Case Studies
Quick Facts:
Founded: 2011
Annual Revenue: 4M+
Team Size: 40 FTE
Industry: eCommerce Development
Situation
The NYC-based full service eCommerce agency “Roswell” found themselves growing quickly in 2022 but realized fast the new problems that this uncharted territory presented.
The Roswell team wasn’t sure if they were growing and scaling in the “right” way, or hiring when they needed to. After stumbling upon some profitability content from Parakeeto, Roswell knew the next step was to bring in an expert to help them navigate the next chapter of their growth.
Struggle
Growing fast meant many of the systems they were relying on to make decisions and plan ahead were no longer sustainable. Data driven decisions were imperative to continuing down the right path, but insight into operational metrics were hard to calculate. Building out a system to bring this data together was difficult as the team was busy tending to Roswell’s growing roster of clients, making data operations a side-project.
As the company scaled, and subjective or gut-based decision making was breaking down, the team was increasingly seeking data to help them answer the questions they had every day.
Questions like:
- How are our projects and clients performing relative to our estimates?
- Is our team being sustainably utilized across the company?
- How do changes in our team or client roster affect our forecasted utilization and profitability?
3 Step Solution
Roswell followed a three step process to build their reporting capabilities and get aligned internally on how to move forward.
1. Audit
First, an Agency Audit gave the skeptical Roswell team insight into areas for improvement. Of course, Roswell knew the bottom line could be better… but knowing improvement needs to happen doesn’t show you where the opportunity is. The Audit was able to pinpoint specific opportunities to improve profitability that were unique to Roswell’s context. In particular, they had a significant opportunity to improve their Average Billable Rate through tighter estimation & scope management and Delivery Margin (about 15% away from the recommended bare minimum of 50%).
The audit not only identified two areas for improvement but also confirmed certain strengths, such as Roswell’s robust utilization metrics. Often, validating positive aspects is as crucial as pinpointing areas that need enhancement. At that time, Roswell’s impressive utilization didn’t require improvement, affirming their effectiveness in that area.
2. Setup
Armed with strategies to enhance Delivery Margin and ABR, Roswell partnered with Parakeeto to initiate a ‘Predict and Optimize’ setup phase. In this phase, ensuring internal consistency across various tools—including project management, time tracking, pricing, and estimation—was essential.
The team agreed on a data schema that enabled consistent monitoring and identification of improvement areas. It also outlined processes to ensure the data’s integrity remained intact for the Roswell team.
“The Setup phase really allowed us to figure out how to approach our efficiency and processes at Roswell as a whole. The outcome really allowed our agency to operate as one cohesive unit”
– Nihar Kulkarni, Partner @ Roswell
3. Optimize
After the initial setup, Roswell continued to collaborate with Parakeeto during the ‘Optimize Ongoing’ phase, ensuring consistent access to all reporting inputs and outputs. They established a rhythm of biweekly check-ins, allowing Roswell and Parakeeto to jointly track and analyze metrics, fostering a shared understanding of the data’s insights.
After a short year of working together, Roswell reported the following improvements to profitability:
- 2x Average Billable Rate
- 5x Delivery Margin
Summary
Any client approaching Parakeeto should already have a remarkable service that delivers excellent results to their clients; that’s something we at Parakeeto don’t have control over. However, witnessing Roswell’s impressive growth in 2021, we recognized their untapped potential was linked to achieving internal consistency and enhancing their monitoring of key improvement areas, particularly in Delivery Margin and ABR.
Roswell’s dedication to this process has bestowed them with the clarity essential for assessing past performance and projecting future outcomes. They are now equipped with insights that not only reflect on their historical achievements but also provide a clear forecast for their future trajectory.
“Parakeeto was the telescope that Roswell needed to start understanding our business at a much deeper level.”
– Nihar Kulkarni, Partner @ Roswell
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