IBM Global Business Services, in collaboration with Salesforce, developed a new eCommerce and marketing automation solution for bofrost* that will digitally transform the consumer experience according to changed needs and buying behaviors
Milan, March 16th, 2021 – bofrost*, a European leader in frozen food products, and IBM today unveiled the implementation of a new eCommerce and marketing automation solution as the first milestone of bofrost*’s business transformation journey.
The implementation leverages IBM hybrid cloud software, such as IBM Cloud Pak for Data, to help anticipate and meet changing customer demands, and Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Salesforce Marketing Cloud technologies, to unify the customer experience across web and mobile. Taken together, these solutions will enable bofrost* to infuse AI throughout its organization and scale its operations to meet increased sales volume, which spiked in 2020 to 10x the growth of the previous year, and follows a decade of continuous growth.
Through this automated, scalable cloud-based solution built with IBM and Salesforce technologies, bofrost* can support fluctuations in online sales while offering its clients a consistent and personalized experience through a more interactive and intelligent website and mobile app that can deliver automated and targeted marketing activities.
At the onset of the pandemic, bofrost* shipped its frozen and fresh products directly to consumers’ homes, reacted promptly to ensure the safety of its employees and responded successfully to the growing demands of its customers who increasingly preferred to shop online.
In June 2020, the Italian-based company started working with IBM on a path of innovation and digital transformation to meet the new needs that had emerged. The first step was a project that analyzed how the COVID emergence transformed customer relationships and how bofrost*’s operating model performed in a situation of high stress on operational activities. The underlying goal was to determine which of these new consumer behaviors would persist after the pandemic and whether business processes and models needed to be revised.
On the basis of this analysis, the evolution of the sales and service models was then defined, leveraging new operational and organizational paradigms that would enable multi-channel and omnichannel solutions.
Now, bofrost*, can offer its clients in Italy, Spain and Switzerland the same high-level client centric approach as it offers with face-to-face sales.
“The COVID-19 pandemic seriously disrupted the way we did things,” said Gianluca Tesolin, CEO of bofrost* Italia. “But with IBM we were able to rethink our strategy and invest in new AI and hybrid cloud capabilities to meet changing consumer expectations now and for the future.”
Through its global alliance with Salesforce, IBM has been able to help transform bofrost* into an increasingly customer-centric company. The journey will lead to a better service experience, with the optimization of online channels – website and applications – and with the 360° knowledge of consumer behavior, made possible by data analysis. In addition, the combination of data provided to support the face-to-face sales – seller and teleseller – with the introduction of new business models to expand customer relations and services, confirms the commitment of bofrost* as an innovative and top-quality retailer.
“The challenge with bofrost* was to work alongside them in both the design of the new model and its implementation, leveraging technology and professional expertise to understand consumer needs and offer innovative solutions that could meet them,” said Rolando Neiger, GM, IBM Global Business Services. “To do so, we used the best experiential methodologies such as design thinking and empathy maps. We are proud to work with a company like bofrost* that is strongly committed to its customers and shares a deep innovative spirit.”
bofrost* Italia
It is the most important Italian company in the direct home sale of frozen food specialties without any interruption of the cold chain. It employs 2,400 people throughout Italy. The head office is located in San Vito al Tagliamento (PN). Today, more than one million Italian families appreciate and know bofrost* Italia products. Quality, taste and excellent service are the success factors of this company. www.bofrost.it