Laying the digital bricks: How Saint-Gobain strengthened its online foundation

Saint-Gobain Distribution, Norway’s leading distributor of building materials, has embraced digital transformation to enhance its e-commerce capabilities and streamline operations. In this interview, Guro Enger-Olsen, eCommerce Director IT at Saint-Gobain Distribution, shares insights into how the company leverages Optimizely One to improve site performance, centralize content management, and deliver seamless customer experiences. From overcoming challenges in stability and speed to implementing a multi-site strategy, Guro discusses the key factors that have driven their success as a highly complex business.

Building market leadership

0:00

/

0:00

Key Points:

Saint-Gobain Distribution Norway is the country’s top building materials distributor, with $2 billion annual turnover and 3,500 employees.
A comprehensive product portfolio and an extensive nationwide distribution network give the company a strong edge in the market.
As eCommerce Director IT, Guro Enger-Olsen ensures that Saint-Gobain's Commerce solutions support their customers' commercial business strategies.

Achieving scalable innovation with Optimizely

0:00

/

0:00

Key Points:

Saint-Gobain has centralized its IT & digitalization and eCommerce efforts at the corporate level, ensuring consistent quality and innovation across its brands.
Optimizely enables this consistency by hosting all subsidiaries on the same robust back-end platform, allowing for scalability, flexibility, and speed.
A clearly defined e-commerce vision and roadmap help prioritize initiatives and streamline operations across the company's 3,500+ employees.

All the companies [that we serve] are based on the same back-end. They share the same core system, the same supporting applications, and are now all on Optimizely, which is a huge enabler in order to drive out the economies of scale in our development.

Guro Enger-Olsen – Saint-Gobain Distribution

Why Saint-Gobain chose Optimizely One

0:00

/

0:00

Key Points:

As a longtime Episerver customer, Saint-Gobain naturally transitioned to Optimizely One for enhanced digital capabilities. Their multi-product solution consists of Optimizely Content Management System and Commerce Connect products.
Optimizely One ensures stability and speed while managing Saint-Gobain’s complex business structure.
The ability to integrate with partner applications was a critical factor in optimizing their digital ecosystem.

...the decision to go for Optimizely One was essentially centered around three things...we needed to have a solution that could cater to the complexity of the business that we have and at the same time ensure stability and speed...We were also looking for a partner that could give us multi-site capabilities...so having a solution that could easily scale up...and thirdly, it was about Optimizely's excellent possibility to integrate with partner applications.

Guro Enger-Olsen – Saint-Gobain Distribution

Driving efficiency & personalization

0:00

/

0:00

Key Points:

Optimizely One enables centralized content management, allowing marketing teams to efficiently manage multiple sites and streamline workflows.
The platform provides an organized back-end, making content distribution across different channels more seamless and efficient.
Saint-Gobain is beginning to leverage content personalization, positioning them ahead of competitors.

The ability to work with multiple sites sharing the same product structure [centralizes] the work that they do and [being able to] easily push it to different channels has been a huge relief...

Guro Enger-Olsen – Saint-Gobain Distribution

Transforming performance & searchability

0:00

/

0:00

Key Points:

Moving to Optimizely One has transformed the performance of the site, significantly reducing site downtime, increasing loading speed, and improving SEO rankings.
Their B2B customers can now find the right products instantly, leading to a major uplift in user experience and efficiency.
Saint-Gobain has evolved from struggling with site performance to becoming a leading B2B platform for seamless product discovery.

...the speed and stability has hugely improved...when we moved the sites over...to Optimizely One. We used to have downtimes every week but that has obviously improved...

Guro Enger-Olsen – Saint-Gobain Distribution

Unlocking future growth

0:00

/

0:00

Key Points:

Saint-Gobain recently completed its migration to Optimizely One and is now focusing on leveraging more of its capabilities.
The company plans on prioritizing customer data collection and creating personalized experiences within the customer journey.
Leveraging experimentation and data analytics within the platform is also a key focus for driving future growth and optimization.

Expert advice on digitally managing a complex business

0:00

/

0:00

Key Points:

A well-defined tech strategy is crucial. Understanding business needs across commerce, marketing, and operations ensures a seamlessly integrated digital ecosystem.
A powerful digital solution is just the foundation—continued success comes from aligning teams around a shared vision to deliver exceptional digital experiences.

...having a tech stack that works with your total digital ecosystem...is number one. It's also about how as a wider organization work as one team, making the best digital experiences for the customers.

Guro Enger-Olsen – Saint-Gobain Distribution

Conclusion

Saint-Gobain Distribution’s digital evolution has positioned it as a leader in the B2B market, with a robust tech stack that ensures speed, stability, and scalability across its wide brand portfolio. By overhauling its site architecture and leveraging Optimizely One’s multi-site capabilities, the company has not only improved operational efficiency but also enhanced customer experience. Their focus on data-driven personalization and experimentation continues to refine the digital journey for customers. With a strategic approach that integrates technology, marketing, and operations, Saint-Gobain Distribution is well-equipped to drive future growth and innovation in their digital evolution.

Industry

Manufacturing and distribution

Products used