A Seamless Fit for a Fast-Paced Retail Giant

In the ever-evolving world of fashion retail, our Client is a global apparel retail group known for its innovative approach to fashion and technology. The company operates multiple well-known clothing brands and has established a strong international presence through both physical stores and online platforms. With a mission to “change clothes, change conventional wisdom, and change the world,” the company continues to expand its presence across markets, delivering style and functionality through its global eCommerce channels.

But as its eCommerce presence grew, so did the complexity of maintaining a seamless, bug-free digital experience. While development was already being outsourced, the lack of a dedicated QA team presented a significant challenge. The business needed a trusted partner to fill that gap – an expert team that could ensure quality at every release, without compromising speed or scalability.

The Challenge: High Expectations, Limited Internal Resources

As digital retail channels became increasingly important, the Client found themselves at a crossroads. Although an offshore vendor was already handling their development work, they lacked a dedicated quality assurance (QA) team. This gap posed significant risks, slower release cycles, unstable site performance, and the potential for undetected bugs to impact the customer experience.

The Client needed a partner who could provide QA expertise, test new features before release, and integrate seamlessly with the existing workflow while keeping pace with a fast-moving retail calendar.

The SHIFT ASIA Solution: A Multi-Layered QA Strategy

SHIFT ASIA (SA) was brought in to bridge the QA gap. With a flexible, scalable, and strategic approach, we delivered end-to-end QA support tailored to the Client’s evolving needs. Our solution included:

• Tailored QA Resourcing: we provided dedicated testers based on project demand, scaling up during heavy release periods and scaling down during quiet phases.
• Comprehensive Testing Services: our support included manual testing for new enhancements and features, test automation for regression testing, and overall test management for scheduling and release coordination.
• Smooth Cross-Team Integration: despite the development being handled by a different offshore vendor, SHIFT ASIA ensured effective coordination through Slack communication, daily reporting via Microsoft Teams, and occasional tri-party sync-ups when bug triage required all hands on deck.
• Project Management Office (PMO) Support: In addition to testing, we contributed to schedule management, release planning, and quality gatekeeping to ensure that every deployment met business expectations.

Communication: Building Trust Through Transparency

Initially, SHIFT ASIA communicated primarily with the Client’s business team. Over time, as trust grew and processes matured, we began collaborating more directly with the development side when necessary.

Daily communication was maintained via Slack, with structured reporting meetings each morning and afternoon on MS Teams. This consistent interaction helped ensure clarity, reduced delays, and improved the overall velocity of releases.

Long-Term Partnership with Tangible Impact

Over the course of six years, the partnership has produced consistent results:

• 7 rollout projects completed
• 10 enhancement phases delivered with high QA standards
• Automated test coverage increased, reducing regression risks
• Reliable schedule management contributed to smoother go-lives

The Client has consistently rated SHIFT ASIA’s performance highly, 4.3 out of 5, highlighting our flexibility, expertise, and proactive communication.

Why SHIFT ASIA?

The Client selected SHIFT ASIA as their preferred quality assurance partner for several reasons. Firstly, SHIFT ASIA demonstrated proven expertise in test automation, showcasing their ability to streamline and enhance testing processes effectively. Additionally, the company offered the flexibility to scale testing resources based on demand, ensuring that the Client could adapt to varying project needs without compromising quality. Furthermore, SHIFT ASIA provided robust project management support, facilitating smooth collaboration and communication throughout the testing phases. Finally, their competitive pricing combined with high service quality made them an attractive option for the Client, solidifying SHIFT ASIA’s status as the ideal choice for their QA needs.

Our Client found a dependable and long-term QA partner in SHIFT ASIA in a retail environment where digital excellence is non-negotiable. By embedding quality into every software lifecycle phase, from development to release, we helped ensure their eCommerce platform remains robust, reliable, and ready for the next growth phase.