OREANDA-NEWS. ENGIE, a global provider of electricity, natural gas and energy services, has selected Fjord, a design and innovation consultancy that is part of Accenture (NYSE:ACN), to reinvent its retail business model and drive digital disruption in the market.

The two organizations announced a plan today to review ENGIE’s retail operations and transform the digital experience for ENGIE’s business and residential customers. This includes reimagining the delivery of traditional commodity services, like selling gas and electricity, and designing new services to disrupt the market, challenge competitors and new entrants, and ultimately position ENGIE to move into new regions. These could include exploring how to service the new era of electric and self-driving vehicles through to connecting the coming wave of home solutions in ways that delight customers, as well as helping its customers in their energy transition projects.

“As part of our ambitious three-year transformation plan to become a forerunner of the future energy world, we are making a big investment to digitize our company, redefine the customer experience and set new rules of engagement in the industry,” said Isabelle Kocher, Chief Executive Officer of ENGIE. “Fjord’s service design, innovation expertise and ability to create solutions that are immediately ready for implementation will help us completely rethink the way we serve our customers and develop a group implementation roadmap for digital transformation.”

Starting with ENGIE’s key European markets, France, Belgium and Italy, the digital transformation of its retail business will be expanded across the company’s global operations. Tailored to the needs of each market, the program will be designed to benefit its residential customers, as well as small and medium enterprises and large business and industrial sector clients.

“Customer expectations are increasing rapidly and industry boundaries continue to blur as non-traditional energy players launch new digital services,” said Pierre Nanterme, Accenture chairman and CEO. “ENGIE’s digital transformation plan demonstrates the innovative vision and its commitment to customers that will enable the company to sharpen its competitive edge in this challenging environment.”

Mark Curtis, chief client officer of Fjord, added: “ENGIE is committed to a design-forward approach to create emotional experiences for the customer, which will help differentiate them from their competitors and disrupt the industry.”

Fjord will conduct a detailed digital capability assessment and competitive market review using design thinking, service strategy and design, data analytics and customer insights, tapping into the emotional customer journey to create a unique and innovative experience. The assessment will span all functions of the retail business, from customer care to sales and marketing, enabling a robust business case and roadmap to be developed supporting the digital initiatives and new service opportunities the team identifies.

First digital prototypes, created by Fjord, will be presented to ENGIE at the end of June as part of a completely new vision for its digital retail business, one that will position the company at the forefront of industry transformation.