Sanofi Barcelona

The renowned French pharmaceutical Sanofi has opened the doors of its new headquarters in Spain, located in the emblematic Torre Meridian building in the Nou Barris district of Barcelona. With 800 employees, this headquarters not only houses the teams of the Spanish subsidiary, but has also become the home of the Global Innovation Center (GIC), a global digital hub established in Barcelona in 2016.

The new building is a reflection of the innovation and excellence that characterizes Sanofi. From its architectural design to its interior design, every detail has been carefully thought out to facilitate collaboration, creativity, and efficiency.

Vecos is the proud provider of the Smart Locker System at this office: with 644 lockers, Sanofi Barcelona provides freedom of personal storage to both employees and visitors.

The best of both worlds

Like many other pharma companies, Sanofi has deployed a hybrid work model across its global operations. While the nuances of the work policy differ country-to-country, the general rule is that employees are expected to work from the office 2 or 3 days a week. Sanofi says it wants employees to “enjoy the best of both worlds whenever possible.”

Vecos talked to Pau Costa Rodriguez, Head of Workplace Experience Iberia at Sanofi, to get his personal view on the successful implementation of Vecos’ Smart Locker System at the new Barcelona office.

“Initially, we thought that the Vecos Smart Locker System would only help us manage users and business rules,” says Pau. “But we are human beings. And storing personal belongings in a personal locker is what our employees wanted. And we want to make them happy. The lockers play a big role in that aspect of office life.”

Happiness and freedom

“We do not only make Sanofians happy, but also our visitors. For them, storing personal belongings is just as important. The lockers are so easy to assign to them. It puts a smile on their faces, and we know it plays a big part in the overall experience of the visitors to our Barcelona office.”

“It’s the freedom of the usage which is most important to us,” Pau says. “We don’t work with strict business rules because we have enough lockers. And we give our employees the freedom to release them when they want.”

In Sanofi’s case, that doesn’t mean that lockers can get ‘claimed’ for the eternity of time. “When a personal locker hasn’t been opened in 30 days, the system automatically sends a notification to the user,” Pau explains. “The notification acts as a reminder, and we experience that employees release their locker accordingly.” And if they don’t take any action? “Well, then our Facility Managers release the lockers themselves to make sure they are available for the next user.”

In need of a Smart Solution

“In our previous office – which was quite small – we worked with traditional pin code lockers. However, 1,000 employees have been assigned the new Barcelona office as their home office. I did not want to install 1,000 traditional lockers, in terms of budget and square meters. So, we needed a smarter solution!”

“The Sanofi workplace strategy allows employees to be flexible in what days they come to the office. On average, we have 450 users per day. Around 500 people in the office is the maximum. In Barcelona, you have a designated floor per team, even though you can sit anywhere you want. With Vecos, we were able to segregate without having facility management/logistics involved.”

Because the workplace strategy is a relatively new initiative within Sanofi, employees had to get used to the fact that they can work anywhere, but also had to let go of the traditional way of working: a fixed desk with a fixed pedestal. “The lockers have helped making the transition of our employees to the new workplace strategy. It has made it smoother and easier.”

Collaboration: locally and globally

“Our initial intention was to retrofit the pin code lockers. But after talking with our carpenter, it was more cost-efficient to start anew. My colleagues of our global real estate department put me in contact with Vecos. Daniel Varela, Vecos’ Workplace Advisor France & Iberia, says: “The Sanofi Barcelona office has used the workplace strategy that Sanofi and Vecos are applying in other Sanofi offices around the world as well.” Pau: “That’s how we found each other.”

“Activating our new Sanofi workplace strategy also meant that we are fully integrated with Appÿ, our workplace app,” he continues. “As we are a flagship office, this app allows employees to benefit from all facilities and services in our office. Including opening lockers. Our employees love it. They can open the locker from home, share with colleagues, and so on. It is super comfortable, smart and easy and it’s working.”

Pau concludes that the investment was definitely worth it. “Anything sustainable, low footprint, is welcomed.”

We ask Pau if there’s anything else he’d like to add. He laughs. “The solution is so easy, there’s actually nothing more to add!”

Vecos integrates with workplace management apps

Sanofi’s workplace management app Appÿ accompanies Sanofi employees in their everyday life at work. Sanofians use the Witco-developed app to enable hybrid working, and that includes the entire personal management of the smart lockers in the new Barcelona office and other Sanofi office locations around the world.

Vecos’ own System API connects the enabled features and functionalities with Appÿ, providing Sanofi employees a seamless locker experience from an all-in-one application.