Pulling the switch at QXO
During an investors conference in New York last month, QXO shared insights into its acquisition of Beacon Roofing Supply, including several strides in the technology area.
The company subsequently shared with HBSDealer additional details around its day one digital rebranding to QXO.
Bottom line: It was more complicated than one might think, said Joe Checkler, QXO spokesman
Getting the QXO brand to appear on the Beacon web site on day one of the acquisition was no easy feat, according to Checkler. And it wasn’t just the web site. There was the mobil app, social media, email migration and the e-commerce site.
“The integration was something that required a lot of people working really hard together, working really long hours and getting to know each other to be able to pull that off,” Checkler said.
The goal of the tech integration was to avoid any kind of customer disruption. For instance, customers weren’t required to download a new app. But more than that, domain changes were implemented without forcing any password resets. That means Beacon customers maintained a seamless, logged-in status on their new-look QXO mobile app.
One of the big digital challenges was in the form of redirects from the old Beacon web site. More than 500 such redirects were mapped out and tested before the launch of the QXO site.
The company says it plans to be the tech-enabled leader in the $800 billion building products distribution industry. Asked to identify the areas where the most important technology advances might materialize, Checkler pointed to inventory management, product assortment and pricing optimization, supply chain improvements and e-commerce.
“Some companies are involved in great tech programs, but it’s still an industry that's in the early innings on using tech to help improve processes like these,” Checkler said.
