Phase 1 · Planning Proposal for Discussion

Launch the Core WECommunity Experience on a Connected HubSpot Foundation

SmartBug's recommended initial release focuses on the four capabilities identified as the most important starting point: a secure member portal, a fast mobile-first application experience, AI-assisted document review, and a searchable directory of approximately 23,000 suppliers. The approach establishes a scalable foundation for certification, corporate-member discovery, data, and future global expansion.

Review Phase 1 Scope View Investment & Timeline

Initial planning estimate for discussion. Final deliverables, timeline, and investment will be confirmed through discovery and a formal Statement of Work.

Phase 1 Focus

Secure Member Portal

Mobile-First Application

AI-Assisted Document Review

~23,000-Supplier Directory

Foundational architecture built to scale into future global phases.

Section 1 · What Phase 1 Delivers

Four outcomes that stand up the core WECommunity experience

Phase 1 focuses on the highest-value capabilities for members and certification, on a HubSpot foundation architected to scale.

Secure Member Portal

Authenticated experiences for applicants, suppliers, corporate members, and administrators
Memberships and access groups
Branded portal shell and navigation

Mobile-First Application Process

Dynamic multi-step application
Target experience designed to be completed quickly on mobile
Business lookup / registration-number prefill integration
Document upload
Baseline multilingual support

AI-Assisted Document Review

HubSpot Customer Agent customization
MCP-enabled orchestration
Supplemental OCR / document-intelligence integration
Multi-language red-flag detection
Human-in-the-loop review queue

Searchable Supplier Directory

Approximately 23,000 supplier records
Ariba supplier-record migration
Search and filter experience
Scalable custom-object-driven directory architecture

Phase 1 is designed as the recommended initial release: it delivers the highest-value member and certification experiences first while creating the architecture needed for future global expansion.

Section 2 · Solution Architecture

A layered HubSpot foundation built to scale

HubSpot native capabilities do the heavy lifting; supplemental services extend the platform where scale, AI, or integrations require it.

Experience Layer

Content Hub Enterprise

Portal pages
Membership content
Dynamic CRM-powered experiences

Operating Layer

HubSpot CRM

Company = supplier organization
Contact = applicants, supplier staff, corporate-member users, assessors, and internal staff
Custom Object: Application
Custom Object: Certification
Custom Object: Supplier Directory
Optional Custom Object: Document, only when document-level metadata, expiration tracking, approvals, or many-to-many associations are required

AI & Automation Layer

Customer Agent + orchestration

Customer Agent as the embedded HubSpot AI foundation
Supplemental document-intelligence / OCR service for advanced extraction and risk flags
Human review, workflow orchestration, and audit logging in HubSpot

Integration Layer

Connected systems

SAP Ariba data migration
Data Hub / Operations Hub for sync and programmable automation
Revenue Hub for invoices, payment links, or subscriptions where needed
Service Hub for Customer Agent, support, and ticketing where needed
External identity provider for SSO if required

Architecture note: The supplier directory requires a CRM custom-object approach rather than HubDB due to the approximate 23,000-record volume.

Section 3 · Phase 1 Scope of Work

Twelve workstreams to launch the core WECommunity experience

Estimated hours are planning-level ranges to size the engagement. Final deliverables will be documented in the SOW.

Discovery & Solution Design

60–80 hours

Requirements validation
Data model and architecture sign-off
Detailed implementation plan

HubSpot Foundation & Data Model

80–110 hours

Hub provisioning
Application and Certification-lite custom objects
Base CRM schema
Roles and permissions

Member Portal & Access

180–240 hours

Memberships and access groups
Applicant, Supplier, Corporate Member, and Admin access models
CMS theme and portal shell

Application Process

220–280 hours

Dynamic mobile-first multi-step form
Business lookup / registration-number prefill integration
Document upload
Baseline multilingual support

AI Document Review Agent

260–340 hours

Customer Agent customization
MCP client / orchestration
Supplemental OCR / LLM integration
Multi-language red-flag detection
Human-in-the-loop review queue

Supplier Database & Directory

260–340 hours

Custom-object supplier schema
Migration of approximately 23,000 supplier records from Ariba
Search and filter directory experience

Review Workflow & Audit Trail

100–140 hours

Approval, rejection, escalation, and resubmission workflow
Baseline audit history

Notifications

40–60 hours

Lifecycle and status notifications
Email and in-app notifications where supported

Reporting & Dashboards

50–70 hours

Baseline application and registration dashboards
Operational reporting

QA, Testing & UAT

120–160 hours

Functional QA
UAT support
Bug resolution

Training & Documentation

40–60 hours

Administrator training
Operational runbook

Project Management

220–290 hours

Ongoing project leadership and governance across the engagement
Approximately 15% of total effort

Total Estimated Effort

Estimated Phase 1 Effort: 1,630–2,170 hours

Planning-level range across all twelve workstreams. Confirmed after discovery.

