Customer centricity

SUSTAINABILITY

Customer centricity

OVERVIEW

The inspiration in everything we do:
Our Customers

Customers are at the center of what we do, from design and execution to delivery. Our cables are created on the drawing board with the customer in mind, and we often collaborate directly with companies that buy our products and services. For custom-made projects, we welcome customers into our factories to help supervise the manufacturing process. We monitor customer satisfaction by conducting web surveys and one-on-one interviews. We apply flexibility across the entire supply chain to accelerate time to market, and adapt to the needs of customers in different industries. All our actions are inspired in the relationship we have with our customers. We structure these actions in 3 pillars: Digital Customer Experience, by enhancing the Customer Journey to build long lasting relations; Data Intelligence, by boosting a data-driver approach to lead to Customer Satisfaction and Digital Culture Evolution, by promoting a digital mindset to drive change.

Flexible Customer Satisfaction

The Group’s global footprint makes it well-placed to respond to different customer needs. Moreover, thanks to a matrix organizational structure, Prysmian Group is able to serve very different customer segments and markets. In local markets, we can offer business and targeted R&D structures in individual countries. For global customers, our business units can cooperate across countries.

Understanding our customer’s needs

We monitor customer experience levels via specific initiatives and using innovative tools, in order to respond promptly with ever-greater efficiency. Prysmian Group started to carry out specific one-on-one interviews in 2015. These interviews are conducted with strategic customers on an annual basis and managed directly by the Group's Customer Centricity E&I manager, in close collaboration with the sales functions of the countries and regions. The questions covered are about sales conditions, product offering, logistics and service, marketing and branding, and overall business strategy. This activity became particularly important in 2019 as, for the first time since the merger with General Cable, it involved all 3 major Group brands: Prysmian, Draka and General Cable on a global level.

Customer satisfaction web survey

Prysmian Group conducts Web Surveys to measure the level of customer satisfaction, in order to resolve problems in the most effective manner. These surveys are carried out through a platform connected with Salesforce, the Prysmian Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, thus allowing countries that already use CRM to obtain the Survey results in their portals.

In 2022, we targeted key accounts mainly in the distribution channel, reaching 28 countries in Europe, North America, Latin America, Oceania and South-East Asia. Of those contacted, 37% responded.

Customers were asked to rate 6 main macro-categories (Commercial strategy, Innovative products and solutions, Operation of the supply chain, Customer support, Marketing, Digitalization) on a scale of 1 (minimum) to 5 (maximum), identifying importance as well as the level of satisfaction.

Results by macro region

The results of this global survey identified digitalization and supply chain as customers’ main priorities. Global supply chain issues following the COVID-19 pandemic have added further pressure to these drivers in recent years.

Our key customers have therefore confirmed the validity of the strategy adopted by the Group in relation to these two aspects.

These results were shared throughout regions and countries involved, which are now preparing and implementing specific actions to support their customers. Follow-up work is already in progress to assess the results.

Customer centricity underpins many of our sustainability targets. In particular, the development of “green” products helps both Prysmian and our customers to meet the fixed targets for energy efficiency and lower emissions. Our largest customers in particular are clearly telling us that sustainability is a top priority and that they want to work with us in a shared sustainability commitment.

Prysmian’s customer-centricity is a key part of our mission, making the company a good investment choice because its business decisions will be grounded in the market.

It’s very important that we embrace the digital transformation, mainly for 3 reasons:

  • The digital world and the physical world are combined in one single environment. We, as Prysmian Group, offer an omnichannel experience
  • We live in an ever-changing world: we ensure business and operations continuity during unexpected events
  • Market needs are becoming more and more sophisticated: we are ready to address our customers’ expectations

Some of our digital solutions include:

  • Cable App

The Cable App project has been developed over the past years, as part of our innovation process. Its main purpose is to identify the most suitable cable and cross section based on the electrical installation parameters, as well as to offer videos and technical contents to the installers. The tool is available to both customers and installers in 31 countries: In South Europe (ES, IT, FR, PT), North Europe (DK, SE, NL, NO, FI, EE, LV, LT), the United Kingdom, Central East Europe (HU, RO, DE, CZ, SK), North America (US), Turkey, LATAM (AR, BR, CL, CO, EC, MX, Central America) and OSEA (TH, ID, MY, SG). Soon we will roll-out the application also in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

In 2022, we started integrations of CableApp with the e-Commerce portals of our main customers, offering a tool to the customers of our customers to select the best cable and cross section for their installation.

This tool offers the following benefits: it strengthens communications between installers and professionals; it reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO); it helps Prysmian become a player in the digital market.

  • Countries' Customer Portals

Consistent with the customer centricity strategy developed in all regions, the main objective of the customer portals made available in each country is to enhance customer satisfaction and automate customer service.

The development of customer portals at country level adds value in various ways: it reduces the need to contact the Prysmian back office by telephone; it gives access to a single digital info point; it allows for 24/7 access to information; it optimizes the procurement cycle; it enables order tracking.

Customers have access to the following information: order tracking, list of invoices, order items in suspense, order requests, drum visibility, case management.

An additional available tool is the Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) system that has been designed to allow both Prysmian Group and our main customers to connect and develop optimal inventory levels, thus making the supply chain more agile.

The objective of the VMI is to enable Prysmian Group to offer leading customers a model based on the use of the VMI collaborative platform, with advantages in terms of improved customer relations and understanding; increased collaboration and sales; and greater efficiency and improved understanding of the investment in the supply chain and related costs.

  • Product Information Management (PIM) and Web Catalogues

Digitalization is bringing increasing data demand for different sales channels. Our PIM is the central repository for customer-facing product data that assures correct, relevant and consistent data across all touchpoints and sales channels. It comprises a broad set of processes that enable Prysmian Group to gather, store and access all types of information about the product range.

PIM delivers a comprehensive interface for all product information that can be made available on multiple Prysmian Group websites and on the web/e-commerce platforms of our customers.

Using PIM, Prysmian Group can manage the technical and commercial information regarding its product portfolio, including their ETIM and CPR classifications, as well as images, technical sheets and videos, which can be shared with and made available to commercial partners, customers and product management platforms (data pools) in each country.

The PIM project is already live in 21 European countries, covering standard, special and multimedia products. Implementation outside Europe commenced in 2021.

Next to the PIM, we are also developing Group Web Catalogue Project solution, which is fed by our PIM through a technical integration. Our Web Catalogues are responding to the increasing demand for a more effective and user-friendly area where customers can find prodUCts. We are now live in 15 different Web Catalogues across Europe and North America. Further Web Catalogues roll outs are following the PIM implementation.

The Web Catalogues Solutions are also closely connected to Customer Portal and eCommerce/eServices Solutions to support our Key Customers in the various markets.

All these tools strengthen our relationship with our main customers, supporting them with lean processes and user-friendly digital solutions. Our full solution portfolio offers an integrated experience in each phase of the Customer Journey. We will continue working to enhance and strengthen even more our customer intimacy, being by their side all the way.