Beyond the Nokia 3310: How Saint-Maclou Digitized a 60-Year-Old Craft

I was recently looking at the intersection of traditional craftsmanship and modern technology, and it sparked a memory of my first mobile phone. It was a brick-indestructible, reliable, but limited. Now, imagine trying to run a complex logistics operation in 2024 with a workforce that, in some cases, still fondly remembers the era of the Minitel rather than the iPhone. This was the precise challenge facing Saint-Maclou.

We often talk about “digital transformation” as if it’s a switch you flip in a server room. But the reality is messy, human, and deeply emotional. Saint-Maclou is a company with 60 years of history, 139 stores, and a reputation as a flooring specialist. They have 350 salaried installers-true craftsmen who ensure that the parquet, carpet, or vinyl is laid perfectly. But until recently, their workflow was surprisingly analog. We’re talking paper files, physical trips to stores just to pick up orders, and scheduling done by hand.

When the leadership team decided to modernize, they weren’t just upgrading software; they were challenging decades of habit. I had the chance to dive into their story, and what struck me wasn’t the technology itself, but how they managed the human fear of it.

Overcoming the “Big Brother” Myth

The initial reaction to introducing a digital tool for field workers is almost always the same: fear of surveillance. When Saint-Maclou announced “Project POSI” (short for Pose Easy), the installers didn’t immediately cheer for efficiency. They worried about “Big Brother.” They confused geo-planning-optimizing routes to save time-with geo-tracking, or being watched every second of the day.

It’s a valid fear. If you’ve spent your career enjoying the autonomy of the road, a smartphone app can feel like a digital leash. But Saint-Maclou took a refreshing approach. They didn’t force the tool down from the top; they focused on value. They showed the installers that this wasn’t about monitoring their lunch breaks; it was about eliminating the “dead time” that frustrated them. No more driving back to the store just to get a piece of paper. No more arriving at a site only to find the customer wasn’t ready.

They handed smartphones to installers who, by their own admission, were more comfortable with a hammer than a touchscreen. And guess what? The adoption was seamless. Why? Because the user experience was designed for them. It was simple, intuitive, and solved their actual problems.

“We have teams that aren’t all digital natives-some are ‘Minitel natives.’ But when the tool genuinely simplifies their day, the fear of Big Brother evaporates, replaced by the relief of autonomy.”

Breaking Habits and Saving a Million Kilometers

One of the most fascinating insights from this transformation was how it exposed hidden inefficiencies in human behavior. Before the digital platform, scheduling was often based on relationships. A salesperson in a store would have their “favorite” installer-let’s call him Jean-Paul. They knew Jean-Paul, they trusted him, so they booked him for everything. Meanwhile, Jean-Pierre, who was just as qualified but perhaps quieter or newer, sat idle or had to travel further to find work.

This wasn’t malicious; it was just the “force of habit.” But it meant work was distributed unevenly. By implementing ServiceNow with the help of Devoteam, Saint-Maclou didn’t just digitize the schedule; they democratized it. The system now looks at availability, skills, and location objectively. It prioritizes salaried staff before outsourcing to partners, shifting the internal workload from 65% to 85%.

The environmental and financial impact of this logic is staggering. By optimizing routes and ensuring the closest qualified person gets the job, Saint-Maclou estimates they will save between 8 and 9 million kilometers of travel annually across their fleet. That’s a gain of roughly one million kilometers purely from better planning. It’s a massive win for sustainability, but also for the installers who spend less time behind the wheel and more time practicing their craft.

“We realized that habit was our biggest bottleneck. By trusting the data, we stopped relying on ‘who we know’ and started relying on ‘who is best positioned,’ saving a million kilometers in the process.”

The Mental Load and the Future of Service

There is also a subtle but powerful benefit here regarding “mental load.” Flooring is technical. You need to know drying times for leveling compounds, specific installation standards (DTU), and product quirks. Previously, salespeople had to keep all this in their heads. If they forgot to leave three days for drying between pouring concrete and laying wood, the whole project would derail.

Now, the system handles that complexity. If a specific glue requires a 48-hour wait, the scheduler automatically blocks that time. It frees the salespeople to focus on the customer relationship rather than technical minutiae. It’s a perfect example of technology acting as a support structure rather than a replacement for human skill.

The integration with their data lake means this information isn’t lost in a filing cabinet. It’s accessible, actionable, and transparent. The “hub” integration allows different parts of the business to speak to each other-sales, logistics, and installation-in real-time. If a delivery is late, the installer knows before they start their van.

“True innovation happens when you remove the mental burden of logistics, allowing your team to focus on what computers can’t do: building relationships and delivering craftsmanship.”

Saint-Maclou’s journey reminds me that the most successful digital transformations are actually cultural transformations. They didn’t just buy a software license; they respected their workforce enough to build a tool that empowered them. They turned a potential point of friction-the fear of technology-into a point of pride. As they look toward the future, potentially opening this platform to customers for self-scheduling, they do so with a foundation of trust. It turns out, you can teach an old dog new tricks, provided the tricks make the dog’s life genuinely better.