Company teams up with IBM to digitally reinvent its business operations across the construction industry
CEMEX are to undertake a sweeping digital transformation designed to substantially improve their operations, business efficiencies and customer experience, by allowing real-time, mobile engagement with customers and distributors around the world.
In collaboration with IBM, the company will deploy a suite of custom-designed, made-for-business apps, built to meet the needs of building materials customers. These will transform how the entire company does business, from attracting new clients to collecting payments, invoicing and after-sales support.
Beginning in early 2017, CEMEX will launch the new suite of custom apps, designed in collaboration with IBM iX (Interactive Experience), to create what they say will be the best mobile-led customer experience in the building materials supply industry.
CEMEX will follow a ‘speed-to-market’ approach – launching a pilot project, followed by user testing, adjusting the solutions to meet the users’ needs, and then scaling the apps worldwide.
For example, a new Foreman app that will allow construction foremen to manage many aspects of their ready-mixed concrete orders in real time is currently being field tested by select customers in several markets prior to global implementation.
‘The future of our industry will be driven by the quality of the customer experience, not just the quality of the products and services,’ said Fernando A. Gonzalez, CEMEX’s chief executive officer. ‘Our customers are increasingly expecting to have the same kind of experiences in working with businesses that they have in the consumer space.
‘By deploying IBM’s new and innovative methods of experience design and process reinvention, we can create a superior customer experience and more readily deliver higher value to our stakeholders.’
CEMEX are teaming up with IBM on what will be one of the most comprehensive digital transformation strategies ever undertaken in the building materials industry, including digital experience design, digital process reinvention, agile delivery, dev-ops implementation and business process operation.
According to the company, the transformation will fundamentally change how foremen, field operations managers, cement masons, concrete finishers, truck drivers and other construction professionals do their jobs and interact with CEMEX.
Jesus Mantas, general manager of IBM Global Business Consulting Services, said: ‘We are committed to reinventing how work gets done using IBM iX and IBM Design as the new methods to re-engineer business processes. The changes we are driving with CEMEX focus on digital reinvention and customer experience transformation at speed and scale. Our approach always starts with user experience – creating exceptionally elegant and simple ways for clients, employees and partners to better perform their jobs.’
CEMEX are also leveraging Mobile at Scale for iOS, a new IBM app design and development model for the rapid development and deployment of multiple iOS apps. This unique, integrated approach allows CEMEX to work closely with IBM to quickly and efficiently design, develop, deploy and maintain apps over their lifecycle.
