FIXABLY
Scalability for mobile device after-sales business with a new digital product
Back in the 90s, mobile and computer technology became obsolete and unusable in just a few years. Today, the situation is different. The life cycle of devices has been extended in terms of quality and they stand the test of time. Fixably’s mission is to extend the life of ten billion devices. The company does not handle this ambitious number of devices itself, but helps its customers towards it by developing software to facilitate the refurbishment and resale of devices. We helped Fixably design and develop a completely new ERP system to support their refurbishment processes.
Työnkuvamme
- Strategic planning
- Technology mapping and choices
- Agile software development
- Frontend development
- Mentoring
Baseline and challenges
Mobile device manufacturers have a fragmented view of the market when it comes to refurbishing and reselling mobile devices. Authorised warranty repairs are only carried out on around 5% of devices and a large proportion of old phones end up unused at the bottom of the drawer. Comprehensive data on their life cycle is therefore difficult to obtain. The digitalization of the industry will allow to significantly extend the life cycle of equipment and find new uses for it.
Fixably’s flagship product, Repair, covers the entire enterprise operations management process from mobile device refurbishment to resale and is used by numerous companies in different countries. The product is complex and takes some time to implement. In addition, customer companies have very diverse requirements for running their operations and the need for integration is strong. The product has been widely demanded and has therefore largely sold itself. However, its sales cycles are long and development needs are sometimes difficult to predict.
The need arose for a product that would better serve mid-size companies and be easier to deploy. The company made a strategic decision to develop a new product that required experience and strong expertise in agile software development. Building a new product, on the one hand, and changing development needs, on the other, are situations where it is easy for an operator like Fixably to temporarily expand its resources with the help of consultants.
Identio's consultant played a very central role in the project. They designed and developed the entire frontend framework while mentoring a junior developer.
– Harry Forsman, VP of Recommerce
Results and the future
In the strategic planning process, a development team was defined to build the product. The Idention consultant played the role of a front-end developer in the project as part of the Fixably development team.
The completely new product designed and developed in the project is a lightweight ERP system to support rehabilitation processes. It is intended for smaller customer companies and for sale in higher volumes than Repair. The product is less customisable and allows, for example, a company to start up its operations. Because of its scalability, it allows for more agile trial periods and does not require a significant amount of time for familiarisation with the system. The product covers the entire workflow, from the purchase of a mobile device and a fitness check to its sale on different marketplaces. Integrations were also built into the product with two European services selling used mobile devices.
In the project, the frontend developer’s responsibilities included building the entire frontend architecture and being responsible for the very agile implementation of the project. This role was central to the project, as it also ensured smooth communication between the different parties involved. The frontend itself is an important part of the product as it brings the design and business logic to life, while also bringing the vision of the product being built to life for the whole team.
Serving mid-sized companies with a lighter product is important for Fixably’s business. As the global network of players grows, logistics becomes easier and business becomes more efficient. As a result, the customer experience for the end customer, the owner of the mobile device, will also improve, for example, in terms of device maintenance.
We developed the product with a certain founder's attitude. The kind where we do more than just carry out tasks dictated by someone else.
Summary
- Strategic product design from the customer’s business perspective
- Technology mapping and choices with the team
- Frontend architecture and frontend development
- Responsibility for the practices of the Agile development team and effective communication between the team and stakeholders
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