See Investment

Section 4 · Phase 1 Investment

Recommended Phase 1 Planning Range

A planning-level services investment range for the twelve Phase 1 workstreams — sized to focus on the highest-value initial release.

Recommended Phase 1

Estimated Services Investment

$285,000–$488,000

Hours

1,630–2,170

Duration

~24–26 weeks

Team

Multi-disciplinary

Pricing note: This is an initial planning range based on the currently understood scope and an illustrative blended services-rate assumption. Final pricing will be refined after discovery, technical validation, and confirmation of the formal delivery model.

HubSpot Licensing

Platform fees separate

HubSpot platform and licensing costs are not included in the Phase 1 services investment and will be provided separately by HubSpot.

Planning Estimate

For discussion, not a fixed quote

Hours and pricing are presented as planning-level ranges. Final scope, deliverables, timeline, and investment will be documented in the formal Statement of Work following discovery.

Focus

Phase 1 only

Future phases (Growth Roadmap and Future Innovation) are shown as roadmap items and will be scoped and priced separately.

Section 4b · Commercial Summary

Investment, Migration & Ongoing Support

What is included in Phase 1, what is included at a planning level, what requires technical validation, and what is optional after launch.

Phase 1 Implementation — Included

$285,000–$488,000

Hours

1,630–2,170 hours

Duration

Approximately 24–26 weeks

Planning-level estimate for the 12 Phase 1 workstreams, including discovery and architecture, HubSpot configuration, secure portal and application experiences, AI-assisted document review, supplier directory, testing, training, and project management.

HubSpot subscriptions and licensing are separate.

Included at a Planning Level

SAP Ariba → HubSpot Data Migration

Approx. $15,000–$28,000within Phase 1

80–140 hours

Covers migration of approximately 23,000 structured supplier records from SAP Ariba into the new HubSpot data model, assuming an accessible export and manageable data quality.

Pending export review

Historical applications, certification records, documents, approval notes, audit history, multiple rehearsals, delta migration, and large-scale file transfers are subject to discovery and may expand the scope. A broader historical migration may require 200–400+ hours / approximately $39,000–$78,000+.

Technical Validation Required

Custom Integrations

Per-integration planning ranges

Standard connector setup$3,000–$6,000
Connector with mapping / workflows / testing$6,000–$12,000
Moderate custom API integration$12,000–$24,000
Complex bidirectional integration$24,000–$50,000+

Stripe: typically $4,000–$8,000 for straightforward payment collection; approximately $12,000–$24,000 for a custom payment experience.

QuickBooks: typically $5,000–$10,000 for basic synchronization; approximately $12,000–$24,000 for customized or bidirectional automation.

The architecture can support Stripe, QuickBooks, and other external systems, but these integrations are not automatically included unless expressly confirmed in the Phase 1 scope. Integrations already expressly described in Phase 1 remain included at a planning level; additional systems require technical validation and scope confirmation.

Optional · Post-Launch

Ongoing Maintenance & Enhancements

Recommended

40 hours/month for 6 months

Approximately $7,000–$8,000/month

Light — 20 hours/month~$3,500–$4,000/month

Enhanced — 60–80 hours/month~$11,000–$16,000/month

Ongoing maintenance and enhancements are not included in the implementation estimate beyond initial launch support. Retainers can cover HubSpot administration, portal refinements, workflow and reporting enhancements, data-quality support, minor development, integration monitoring, troubleshooting, and release planning.

At a glance

Phase 1 implementation

Included

$285,000–$488,000

SAP Ariba supplier migration

Included at a planning level

~$15,000–$28,000 within Phase 1

Additional integrations

Requires confirmation

$3,000–$12,000 standard; $12,000–$50,000+ custom, per integration

Ongoing support

Optional, post-launch

Recommended $7,000–$8,000/month

All figures are planning-level estimates based on currently understood requirements and will be refined through discovery, data/export review, and technical validation.

