Leveraging proven technology for a custom solution
The Southern United States Trade Association (SUSTA) helps small companies in the Southern United States export food and agricultural products. With ambitious growth goals, SUSTA Management knew they needed to invest in technology that consolidated and optimized their operations, outreach, and customer applications.
SUSTA approached us after hearing about our successful partnership with their sister organization, WUSATA. Sharing similar operational challenges, SUSTA quickly recognized the power of the custom web application we created for WUSATA.
After aligning our business goals, SUSTA identified key challenges with their existing environment:
- Data in too many places (multiple Access databases and numerous Excel spreadsheets)
- Non-responsive design
- Scattered program resources
- Manual application and event registration processes
- Time-consuming and error prone reporting
After performing extensive requirements gathering including business process review, process walkthroughs, and stakeholder interviews we identified the aspects of the WUSATA system that needed to be customized to fit SUSTA's needs. By leveraging a proven technology we were able to reduce the project timeline to less than a year. Saving SUSTA more than two years of development time and expenses.
Beyond the functionality customizations, SUSTA's unique culture needed to be reflected in the application's design. Working closely with the SUSTA marketing team, we created a strong visual identity incorporating a bold color palette and professional photography of Southern produce and seafood. By showcasing SUSTA's culture through design the new web application wholly embodies the SUSTA brand.
