Arkema - Unifying the group's IS around a data-driven digital platform to generate leads

The objective  – Build a user-centric approach via a new digital platform

Arkema is a global leader in innovative and sustainable specialty materials, with sales of €8 billion and operations in 55 countries. As Arkema accelerates its organic growth in all countries, the company has decided to overhaul all its websites, cornerstones of the B2B digital customer experience. The challenge was to develop customer acquisition and loyalty via a user-centric approach to attract visitors, introduce them to all the Group’s products and brands, and generate qualified leads for the sales teams. It is in this context that ekino supported Arkema in the digital transformation of its sales.

Challenges – A profound transformation

The challenges we faced were diverse and numerous:

Methodological and cultural: This was the first project carried out in agile for our client

Organizational with many actors involved throughout the project, from different businesses, companies, and countries, in a context of fragmented project teams due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Techno-functional, with a complex need to adapt to a platform while guaranteeing the maintainability of the functionalities developed

Cultural, with nearly 40 languages integrated with all their technical specificities with a strong consulting value

Pedagogical, with support for local webmasters in managing change.

Our solution – A unique digital platform optimised for both the Arkema group’s webmasters and the sites’ visitors.

Thanks to agile methodology, we were able to prioritise the backlog and create high value-added functionalities.

• Support and advice throughout the implementation of the technical architecture
• The implementation of user support in HCM
• The creation of new user paths and a graphic charter aligned with the Group branding for all new sites
• The drafting of a complete user guide including videos
• A comprehensive training program for users worldwide

Finally, we organised our delivery to best meet the Group’s challenges by dividing the functionalities in the following way:

The common base for the Arkema and Bostik brands was implemented in 9 months, which allowed the launch of the Bostik sites one after the other.

On the other hand, the Arkema-specific functionalities enabling the launch of the Arkema sites, were implemented over a 3 months period.

The results – Streamlining costs and transferring skills

Proxima has been an essential building block in Arkema’s digitalization. This project has helped to instill new methods within the group. The Arkema teams who worked on this project acquired several skills, in particular the agile method and value-based prioritization.

The objective of rationalizing costs was achieved, as the whole group was put on the same technical platform. Jahia components have been developed that can be used by both the Bostik teams and the other BUs.