Section 5 · Indicative Delivery Timeline

A ~24–26 week Phase 1 delivery arc

Multiple workstreams run in parallel. The detailed critical path will be confirmed during discovery.

Weeks 1–3
Discovery & solution design
Weeks 3–6
Foundation and data-model setup
Weeks 4–10
Member portal and access, in parallel
Weeks 6–14
Application-process build
Weeks 8–16
AI document-review agent build
Weeks 8–18
Supplier database, directory, and migration
Weeks 14–19
Review workflow and audit trail
Weeks 16–20
Notifications and reporting
Weeks 19–23
QA, testing, and UAT
Weeks 23–24
Training and launch preparation
Weeks 24–26
Launch

Note: Several workstreams run in parallel. The detailed critical path, milestones, and dependencies will be confirmed during discovery.

Section 6 · Delivery Team

A multi-disciplinary SmartBug delivery team

A blended team spanning strategy, architecture, HubSpot / CMS development, AI, integration, UX, QA, data, and change management.

Engagement / Program Director

Advisory · part-time

Project Manager

Full-time

Solutions Architect

Part-time

HubSpot / CMS Developers

1–2

AI / Integration Engineer

UX/UI Designer

Part-time

QA / Test Engineer

Part-time

Data Migration Specialist

Shared / part-time

Training / Change Management Lead

Shared / part-time

Section 7 · Future Roadmap

What comes after Phase 1

Not included in Phase 1 pricing. Each future phase will be scoped and priced separately based on business priorities after launch.

Phase 2

Growth Roadmap

Proactive AI supplier recommendations
AI-driven supplier growth insights
LMS integration and personalized learning
Paid learning and sponsored content
Course previews
Community, networking, and mentorship
Supplier-to-supplier and supplier-to-corporate connections
Recognition and digital badges

Future phase — scope and investment to be defined separately

Phase 3

Future Innovation

Deep procurement-platform integrations
Government registry and enrichment integrations
Digital wallet or blockchain certificate verification
Advanced AI matching and side-by-side supplier comparison
Supplier growth and procurement advisor agents
Predictive analytics
New revenue models and marketplaces
Real-time messaging and broader global community capabilities

Future phase — scope and investment to be defined separately

Section 8 · Assumptions & Dependencies

What we're planning against

These assumptions and dependencies will be validated during discovery and formalized in the SOW.

Key Assumptions

WEConnect provides timely SAP / Ariba exports and subject-matter experts
Final AI approach is confirmed during discovery
HubSpot hub and tier selection is finalized before build begins
WEConnect provides country-specific certification rules and policy content
Hours and pricing are planning-level ranges before formal discovery
The delivery model and final rates will follow the SmartBug MSA and formal SOW

Dependencies · Technical Validation

Data condition and completeness in SAP / Ariba
Exact persona and company-level permission model
Document types, languages, security, and retention requirements
AI accuracy and explainability expectations
Search responsiveness at approximately 23,000 supplier records
Availability and capability of external APIs

Section 9 · Out of Scope for Phase 1

What Phase 1 does not include

These capabilities are intentionally deferred to future phases so Phase 1 can deliver the highest-value initial release.

A native HubSpot LMS; recommend best-of-breed LMS integration in a later phase

Rich forums, community networking, and real-time member messaging

Deep two-way procurement-system integrations

Blockchain / digital-wallet certificate functionality

Full finance, ERP, or accounting replacement

Advanced marketplace and revenue-sharing capabilities

AI capabilities beyond the validated hybrid Customer Agent plus supplemental document-intelligence approach

Section 10 · Why SmartBug

The HubSpot partner built for programs like WEConnect

World's largest and most decorated HubSpot partner

2024 and 2025 HubSpot North American Partner of the Year

800+ five-star reviews in the HubSpot ecosystem

Deep experience across HubSpot architecture, CRM, Content Hub, Data Hub, migrations, integrations, UX, AI orchestration, and custom development

Flexible delivery models and ongoing support

Section 11 · Recommended Next Steps

Build the Right First Release — and the Foundation for What Comes Next

A short, deliberate path from this planning proposal to a signed SOW and Phase 1 launch.

1
Align on the Phase 1 outcomes and boundaries
2
Review the current WECommunity experience and SAP / Ariba environment
3
Validate users, workflows, data volumes, documents, integrations, and AI requirements
4
Complete formal discovery and technical proof-of-concept planning
5
Finalize the SOW, implementation schedule, and investment

Confirm Phase 1 Direction Schedule Technical Discovery