Saint-Gobain Glass uses Salesforce to orchestrate smooth and transparent processes

From the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles to the skyscrapers in every corner of the world, Saint-Gobain Glass, with its remarkable 350-year run, is reflecting the world around us one glass at a time. One of the most trusted names in the construction industry, Saint-Gobain Glass entered the Indian market in the year 2000, having foreseen the sizeable opportunity the country offered.

“Over 70% of India is yet to be built; this means there is a huge market for construction. And this, in turn, means there is an increasing demand for glass,” explains Hemant Rathod, Head of Sales, Saint-Gobain Glass, India.

Saint-Gobain Glass today has a 177-acre glass plant in Chennai that delivers high performance, energy-efficient glass to the building industry.

With a wide range of customers including construction developers, architects, and consultants, Rathod’s vision for customer experience is simple – to be solutions-driven.

“We want to understand the needs of our customers, identify their aesthetic and functional preferences, and work on delivering products that match their requirements,” says Rathod

Saint-Gobain Glass has always been ahead of the times in equipping its workforce with the latest technology. From providing iPads to its sales team at a time when it was unheard of, or developing its own sales portal to capture sales data and streamline operations, the company was always quick to embrace technology. In line with this tech-focused culture, when it was time to upgrade to a sophisticated CRM solution, the choice was simple.

Saint-Gobain Glass had used a home-grown CRM solution for more than a decade. “We now wanted a new, next-gen solution that was similar to ours, but capable of scaling and allowing us to do more. We also wanted a robust CRM platform with extensive customisation capabilities. This led us to Salesforce,” says Rathod. 

Saint-Gobain Glass uses Salesforce today to streamline lead management, capture and consolidate customer interactions, and increase sales process efficiency.  

Activities across the sales pipeline are consolidated on Sales Cloud. This includes recording tasks, scheduling sales appointments, and recording every customer interaction on the one platform. Sales reps on the field use the Salesforce mobile application to capture project data on-the-go, including storing geo-tagged pictures of the project location.

This single customer view is allowing Saint-Gobain Glass to have smarter, more data-driven conversations with customers and offer them solutions that are truly mapped to their needs.

“Salesforce has been agile enough to align CRM with our operations,” says Rathod. “Once a lead is converted successfully, we use the platform to manage the project from start to finish.

The team has also created automated workflows and approvals for efficient implementation that reduce manual error and save time, and drive sales team productivity. Within a year of implementation, the sales team was recording twice the number of sales meetings on Salesforce.

This comprehensive project management on one platform has also enabled greater internal collaboration and easy handovers. Teams across the organisation use Chatter to stay updated and collaborate easily on projects.

With all the project and customer data easily available in one place, the leadership team uses Salesforce to track which customers drive the greatest number of sales, and take strategic decisions around project and customer prioritisation.

The data also helps the leadership team monitor sales performance on a real-time basis. Ultimately, the platform has helped to consolidate all operations, eliminating the need for any other solution. 

Rathod’s implementation of Salesforce within Saint-Gobain Glass has seen very strong uptake. The Salesforce mobile app alone has seen an adoption rate of 90%, with sales reps enjoying the flexibility and convenience it offers on the ground.

Rathod credits Salesforce partners Compro and KVP for a successful digital transformation.

“Compro has helped us customise the Salesforce platform to develop some very unique functionalities. And KVP has helped to develop the platform specifically for the distribution team, bringing all our operations on a single platform,” he says.

Saint Gobain Glass is also working closely with the Salesforce Customer Success team. “The Success team is helping us map our business goals to the solution, and develop the right metrics to track achievement of those goals. Most importantly, they are always available to answer all our queries,” says Rathod.

With new and exciting technology developments every day, Saint-Gobain Glass wants to stay on top of the game. Rathod plans to next extend the company’s winning CRM solution to channel partners.

“Ultimately, we want to create an inclusive digital ecosystem where we all engage in efficient and productive work,” he says.