Jean-Charles Bordes (Smile): "Industry is one of the three most dynamic sectors in terms of digital transforme"

On September 7, 2021, Smile invites you to an exceptional event (100% online and free) around the digitalization of the world of industry and the manufacturing sector. The opportunity to hear feedback from groups such as Renault, Somfy, Sonepar, Igual, EQT Partners, and PVG.

We spoke with Jean-Charles BORDES to find out more about the latest trends in the sector.

What are the major industry trends in terms of digital transformation?

The industry sector has profoundly accelerated its digital transformation in recent years. I consider it today as one of the three most dynamic sectors in France and in Europe.

First, manufacturers are putting the customer back at the center of their concerns and the interactions are much richer. This means that they must meet the requirements of B2B customers, comparable today to those of B2C. It makes sense, there are now more Digital Native B2B buyers than older generation buyers, and 40% of B2B buyers consult a supplier's product specifications on their mobile. This simple use emphasizes the importance of the quality of product information, content, mobile performance and customer journeys.

Similarly, working on data, whether stock, product, customer or content, has become the basis of high-value experiences that allow manufacturers to differentiate themselves from their competitors. To take a concrete example, we are seeing an acceleration of omnichannel personalization and customer nurturing projects to generate more leads and maximize sales efficiency over often long and complex purchasing cycles.

Digital is also an opportunity to eliminate customer irritants with simple and effective services around dedicated eCommerce portals: generate an estimate, a configurator, self-care, find invoices or even re-order spare parts with a personalized catalog. The interest is twofold! It is also an opportunity to rationalize costs, those related to ordering processes which can be divided by 4 in particular. It has become a real asset for many sectors including chemicals, aeronautics, healthcare, construction or again agro-agri to name but a few.

Some take the notion of services beyond that with the launch of a marketplace to provide complementary products and services and become a one-stop-shop for their market. It also becomes a tool for conquering new segments.

What place for platforms in actors' strategies?

Even 5 years ago, the trends we were talking about were not as widespread. Similarly, the choices for building its platform were very limited and often linked to very heavy, rigid and not at all business-oriented proprietary solutions.

Since then, many players have come to provide the technological response to business challenges. Every day, we talk about Product Experience Management, B2B portal, marketplace, marketing automation or cloud.

Concerning platforms, experience shows us that those that are essential and facilitate the business success of manufacturers have 3 points in common.

What are the key internal success factors for the implementation of such a solution?

The first is agility, the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) approach which is characterized by an initial deployment in a few months to remove priority irritants, an “adopt vs. adapt” and progressive enrichment. It is also a choice of test customers integrated into the design which promote market acceptance.

This implies the definition of clear objectives and KPIs to build an ambitious but also pragmatic roadmap. In this case, we prioritize the priority projects from a business point of view without rushing. The foundations are essential. Launching a B2B portal without having a product data repository means facing operational and customer difficulties in the medium term.

It also sometimes happens that our clients wish to launch an eCommerce project without asking themselves the question of the objectives to be achieved, which will notably drive the design choices and the skills to be solicited. We know from the start that the project will challenge internal teams, partners and business success.

The second is the proper place of the project in the organization. This project does not belong only to the digital director. Take an eCommerce project for example. Legal, supply, IT, production, trade, marketing, etc. are all broadly involved. For all these actors to feel concerned, there are methods of support for change, but it is essential that the project be supported and closely monitored by Top Management as a strategic axis for the company.

The question of digital skills is obvious in B2C, it is not always so in B2B. It is necessary to recruit profiles experienced in the conduct of digital projects because they will quickly know what is effective and achievable. For our part, we generally support manufacturers more closely in their projects with more advice and recommendations, management and internal support.

And then there are two other key success factors that I mentioned earlier. Namely, the need for quality data repositories and the flexibility of the ecosystem.

Often seen as a poor relation in B2B, and a fortiori in the industry sector, what place today for the customer experience?

As we mentioned, the change is profound now. Beyond platform projects, we are also working more and more with manufacturers on the “UX maturity” of their company. It is a very effective analysis to identify its ability to integrate the customer experience into each reflection and major projects and to improve its organization.

I take this opportunity to provide a complement related to digital and the customer experience. The cloud today is a formidable ally for digital innovation for manufacturers well beyond its benefits in terms of scalability or cost optimization.

AWS, GCP or Azure now offer a multitude of augmented reality services, image recognition, artificial intelligence and even IoT platforms for the benefit of the customer experience. Our work around connected cars, connected floor coverings, smart watches or agricultural equipment aims to bring the product closer to the customer by offering new high-value services displayed on digital interfaces.

How is SMILE positioned on its subjects?

Digital transformation in industry and manufacturing is a story that has been going on for several years at Smile, we have been in digital for more than 20 years, including about fifteen in the industry. Today ⅔ of our digital projects are carried out with B2B companies, this represents a hundred companies in Europe and our teams are familiar with the challenges and sectoral issues.

We provide the most complete response in terms of digital expertise to build ecosystems focused on customer experience and business performance, on a large scale and with industrialized devices.

To do this, we bring together technological expertise and innovation, consulting, digital marketing, Data, UX/UI, embedded system & IoT, Cloud & cybersecurity.

Can you tell us about the September 7 event? What can attendees expect?

This is a rare event in the industry aimed at all areas of the company: digital, marketing, commerce, IT, general management.

Our decision was to launch an event with speeches without jargon. The speakers, business and IT, will present their experience in the context of the digital transformation of their company and their advice for their peers. These include Renault, Somfy, Groupe Atlantic, Sonepar, PVG.

We will also have the chance to welcome Sebastien Lorenz, the digital director of the EQT Partners investment fund. This is a great opportunity to better understand how a fund supports the transformation of the industrialists in its portfolio.