Uncovering Procurement Pain Points and Digital Tool Opportunities in Building Materials

Owens Corning sought to better understand how contractors and procurement coordinators source materials, manage vendor relationships, and evaluate digital procurement tools. The goal was to identify unmet needs, inefficiencies, and opportunities to differentiate Owens Corning's product and service experience—particularly in a highly fragmented, relationship-driven market.

KEY BUSINESS QUESTION INCLUDED:

• What tools are currently used for procurement and bidding?
• Where are contractors experiencing friction or delays?
• How much appetite is there for digital tools vs. in-person or phone-based methods?
• What capabilities are most valued in a procurement platform?

APPROACH
We used a mixed-methods research strategy to combine breadth and depth:

• In-depth interviews with 12 participants to probe motivations, informal workarounds, and attitudes toward technology
• Persona segmentation to categorize users by procurement role, digital fluency, and project volume
• Journey mapping to visualize key decision points in the bidding and buying process

KEY FINDINGS
1. Procurement Is Still Largely Manual and Relationship-Driven
Most respondents relied on text, email, and phone calls to request quotes and place orders. Relationships with supplier reps remained critical, especially for last-minute needs or pricing exceptions.

2. Tools Are Fragmented Across the Journey
Participants used a patchwork of tools—Excel for takeoffs, email chains for quote tracking, and ERP systems for formal POs—leading to loss of data, time delays, and repeated manual entry.

3. Speed and Price Transparency Are Top Priorities
Fast quote turnaround and the ability to compare pricing without playing “phone tag” were frequently cited as gaps in the current process. However, there was skepticism toward digital-only platforms that removed the human element.

4. Varying Digital Readiness
Tech-forward participants (often estimators or operations managers) expressed strong interest in centralized procurement platforms—while others preferred tools that supported, not replaced, their rep relationships.

IMPACT & RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on our research, we delivered a strategic roadmap to Owens Corning that included:

User-Driven Feature Set: Prioritized development of a procurement dashboard offering real-time pricing, material availability, and rep chat—bridging digital convenience with human support

Persona-Aligned Messaging: Created messaging strategies for high-tech estimators vs. relationship-first contractors

Lead Management Integration: Identified demand for lightweight CRM-style tools to track bids, wins/losses, and supplier responsiveness

Pilot Program Guidelines: Recommended a phased rollout starting with digital-ready midsize contractors to test tool adoption and refine UX

CONCLUSIONS
This research surfaced critical friction points and opportunity areas within the procurement experience—informing both product design and go-to-market strategy. By embedding the contractor voice early in development, Owens Corning positioned itself to offer not just materials, but meaningful procurement support in a changing industry.