridge 2 Rewards, but could not afford US-based salaries. When the company was evaluating various service providers, it also wanted a team that not only had the required technical expertise, but also a management team that had high English language proficiency and understood the idiosyncrasies of Western culture.

As a company with an established long-term blue chip client base, Symbio’s primary differentiator was its familiarity and expertise in working with US-based clients. Symbio was founded 14 years ago by a group of engineers from IBM in the US, and since inception, Symbio’s teams have been working with US contacts. Symbio’s heritage coupled with its US born/educated executives gave all of the teams a better understanding and appreciation of the challenges its clients faced. As a result, Symbio recognized the importance of Bridge 2 Solutions’ need to develop an advanced outsourcing solution within time and budget. All of Symbio’s project managers underwent rigorous training and were PMP certified, which guaranteed high English language proficiency and strong project management skills. Throughout the Bridge 2 Rewards project, the Symbio team communicated with Bridge 2 Solutions in English via a number of various channels, including e-mails and MSN, and was able to effectively manage its client’s expectations

Additionally, Bridge 2 Solutions required a team that was flexible enough to deal with frequent change requests while maintaining the target end date and budget. The team was also able to scale up and down depending on the client’s needs. The Symbio team leveraged the Agile development process and worked closely with Bridge 2 Solutions to quickly develop and release the application.

How We Helped

While evaluating potential partners, Bridge 2 Solutions saw value in Symbio’s management, thought leadership and advanced outsourcing solutions.

Symbio provided all of the product lifecycle services, including complete specification analysis and planning, development, quality assurance, server hosting and maintenance. Instead of hiring internal employees, Bridge 2 Solutions worked with 3 engineers from Symbio to build the prototype and realized a 75% savings in wages and salaries. Today, the dedicated Bridge 2 Solutions team at Symbio has grown 300%, and it is the product R&D department of Bridge 2 Solutions.

Business Results

With help from Symbio, Bridge 2 Solutions was able to create an innovative product and deliver it to the market in a timely and cost-effective manner. Symbio also helped Bridge 2 Solutions expand its sales revenue by 100%, and it reduced average annual expenses by 50%. By working closely to exceed Bridge to Solutions’ requirements, Symbio became the client’s full lifecycle service partner and today, it is an inseparable part of Bridge 2 Solutions’ business.