Brock White is doing good business. They’re known across North America as a leading distributor of building materials - renowned among contractors and architects for service and deep knowledge of the products they sell. It’s an old-fashioned business conducted via handshake and fax machine, and in their market, Brock White is the clear leader. But they’re being encroached on by giants. Amazon Supply and Google Shopping are bringing automation and eCommerce to the building industry. To stay on top, Brock White needs an online platform that offers the easy of digital commerce, but doesn’t abridge the personal relationships their business is built on.
Bolin knows the building industry - our research for CertainTeed, Honeywell and others tied us in with manufacturers, architects and contractors. To understand Brock White, we embedded ourselves in their ranks. We visited the warehouses in St Paul, played golf at their annual management conference in Brainerd, interviewed architects in Vancouver and asked Winnipeg contractors about the logistics of shipping materials across the northern ice roads.
These interviews served two vital functions - first, they helped us understand and map Brock White's business. Every company has its frictions, and our service map gave us the birds-eye view to draft efficiencies across every aspect of their business. Secondly, our interviews won us buy-in. Brock White, like many businesses, has been burned by poorly-researched redesigns and out-of-the-box services that hurt more than helped. Listening to people's pains and aspirations, from Lucile at the order desk to the executive team, built us a lot of advocates. Everyone likes to be listened to. We started as another agency, but we became allies.
The Brock White digital rebuild is in full swing - at the moment we’re distilling the requirements and scope for the website, digital tools, and a vast array of technical integrations. It’s a big project, but with the company at our back and the groundwork research complete, we'll be moving into wireframing and development in the coming months. Stay tuned for updates.
Client: Brock White
Project Lead: Michael Kraabel
Project Management: Kara Brower
Industry Expert: Jack Silverman