We have had feedback from a lot of our blog subscribers that whilst we talk a lot about our customers we don’t tell you about the fabulous Awery team and the approaches we use to ensure successful implementation, customer satisfaction, and product development.
So we have decided to fix this in our few next articles and tell you about the amazing people at Awery on whose talents, skills, knowledge, and persistence in day-to-day work our achievements are based.
You have already met Victoria in the article about our collaboration with CAVOK AIR and today we asked her to describe in more detail about her role as a PM (Project Manager) in Awery and projects she has taken part in.
Victoria, could you tell us about what a PM is and your responsibilities are.
“Hello. Normally when we talk about a PM in a software solution company, people understand this role as a person who is responsible for creating some functionality in a software product or for product deployment. But in Awery this role includes other areas also. In our case, this combined role includes taking responsibility for Awery ERP initial implementation, additional functionality development and delivery, customer support and customer success management”.
Sounds like a big piece of work, doesn't it?
“Yes, it certainly is! But when you have total oversight of a customer’s needs and issues, it enables you to provide a more cohesive solution and removes a lot of the mistakes which can take place if too many hands are involved. Of course I don’t need (or want!) to do all the work myself and have a great team with me that assists in the various workstreams. Having full control also enables me to quickly build a collaborative relationship and trust with our customers.
And what are the biggest challenges for your role?
“I face a lot of issues and difficulties most days but that is part of a PMs job to manage those challenges and help the team and customers smoothly through them. When a customer migrates from their legacy existing systems to Awery ERP the main issue is that even small problems in customer data migration could lead to delays in the project, and it’s difficult to forecast all these things before the process is started. That’s why for big projects we go step-by-step, from module to module, have 3 versions of the system for development, customer testing, and live system - all this to ensure a smooth migration.
The other common situation is searching for the appropriate balance in system customizations. Awery ERP is a very customizable system, but it is also a Cloud-based Software-as-a-service system. We can customize it according to the client's unique approaches and business processes, but we also have to ensure updating this system in the future and provide other customers the ability to use the system through interfaces they are used to. Our strategy is to find the best balance between customizations that are useful for the whole Awery community and more bespoke features that may only be applicable to individual clients' needs. ”
And in what projects have you taken part in?
“Oh. A lot of them - CAVOK, China Lines Services, Rainbow Aviation… more than 12 now but mostly Cargo Airlines and Cargo GSAs. We have specialists in different areas and whilst I am an expert in those areas we have other PMs who specialize in Charter Broker and Aviation Service providers solutions. ”
Victoria, how long have you been working in Awery? Have you had some experience in aviation-related companies before?
“I have been with Awery for just over 2 years. After graduating from the National Aviation University here in Kyiv, Ukraine I worked for 2 years in a company that provides aviation ticketing services across the world.
Not all the PMs in Awery have experience in aviation as we like to take talented people from all sectors, but it can be helpful if you have a basic understanding to get on the same page with customers from the start.”
Finally, Victoria tell us please a bit about your life outside of work.
“Let me think... I go to the gym three times per week to be strong enough to support all my projects in Awery ha-ha (smiles). In my free time, I study Spanish. When I was a student, I spent half-year at The University of the Basque Country in Bilbao by Erasmus Programme and I loved Spain culture and Spanish people- their appetite for life and the ability to enjoy every moment. Also, I am a dog- person, and going to take a dog from a shelter, will put in order my other activities for this. I realize that it's a big responsibility so I want to be ready and provide a happy life to my pet.”
Victoria, thank you for your answer and comments, we hope to continue getting new occasions to write about customers’ stories and cases which you are working with.