In January 2018, PPG acquired Paintzen, created in 2013 as a digital platform to help link up customers in the market for a paint job with contractors appropriate for their project. Many contractors have expressed concerns that this acquisition changed the company from a supplier into a competitor. To kick off this open-ended series, APC spoke with Divya Thadani, PPG Director of Strategy and Business Development, Architectural Coatings, to get an understanding of the program and how PPG sees its role in the painting process.
In September 2019, the company launched PPG Services, a digitally-enabled service platform powered by Paintzen, developed to provide a way for businesses with multiple commercial facilities across the U.S. to identify and connect with established professional painters. The platform is designed to help manage and schedule general painting maintenance projects. “Paintzen will continue to serve “do it for me” ” [residential] consumers, allowing them to schedule painting services online,” the company said.
PPG Services is also meant to simplify the process for contractors as well as business needing painting services. “The platform provides painting firms access to incremental work without the associated overhead costs,” said Thadani.
There are three main goals behind the program, she continued:1. Comprehensive, one-stop service powered by proprietary technology from Paintzen, an online tool that connects painters with home and business owners for residential and multi-site commercial painting projects.2. Customer-focused solutions, including expert painting services and products that are backed by PPG.3. Consistency, efficiency, speed and savings through simplified job quoting, scheduling, project management and more.
Thadani delineated the types of jobs that PPG Services will be involved in – and the jobs it won’t.
“PPG Services will focus on general maintenance and refresh programs for national accounts in the retail, restaurant, and hospitality industries, as well as multi-site offices and third party facility management companies who are making decisions at the corporate level, not at the local level,” she said, adding that this platform will not be available to local general contractor work, new construction projects, new multi-family construction, or painting work for franchise or owner groups with fewer than 10 locations where the value proposition does not exist. “The service is not intended for large commercial projects, which are typically served by general contractors,” said Thadani. Also, she added, it will not serve as a bidding platform.
Thadani wants to assure painting contractors of all types that PPG is there to serve their needs. “Our intention is not to take away from painters’ existing work but rather to work alongside them to bolster the number of jobs they receive,” she said. “We continue to value the partnership that we have with painters; we are committed to hearing their needs and helping our partners grow their businesses. Through innovative products and solutions, our goal is to be our customers’ first choice.”Thadani answers more questions in future installments.
