• 1,200 user accounts and 299TB of data securely and efficiently migrated to Google Workspace

• Supports agile working by enabling multiple stakeholders to collaborate in real time on the same documents and spreadsheets

• Enables easy flow of information between HQ and countrywide stores

• Simplifies IT management with a unified platform for all collaboration tools

In 1968, in the countryside of Brazil’s Northeastern region, a man named Aristotle Santanna opened a haberdasher. That small shop is now one of the largest retail chains in the country. With the motto “making families happier” and easily recognizable branding, Le Biscuit is well-loved across Brazil for stocking a diversified product portfolio at competitive prices.

Having joined the CVLB Group in 2023, the retailer’s footprint now spreads across 400 stores in 15 Brazilian states. 5,000 workers serve 35 million customers each year. “With such a wide reach, it is crucial that we maintain strong relationships within the company, so our culture and services remain consistent as we grow,” says Rodrigo Spillere, CIO at Le Biscuit.

But with a long history comes old habits. “For many years we worked in what I now consider an old-fashioned way: through the back-and-forth exchange of many versioned files, trying to keep all stakeholders informed, connected, and up-to-date. It wasn’t the most efficient way of doing things, but it’s how we knew how to do things,” Spillere explains.

In August 2022, the company was faced with a 50-day notice that its contract with a previous cloud provider was about to expire. Spillere’s team saw an opportunity to decide whether to renew the contract and stick to the same work tools used for decades, or leverage the momentum to drive some fundamental changes in the way they worked.

“We investigated whether a new provider could better fit our technical requirements and cultural ambitions. We found that Google Workspace is better able to not only address our immediate needs but also support our vision for the company’s future with its comprehensive collaboration tools,” says Spillere. “With Google Workspace, we can enable employees to collaborate on the same documents in real time and in a secure way, accessing previous versions as needed and with full visibility over the history of edits for accountability and ease. The suite of tools stood out because it offers all we need to work well, from emails and high-performance video conferences, to carrying out presentations and sharing tasks across teams.”

Digitizing has been front of mind for Le Biscuit since 2019, when the company started preparing for an IPO in the São Paulo stock exchange. That ambition highlighted the need for a consistent online presence to generate more revenue. This was further accentuated in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing lockdowns. Le Biscuit shut its brick-and-mortar stores around Brazil, but found that its e-commerce capabilities weren’t enough to handle the heavy demands of online shoppers.

To address this need, Le Biscuit launched a new website with an improved user experience. In 2021, it bought an AI-focused technology startup to develop in-house tech solutions, further improving its website and mobile app. This led to an increase in sales from R$17 million to more than R$100 million within the first year of launch. The significant revenue spike caught the attention of board members, who then pushed for more digital transformation.

“This move towards digital brought new priorities, including the need for our teams to learn new ways to work. As a 50-year-old company, Le Biscuit has a strong tradition. Our corporate culture is well-established, and this was reflected in how we’ve worked for decades, but we suddenly found ourselves navigating new waters that called for new ways of doing things,” says Adriano Silva, Head of IT Infrastructure at Le Biscuit.

Adding to the complexity was Le Biscuit’s 45-day deadline to implement new tools, given the previous contract’s expiry notice. The pressure led the company to seek a technology partner capable of driving an agile and effective migration process involving the safe storage of more than 130 million data points, including email messages, contact information, tasks, and documents. Le Biscuit selected digital transformation consultancy Safetec for the job.

Together, the companies successfully migrated approximately 1,200 Le Biscuit user accounts from its previous collaboration platform to Google Workspace, within the established deadline. The migration entailed moving more than 130 million items. This included emails, contacts, tasks, and documents, amounting to 299TB of data. Alongside technical support, Safetec also provided consultancy and how-to guides to help Le Biscuit teams immediately start using the new tools.

Now, Le Biscuit’s work tools match its team dynamics, which are structured around Objectives and Key Results (OKRs): a framework to help teams set measurable goals. “Google is a reference in this methodology, and Google Workspace enables easy communication of company goals from central management teams at Le Biscuit’s headquarters to frontline workers across its hundreds of shops,” says Spillere.

Previously, managers relied on spreadsheets to keep their respective teams informed, but cross-team collaboration was challenging. It required files to be sent back and forth between those responsible for updating, leading to new versions being created at every update. Meetings relied on these files, but it was cumbersome to identify the most recent version and ensure all those who needed access had it. “It would be difficult to quantify how much more effective Google Workspace makes our collaboration, with stakeholders editing the same spreadsheet simultaneously using Google Sheets,” says Spillere. “Having a spreadsheet where more than 30 people collaborate in real time saves us time and a lot of headache (just imagine how many versions of a single file would have to travel between these people each time someone makes an update). The efficiency gains are not quantifiable but certainly perceptible; we simply can’t imagine what work would be like without Google Workspace at this point.” Multiple teams can now refer to a single source of truth that is kept up to date and is easily accessible to relevant users at all times.

“With Google Drive and Gmail, everyone has easy access to new files and information and can track the progress of company goals. It’s become easier to create engagement and alignment around measurable metrics,” says Spillere. “Besides, the shared drives feature enables specific user groups to store, access, search, and access files in a way that frees us from spending time addressing sharing requests,” adds Silva.

Currently, all of Le Biscuit’s administrative offices and distribution centers rely on Google Workspace to run operations. Additionally, each brick-and-mortar shop has three Google Workspace accounts, used by its respective manager, supervisor, and customer support agent. Since employees have a corporate Gmail account, all internal communication takes place within the Google Workspace connected environment. For example, video conference calls are conducted on Google Meet, and employees can create Spaces by accessing Google Chat from their Gmail accounts to designate tasks and keep colleagues accountable. “It’s important to us that all tools are connected,” says Silva. “From Gmail I can create a Spaces group, and from that group I can create a Meet invite with those participants or tag them in a Doc or a Sheet. It’s so easy,” he explains.

“Google Workspace enables a smooth two-way dialog between shops and HQ where customer insights, updates, and announcements are efficiently communicated,” he adds, “and the benefits of being more efficient will trickle down to our customers. For example, a constant flow of up-to-date insights keeps our teams consistent and more agile, which results in better services. And a more efficient use of resources can lead to better prices down the line.”

All cultures evolve, and that’s no different for retailers. Le Biscuit’s history has taught it the importance of being dynamic in the face of changing market demands and consumer behavior. The company is confident that its technology setup can help it stay on top of these needs.

“We’re proud to embark on this journey with Google Cloud to bring even more innovation, technology solutions, and continuous improvements to everyone at Le Biscuit, from leadership teams to frontline workers,” says Silva. “Google Workspace enables us to develop increasingly innovative solutions for our customers, add value to our brand, and consolidate our mission to make families’ lives happier.”