IBM Case Studies Shiseido Co., Ltd. enhances the customer experience

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	Shiseido Co., Ltd. enhances the customer experience IBM

Shiseido Co., Ltd. enhances the customer experience

IBM

Technology Category	Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms
Applicable Industries	Consumer Goods
Applicable Functions	Sales & Marketing
Services	Software Design & Engineering Services
Challenge	Shiseido Co., Ltd., a leading cosmetics firm, wanted to enhance the customer experience by providing its Beauty Consultants (BCs) with a new way to engage with customers, influence product development and socially connect with each other. The company has been supporting BCs’ work with technology for nearly 30 years and began exploring mobility early on. To advance mobile innovation and offer better tools for customer engagement, product feedback and teamwork, Shiseido wanted to equip BCs with Apple iPad “Beauty Tablets,” which required developing new mobile apps for the tablet format. Creating apps for varied devices and operating environments can be difficult if developers have to become experts in the language and parameters of each mobile device. Read More
About Customer	Shiseido Co., Ltd. is one of the world’s leading cosmetics firms, aiming to create beauty and wellness. It operates multi-branded businesses in Europe, the United States and Asia. The Tokyo-based company employs some 46,000 people. Shiseido sells products with the help of 22,000 independent customer-facing Beauty Consultants (BCs), department store employees who work at Shiseido cosmetics counters. The company has been supporting BCs’ work with technology for nearly 30 years and began exploring mobility early on. Read More
Solution	Shiseido implemented the IBM® MobileFirst Platform Foundation (formerly IBM Worklight® Foundation) solution. This development platform supports popular devices with the simplicity of a single, shared code base. Shiseido’s developers used it to create a Beauty Tablet app using familiar web languages, and were able to reuse some code from the cell phone apps. The platform also helps to manage security and streamlines app prototyping, testing and quality control. The MobileFirst Platform Foundation software helped Shiseido overcome challenges to progress from project planning to deployment of 10,000 tablets in just one year. With no new hires, existing personnel have deployed a range of mobile apps ahead of schedule, and maintenance costs have dropped significantly. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms

Applicable Industries

Consumer Goods

Applicable Functions

Sales & Marketing

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services

Challenge

Shiseido Co., Ltd., a leading cosmetics firm, wanted to enhance the customer experience by providing its Beauty Consultants (BCs) with a new way to engage with customers, influence product development and socially connect with each other. The company has been supporting BCs’ work with technology for nearly 30 years and began exploring mobility early on. To advance mobile innovation and offer better tools for customer engagement, product feedback and teamwork, Shiseido wanted to equip BCs with Apple iPad “Beauty Tablets,” which required developing new mobile apps for the tablet format. Creating apps for varied devices and operating environments can be difficult if developers have to become experts in the language and parameters of each mobile device.

About Customer

Shiseido Co., Ltd. is one of the world’s leading cosmetics firms, aiming to create beauty and wellness. It operates multi-branded businesses in Europe, the United States and Asia. The Tokyo-based company employs some 46,000 people. Shiseido sells products with the help of 22,000 independent customer-facing Beauty Consultants (BCs), department store employees who work at Shiseido cosmetics counters. The company has been supporting BCs’ work with technology for nearly 30 years and began exploring mobility early on.

Solution

Shiseido implemented the IBM® MobileFirst Platform Foundation (formerly IBM Worklight® Foundation) solution. This development platform supports popular devices with the simplicity of a single, shared code base. Shiseido’s developers used it to create a Beauty Tablet app using familiar web languages, and were able to reuse some code from the cell phone apps. The platform also helps to manage security and streamlines app prototyping, testing and quality control. The MobileFirst Platform Foundation software helped Shiseido overcome challenges to progress from project planning to deployment of 10,000 tablets in just one year. With no new hires, existing personnel have deployed a range of mobile apps ahead of schedule, and maintenance costs have dropped significantly.

Impact #1	The deployed apps are reliable and highly secure, helping BCs improve their consultation skills and customer interactions.
Impact #2	The first and most critical capability provided to BCs was the “Bureau” solution. Analogous to a real bureau or dresser where a woman has everything she needs to look her best, every module of the app is like a drawer with critical capabilities essential for BCs to be productive and deliver exceptional customer experiences.
Impact #3	One module in the app creates a virtual community for BCs to learn from each other. By sharing photos, tips and tricks, and commenting on each other’s work, BCs build a greater sense of pride and teamwork.

Impact #1

The deployed apps are reliable and highly secure, helping BCs improve their consultation skills and customer interactions.

Impact #2

The first and most critical capability provided to BCs was the “Bureau” solution. Analogous to a real bureau or dresser where a woman has everything she needs to look her best, every module of the app is like a drawer with critical capabilities essential for BCs to be productive and deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Impact #3

One module in the app creates a virtual community for BCs to learn from each other. By sharing photos, tips and tricks, and commenting on each other’s work, BCs build a greater sense of pride and teamwork.

Benefit #1	Progressed from project planning to deployment of 10,000 tablets in just one year.
Benefit #2	Maintenance costs have dropped significantly.
Benefit #3	A single photograph accompanied by BC comments from the customer can be delivered to the appropriate product team within a day.

Benefit #1

Progressed from project planning to deployment of 10,000 tablets in just one year.

Benefit #2

Maintenance costs have dropped significantly.

Benefit #3

A single photograph accompanied by BC comments from the customer can be delivered to the appropriate product team within a day.

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Overview

Shiseido Co., Ltd. enhances the customer experience

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit