case study

Exploring Innovations and Advanced Integrations with Minimized Risk

3 min read

Sometimes the problems that technology companies need solving are fundamental, but they don’t necessarily have the resources to explore uncharted territory. Echo Global Logistics, a leading provider of transportation and logistics turned to Spark Equation to engineer a software solution that would increase customer satisfaction rates, unlock new revenue streams and reduce costs for research and development. Using a lean startup discovery framework and a readily-configured continuous delivery pipeline, Spark Equation delivered an internal technology innovation lab that allowed the client to efficiently research and explore new solutions while releasing quality products faster and more frequently.

at a glance

Results

  • Established Internal Innovation Lab
  • Reduced Training Costs
  • Increased Competitive Advantage
  • Discovered New Revenue Streams
  • Increased Predictability in Workflow
  • Enhanced Process Iterations
  • Accelerated Time to Market of Quality Ensured Products
  • Increased Customer Satisfaction

Solutions

  • Internal Technology Innovation Lab
  • Legacy Re-Engineering
  • Lean Startup Discovery Framework
  • Engineering Consultation
  • IT Architecture
  • Dual Track Scrum Project Management Approach

The situation

Echo Global Logistics, is an award-winning leading provider of technology-enabled transportation and supply chain management services and is committed to using technology to simplify critical tasks for clients across a wide range of industries.
The company needed to invest into new IT methods to retain a competitive advantage and accelerate growth while rapidly updating legacy systems. Their new initiative had to be ambitious while still minimizing risk and making strategic strides toward the company's future. To do this, they wanted to test a product and activate it, but their internal operations were not equipped to explore new ways of developing the technology.
Investing in proving concepts became one of their top priorities, and instead of retraining or hiring employees, the fastest and most impactful solution was to assess, test, and engineer new technology with Spark Equation.

The solution

Spark Teams engineered a cloud innovation lab to find new approaches to existing problems in order to generate the best outcomes without putting the core business operations at risk. To ensure results delivery, the Spark team assumed control and used their time-tested processes, from discovery to delivery, to build a customized solution, saving the company time and money.

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Lab Discovery + Delivery Framework

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Dual-Track Scrum as the primary project management approach

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Continuous Delivery Pipeline Configured

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The lean startup concept, together with a validated learning loop approach, replaces elaborate planning with experimentation, intuition with customer feedback gathered in the field, and a lengthy, linear product-design process with many quick iterations.

This approach allows Spark Equation to comfortably work on Discovery and Delivery in parallel without sacrificing visibility and transparency while simultaneously ensuring maximum output.

By implementing the continuous delivery approach, software is produced faster and more frequently through building and testing and can be reliably released at any time.

Our approach Our clients' success is our success

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This process enables large software engineering projects to be replaced by small iterations in which projects move to production quickly, allowing for multiple daily releases.
Spark Equation believes that a disciplined framework can help companies move forward at lightning speeds.

TECHNOLOGIES USED:

Conclusion

A lean startup discovery framework with a continuous delivery pipeline defines how industry leaders release innovative products that shift quickly to market. This engineering method enhances a company's momentum and provides quick feedback in exploring other areas of potential revenue.
We work with clients to develop a modern IT architecture that improves their business performance while driving revenue, flexibility, speed and reducing IT spending on existing teams and organizations.

Reliability and Innovation by Building Software That Works

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