The CIM Pro Services Team is CIMcloud’s in-house professional services team with over 20 years of implementation experience on the CIMcloud platform. Part of the CIM Implementation Partner network, the CIM Pro Services Team is experienced with the Program, Projects, Platforms & Solution (“3PS”) Framework and can be engaged to help your organization grow and thrive on the CIMcloud Platform.
In this article, we will cover:
- Who is the CIM Pro Services Team?
- The CIM Pro Services offering
- Engaging the CIM Pro Services team
- Interaction with the CIMcloud Product Team
- Hourly Rates and Cost of Services
Who is the CIM Pro Services Team?
The CIM Pro Services team consists of project coordinators, consultants, solutions architects and highly skilled front-end developers with deep domain knowledge of Customer Interaction Management (CIM) initiatives, including eCommerce for customer self-service, CRM for employee productivity, and ERP / accounting software integrations.
They specialize in planning, executing, and maintaining CIMcloud customizations as well as tricky consulting that requires a deep CIMcloud subject-matter expertise and can assist in reviewing the Pros and Cons of Customization.
They work exclusively to help businesses thrive on and expand the capabilities of their CIMcloud platform beyond the standard product offering. They support growing your overall CIM solution based on the 3PS framework.
If you have any questions, concerns or feedback about a new or ongoing engagement with the CIM Professional Services team, we encourage you to contact the Director of CIM Professional Services and share your thoughts.
The CIM Pro Services Offering
The CIM Pro Services offering can be broken down into two buckets or types of work: Discrete Deliverables and Allowances.
Discrete Deliverables
Discrete deliverables are specific customization tasks that have clearly defined requirements and budget. They can be implemented as small, stand-alone customizations, or could be part of the WBS (work breakdown structure) of a larger project with multiple discrete deliverables.
Discrete deliverables have a defined beginning and end, and are individually scoped, estimated, planned and implemented. The CIM Pro Services Team follows a proven process for implementing customization.
Discrete deliverables can include, but are not limited to:
- Application Configuration
- Solution Architecting
- Custom Development
- Platform enhancements / modifications
- New platform features
- ERP sync customizations
- Custom Design & UI enhancements
Allowances
A pro services allowance is a bucket of hours used to secure ongoing or future services. They are typically used for consulting, supplemental training, solution architecting or even project coordination (for multiple discrete customizations being implemented). They function much like a retainer, and typically have no discrete deliverables.
Allowances are pre-paid in a lump sum (typically in buckets of 10 to 50 hours), or paid monthly (i.e. purchasing 30 hours per month) to allow continued access to CIM Pro Services resources. These engagements are used as needed to support ongoing CIM initiatives, and are very useful when forecasting budget requirements.
Allowances can include, but are not limited to:
- Consulting on
- B2B eCommerce
- B2C eCommerce
- CRM
- Platform to ERP Sync
- Platform replacements
- Strategic planning and commercial planning to support expanding overall eCommerce capabilities
- Ongoing Risk Assessment
- Participation in project calls
- CIM team-level coordination on discrete work (jobs / tasks)
- Issue Discussion and Solutions
- Supplemental Platform Onboarding
Engaging the CIM Pro Services Team
The easiest way to engage our Professional Services team is by entering a request in your customer portal. The request will be assigned to the pro services queue for review, and a team member will follow up within 2 – 3 business days to discuss next steps.
If you have a request that needs to be expedited, please be sure to provide details in your task notes. You can also call us directly at (800) 266-3579.
The CIM Pro Services team typically operates on a backlog (2 to 3 weeks for smaller items, 1 to 3 months for larger items). It is important to keep this in mind when planning future initiatives.
Interaction with the CIMcloud Product Team
Building Blocks
Often, customization requests that are being implemented by our CIM Pro Services team will require the addition of software modules that act as building blocks for a specific deliverable. Our Pro Services team will work closely to coordinate with the CIMcloud product team on the installation of these building blocks.
Product Bug Reports
If a product bug is identified during a CIM Pro Services engagement, a task will be entered in for scheduling with the CIMcloud product team. Both you and CIM Pro Services will be kept informed of the deployment status of the bug fix via extranet, but CIM Pro Services is not directly responsible for implementing or deploying software bug fixes.
CIM Pro Services does not have control of scheduling related to CIM Product or Deployment teams.
Once the required product work is completed and deployed, CIM Pro Services will be notified and will continue work in progress.
Hourly Rates and Cost of Services
The only commodity sold directly by CIM Pro Services is time. The standard rate for engagement is $235 / hr, and is invoiced bi-weekly for any work that is not covered by an existing allowance or deposit made on discrete deliverables.
Please note that all Pro Services invoices are due upon receipt, regardless of the status of ongoing projects. Failure to pay open invoices will result in a stoppage of work.
Expedite and Rush Lead-times
Some discrete deliverables may be eligible for Expedited or Rush lead-times by paying a premium rate to cover after-hours expenses for developers to deliver a solution without impacting previously scheduled project sprints.
Expedited lead-times add a $50 per hour premium to the standard hourly rate, and are credited if the expedited lead time is not met.
Expedited lead-times excludes the introduction of change orders.
Rush lead-times add a $100 per hour premium to the standard hourly rate. Rush premiums may be downgraded to Expedited premiums if the Rush lead-time is not met, but the Expedited premium is met. Rush premiums may be credited if neither the Expedited nor Rush lead-time is met. This excludes the introduction of change orders.
All lead-times assume commercially reasonable engagement and response times for your client responsibilities. Contact us if you are interested in Expedited or Rush lead-times on your discrete deliverables.
Expedited and Rush Lead-times are subject to availability.
Hourly Rate Price Increases
The CIM Pro Services group uses US-based, highly skilled technical labor. As a result, our hourly rates are directly associated with technical labor rates. You can typically expect 3% to 5% annual increases in billing rates.