Johannesburg, 26 Oct 2020
Chillisoft
Chillisoft is a values-driven professional software development house. They pride themselves on the impact they make in business, on individuals and on furthering software professionalism. They are a living example of a successful, human-centred company delivering real-world, sustainable technical solutions, internationally and locally.
Dyefin
Dyefin Textiles is South Africa's leading commission dyeing, printing and finishing plant, based in Umbogintwini, a few kilometres to the south of Durban. The company was established in 1989 and started production at a factory in Westmead, Pinetown. After continual growth, larger premises were required, and in 2007, the company relocated to the current site.
The problem:
As in most cases, engaging with a software solutions company means an organisation has more than one issue to resolve. Dyefin was no exception.
As a risk mitigation strategy, Dyefin needed to implement continuity plans to ensure their custom developed technology, which covers most aspects of business, from receiving items into stock, scheduling material to be dyed and even directly integrating with the various machines in the plant, would grow into the future and that they would not be dependent on a single key individual. They needed to modernise the system to use the latest, stable technology allowing Dyefin to embrace the power of technology.
Why Chillisoft?
Dyefin needed a team that would be reliable and flexible enough to engage with them in the long term. We were very mindful of the risk in developing new software, because most new developments or very large percentages of software development either work partially or are total failures. It was essential for us to find a vendor that understood where our business was and would be flexible enough to work through this project, on our terms and at our pace.
Chillisoft ticked those boxes for us. They are local, which was a key driver because of the length and scope of this undertaking. They were also prepared to appoint highly specialist resources to the project and allow Dyefin to collaborate in the architecting of the second-generation system. Most other vendors wanted to take over and re-architect their own system.
Chillisoft suggested a more practical solution. They recognised the longevity of this project and were prepared to be flexible enough to commit to a development cycle, which is not common and which no other vendors would commit to.
Chillisoft's willingness to meet us where we were as a business is what interested us.
What did they bring to the table and how did they work with your team?
Chillisoft was not prescriptive around how to engage; they worked with us to find the best way forward and then dedicated a good quality team to the project to work directly with the Dyefin team. Chillisoft brought their diligence, their meticulous attention to detail, and a solid understanding of the problem to be solved to the table.
What was their process, and how did they adapt to yours?
Chillisoft didn't impose their way of doing things on us; they had a willingness to work within Dyefin's development paradigm. They have been flexible enough to co-operate with the existing development team in Dyefin.
Chillisoft also have the right processes and systems in place to manage the code they produce properly.
How did they deliver, what were the results?
Their first challenge was to develop the new system architecture and the first application they were required to produce was an "Advance Consignment Advice Notification App". A number of other functions followed, and the development cycle will continue for some years, replacing and improving on the current system!
Chillisoft laid the foundation that will allow for Dyefin Textiles' system to grow and branch out into new areas of business that were previously not possible (such as direct integration with customers' systems). The new system emphasises the user’s experience and how to make actions as simple as possible. This user empowerment gives Dyefin the edge by increasing user productivity and decreases the amount of dirty data that makes its way into the system (through user error). With less time needed for systems housekeeping, more effort can be placed on innovative efforts in systems development.
Furthermore, since the system is device-agnostic, innovative solutions can be devised around hardware utilisation (eg, running the factories scanning stations off of inexpensive Raspberry Pis, etc).
Chillisoft understood our business, committed their best people, built the foundation system, delivered the app technology and drove our customer integration!
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