Smart Solutions
THE CONVERGENCE BETWEEN THE WORLD OF ENERGY AND THE DIGITAL WORLD is transforming the way we live. The insight born of this convergence is the key to energy optimization and management. Today, this insight can and must be leveraged for the benefit of all. Rexel provides solutions to help its clients achieve this goal by managing the complexity of tools and techniques on their behalf, offering them the best service coupled with the greatest ease of use.
In 2014, Rexel reinforced its intelligent solutions service offer in order to:
- Help professionals create and sell energy efficient solutions
- Enable end users to optimize the comfort and safety of their homes
- Offer key customers high-performance services tailored to their needs
INSTALLERS
Optimizing professional installers’ efficiency
The convergence of the energy and digital worlds has sparked many innovations in lighting, heating and home automation. For electricians and plumbers, mastering these new technologies and enabling their clients to benefit from them has often proved difficult.
Rexel facilitates their task by developing software tools that allow them to overcome technical complexity in order to offer solutions tailored to their clients’ needs. At the same time, to help them stay connected at all times, even on the move, Rexel is transforming its transactional model via the implementation of a multi-channel approach.
Smart solutions are above all tailored to users’
needs - contractors, private home owners, small or large companies - in order to help them better choose their equipment and streamline their activity.
The multi-channel offering,
an essential approach
By developing its e-commerce and CRM tools as well as its Centers of Excellence, Rexel now offers each client a large choice of touch points. By interfacing with the branches and the outside sales representatives, the multi-channel offering allows the installer to communicate with Rexel and perform transactions 24h/7, from any location.
REXEL’S MULTI-CHANNEL MODEL
SALES REP
SUPPORT CENTER
- Focusing on targeted customers based on CRM information
- Leveraging digital tools
- Target specifiers
- Customers with specific needs
- Administrative topics
- Technical advices
- Vertical solution expertise
- Virtual product experience
- Advanced configuration tool
- Full online store
- Account management
- “EDI” equivalent solutions
- E-Procurement systems with e-ordering and e-payment components
- Access to product catalog
- Standard configuration tool
- Ordering
- Account view
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Esabora, the installers’ software suite
Developed by Rexel Digital Applications in France, Esabora is a software suite combining sales support, technical expertise, price visualization and administrative management features.
Esabora offers installers step-by-step support while setting up and rolling out their projects:
- Sales support: a tablet-based application (Vesta) helps the installer assess the energy performance of the building, compares existing solutions in terms of expenditure, and simulates their results. The installation and its functioning are presented to the client in a 3D video.
- Technical expertise: an installation design tool, both intuitive and smart, creates a clear electrical diagram complying with norms. Based on scanned images and Autocad files, the plans’ creation does not require CAD expertise and can be converted into a quotation in just a few clicks.
- Price visualization, with over 800,000 product references included in an embedded catalog
- Administrative support via a single software providing all the necessary features to manage a business.
Extremely competitive financially, these simple and scalable solutions support and accelerate the business development of our customers, which are mainly small businesses and installers.
MULTI-ENERGY OFFERING
Rexel France has launched a Multi-Energy offering combining electricity and plumbing solutions for heating, air-conditioning and hot water.
E-COMMERCE
Rexel’s e-commerce sites and mobile applications progressed significantly in 2014. Rexel’s US banners Platt and Gexpro are leaders in this area.
END-USERS
Optimizing home comfort and safety
After computers and phones, household items are now becoming connected. The new Internet revolution makes home automation accessible to all. It is now possible to manage and control comfort (shutters, lighting, heating), safety (surveillance, closure systems) and energy consumption. Rexel makes these features available to installers and end users.
Home automation must favor simple, cost-effective and, more importantly, scalable solutions, as it is implemented in stages, adapting to users’ needs.
Energeasy Connect,
the smart home automation controller
Rexel’s offering Energeasy Connect allows end users to control and monitor their homes via their tablet or mobile phone. The controller communicates with all controllable devices offered by Rexel for the home, with multi-manufacturer and multi-protocol support.
Lighting, heating, shutter and door closing systems, house alarms and household appliances can be controlled on demand and operated according to predefined scenarios depending on the season, the day or the time. These applications multiply over time as the user’s needs evolve.
Tomorrow, users will be able to monitor all energy consumption at a glance in order to better control expenditures. The house will be connected to a remote maintenance service in order to help electricians be even more responsive and closer in proximity to their installations.
- Visit the Energeasy Connect website (French)
A scalable turnkey home automation solution
One of the hurdles to installing home automation solutions was for a long time the relative complexity of their setup. In order to help installers, Rexel developed the 3i service (Inexel integrator installer).
The service features a design software application, equipment pre-configured at the branch, a case designed to configure and control the installation’s functioning, as well as training sessions. Rexel experts, a remote assistance service and a brand new 3i professional certification complete the program. This comprehensive solution turns installers into genuine home automation integrators.
LARGE CUSTOMERS
Offering tailored value-added services
Rexel’s large customers operate in increasingly strained and competitive markets, where the reliability of supplies and cost reduction are paramount.
The MTO (Material Take Off), Rexel’s new and innovative service, is designed to release EPC engineers from time and resource-consuming tasks that have lower added value. In order to identify all the electrical supplies needed on the work site, the software solution developed by IPG, Rexel’s subsidiary dedicated to large projects, keeps a record of all supplies as well as all connections with suppliers.
Most of our clients seek to reduce their supplier range and streamline their stock management. This is particularly the case for electrical supplies whose cost is relatively low compared to the overall cost of the construction work, which involves many products and suppliers.
Stock management on a Midwestern worksite
A major contractor selected Rexel to provide electrical supplies for the construction of a coal-fired plant located in the Midwestern United States. Five months later, it also asked Rexel to manage the supply chain in order to remedy existing issues.
Within three weeks, Rexel had installed an onsite container, managed by one of its representatives. For over two years, Rexel managed more than 900 product references worth $500,000 with no shortage or shutdown. The works were completed five months ahead of schedule. The efficiency of the electrical product inventory management was one of the success factors mentioned by the contractor.
Smart supply chain solutions
Onsite branch: the installation of an onsite container, guaranteeing efficiency, is an increasingly popular service with customers. Each solution is adapted to their stock management and delivery specifications.
Customer Inventory Management: Rexel also ensures long term customer inventory management or Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) services for its industrial customers. They can include audit and consulting phases, as well as physical inventory organization, restocking procedures, reporting, obsolescence assessment, inventory optimization…
Kitting: As part of a Chinese procurement contract concerning 800 windmills, the kitting service organized by Rexel consolidated the deliveries of 25 suppliers, reduced turnaround from 12 weeks to 10 days, and achieved annual savings of $1.4 million for its client.