SAINT_GOBAIN_REGISTRATION_DOCUMENT_2017

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One ambition: to improve the well-being of all A Group organization to serve customer and market needs

The Building Distribution Sector aims to be the Reference for its customers and suppliers alike. To accomplish this, it has developed a network of strong and complementary brands, generalist, specialist and cross-channel, aimed at trade professionals, the private project owner, and small, medium and large businesses. Each brand is rooted in its local market, positioned so as to cater for the specific needs of that market. It relies on the dynamism, caliber and expertise of its teams. The sector is building on the development of its cross-channel offer to drive profitable, sustainable growth for its brands, with the aim of providing the same level of service and satisfaction for every type of customer. The sector’s strong logistics also mean that it can broaden its range of products and services and continue to improve product availability. It continues to invest in developing its information systems to enhance its internal efficiency and day-to-day productivity. These investments also contribute to improving the customer experience. The Building Distribution Sector is constantly innovating to give its customers all the information they need. The brands are enhancing the product information available on their websites. New sites have been launched and new digital services have been made available, covering the entire customer journey, from initial inspiration to after-sales. In the United Kingdom, a Digital Hub has been created to provide customers with a “Connected Experience”, while helping brands to develop their business using new digital tools. It brings together the expertise of specialists in data analysis, user experience and online advertising. In traditional sales channels, communication is based on relationships and sales staff providing advice to customers. The sector’s brands are enhancing this information via digital channels, with online catalogs, video demonstrations, customer testimonials, tutorials on fitting, etc. Showrooms, a source of inspiration for customers and traditionally located in sales outlets, are also becoming mobile, with the introduction of roaming display trucks. The sector is continuing with the development of services to simplify its customers’ journeys, improve their day-to-day efficiency and create productivity gains for them: online appointment bookings with a sales specialist, project simulators, advice from professionals on websites or social media, augmented reality tools, etc. The brands are also developing the option for their customers to purchase products and services via their mobile applications, request construction waste management services, or select a delivery method. In France, the sector provides an intermediation platform for that puts qualified building professionals and private project owners in touch with one another. Project owners can use it to select the most appropriate tradespeople for their project, while tradespeople can increase their visibility and develop their business. The sector’s increasingly innovative range of services was enhanced this year with the addition of new mobile applications for improving and smoothing the customer journey, even to the point of allowing fast-track payment in Providing customers with the information necessary for their purchase decision

sales outlets. Adapting to modern technology and specific customer needs, the sector now includes drones in its product range and offers 3D printing technology as one of its services. These multiple interactions provide the brands with an ever more detailed understanding of their customers, whose use of digital technology is increasing. As a result, the sector records nearly 100 million visits per year across all its websites. The data gathered are used to analyze customers’ purchasing and browsing behavior, and are used by the brands as a basis for new product and customized service offerings, via targeted emails, for example. Customer satisfaction at the heart of the sector’s strategy The sector’s brands invest in training for their employees (for example, in the use of digital tools or how products are used) in order to improve their performance, thereby cultivating better support for their customers. They also contribute to increasing the level of professionalism in the building trade through training, with free morning information sessions on new standards and regulations, refresher training leading to qualifications, e-learning to supplement knowledge on energy retrofitting, and self-paced training using practical guides and books. Many brands have introduced on- and offline tools for measuring customer satisfaction, via the Internet, by phone or directly in sales outlets. The results gathered day-to-day enable the brands to develop their product and service lines in real time. Segmentation: a response for every customer The sector has introduced customized responses for every type of customer. Whether these responses relate to service needs or specific products, the brands develop new concepts and products or invest in new markets. The brands identify needs and take hold of growth levers to diversify their businesses. Thus, some of them provide their customers with specific products and services for roads (guardrails, light poles, etc.). They also supply solutions for the hydroelectric dam market, as well as materials specifically for the marine industry. Other specialist brands are investing in the prefabricated market, such as bathroom, roofing and structural components. In anticipation of the major social issue posed by population aging, the sector has a range of products and services devoted more broadly to accessibility for all in living places. The sector is continuing with the development of shared spaces for several brands, as well as for the logistics centers throughout Europe. It offers a comprehensive, centralized product line to save customers time. The sector has enhanced its product offering by developing private labels for the sanitaryware-heating, structural work and tooling markets, including four on the international stage. They are positioned as reference brands in each of these product categories, and fulfill strict specifications which guarantee product quality and compliance. The Building Distribution sector also caters for the needs of customers with specific requirements in terms of efficiency and value for money.

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