Thanks to excellent teamwork from the Sales and Customer Development teams, in close partnership with a number of customers, the UK business was able to provide valuable feedback on a full-service mobile ordering and tracking app CEMEX is building for global use.

This new app aims to enhance customer experience and bridge the gap between what the CEMEX Go platform can currently provide, and the full mobile solution customers need. Aimed at builders, it will be an integrated mobile application that allows the Foreman and Site Manager to manage the full order to delivery process.

As part of the development phase, customer input was sought from four of our operations across the world, the UK, USA, Israel and Spain. More than 50 customers took part in the research globally and the collaboration within our Europe region was complemented with support from our Development team in Mexico, led by Alberto Marquez, Product Owner for the initiative.

Since February this year, the Sales and Customer Development teams in the UK have been working with a fast digital methodology called GOOGLE DESIGN SPRINT with six customers from the London Readymix business to gather feedback on a test version of the new CEMEX Go mobile app. Despite the considerable challenges posed by the pandemic, the team were able to complete five or six rounds of interviews with each customer.

Tamsin Rodriguez, Charlotte Sanson, Steve Barakeh and Steve Large helped to identify the customers that would be suitable for taking part and then encouraged them to participate. A particular challenge was keeping them engaged through the different rounds of feedback, especially once the pandemic hit and customers were dealing with the anxiety and uncertainty this caused them and their operations. Adapting to online rather than face to face interviews was key to the success of this research.

At different stages of the feedback process, designs for the app and test versions were shared with the customers, with their comments and suggestions gathered and applied to development plans. This was vital for finding out key details that improved the value for the end user – for instance, the mix reference is not currently available on CEMEX Go, but this detail is important for the customer to enable them to easily identify products and mix designs. As a result of the research, the design of the app ended up being very different from what was originally envisaged.

Steve Large, who is leading CEMEX Go support for Europe as part of the CEMEX Go Digital Stores global team, commented: “The work that has been done by the UK teams as part of this app development is not visible to many in the organisation, but the value of it is huge. This close partnership with the customer will allow us to develop a market-leading mobile solution and this simply couldn’t have happened without the vital feedback they have provided.

This work will ensure CEMEX continues to lead the industry in this digital age, providing more value for customers and remains the most innovative company in the construction space.

We would like to thank all those that were involved in coordinating and managing these interviews, particularly considering the added pressure of a global pandemic! It was a real commitment – six customers took part across a four month period. The support of the team and the customers has been incredible, and we are very grateful.”

Additionally, the research identified an opportunity for a separate app which customers can use to pick up product from our sites. This app is now in development and comes completely from the feedback raised during customer interviews.

Thank you to Tamsin, Charlotte, and the London Sales team, as well as the customers, who included: Laing O’Rourke, J. Gallagher, Reddington and Morrisroe.