Saint-Gobain

The Client

Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures, and distributes materials and services for the construction and industrial markets. Its integrated solutions for the renovation of public and private buildings, light construction, and the decarbonization of construction and industry are developed through a continuous innovation process and provide sustainability and performance. 

The Situation

Saint-Gobain wanted to streamline and modernize its digital presence, merging multiple legacy platforms in a unified multi-brand ecosystem that reduced maintenance complexity and ensured consistency. Overall, Saint-Gobain aimed to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and provide flexibility for its various business units while ensuring a unified, user-centric digital experience. 

The Challenge

The group faced numerous significant business and technology hurdles:

• Diverse UX/UI creation: Saint-Gobain needed to provide unique user experiences for each business unit, requiring that two agencies coordinate to craft distinct designs that were aligned with varying stakeholder demands.
• Legacy platform analysis: Analyzing and migrating from multiple legacy platforms, including Drupal 7, Sitecore, and a bespoke CMS, was complex, particularly when some legacy features lacked precise specifications and necessitated reverse-engineering efforts to ensure continued functionality.
• PIM integration complexity: Integrating product information management (PIM) systems posed a critical challenge due to the diversity of products and solutions for different brands across websites. This led to three PIM systems managing 32 different data models.
• Stakeholder management: Handling multiple external and internal stakeholders added complexity to project coordination, communication, and decision-making processes.
• Third-party integrations: Saint-Gobain needed to integrate third-party systems such as PIM, CRM, and marketing automation systems, requiring meticulous planning and execution to ensure seamless functionality.
• Drupal 7 migration: The company needed to build a new platform and migrate roughly 100 Drupal 7 websites before its end of life, ensuring data integrity and compliance.
• Governance and efficiency: Saint-Gobain wanted to establish a governance model that allowed it to share functionalities across business units, achieving faster time to market and reducing the total cost of ownership.
• Feature customization: The company wanted to create a web platform that offered business units a variety of features — and autonomy over their sites’ UX/UI and content — providing customization options that allowed units to tailor sites to their specific needs while maintaining a core platform.

The Solution

Partnering with FFW, the teams employed a strategic approach that balanced agility and thoroughness. FFW initiated an extensive discovery phase, collaborating closely with pilot business units to ensure project relevance. Then, they conducted workshops and interviews to gain a deep understanding of Saint-Gobain's digital ecosystem and ongoing transformation initiatives before crafting the solution architecture, wireframe prototypes, and a high-level backlog.  

The subsequent design phase involved two agencies working simultaneously on distinct UX/UI experiences, aligning with the project's goal of offering unique user interfaces for each business unit. FFW launched the pilot website and moved forward with a product management approach for migrating other websites, incorporating new features and enhancements as necessary.

The Results

The project achieved significant outcomes, including:

• 140+ websites: The platform successfully accommodates over 150 websites.
• Multi-vendor flexibility: A multi-vendor platform enables efficient feature reuse across various brands and websites.
• 8+ brands: Currently, eight brands utilize the platform, with potential for further expansion.
• Time to market reduction: The project led to a substantial reduction in time to market.
• Total cost of ownership (TCO) reduction: The TCO was significantly lowered, enhancing cost efficiency across the digital ecosystem.