How SmileDirectClub and
Globant have reinvented the
Oral Care Industry
2
The story of
SmileDirectClub’s
incredible growth
Having the perfect smile is what we all dream
of. But for many people the cost of expensive
orthodontic treatment simply put this out of
reach. SmileDirectClub set out to change this -
and in turn reinvent the oral care industry. This
required creating a highly integrated service
with technology at the core - bringing together
everything from the initial customer interaction,
the treatment plan, expert consultation and
care, to manufacturing the aligners, and even
providing nancial support if required. To date,
SmileDirectClub has helped well over a million
people straighten their smiles.
This case study is the story of how
SmileDirectClub has transformed a traditional
industry, and used technology to achieve
record-breaking growth.
2
Introduction
3
“One of the key reasons we
chose to work with Globant is
due to your strong culture and
empowerment of your people”
- Justin Skinner, CIO, SmileDirectClub
SmileDirectClub’s growth has been nothing
short of staggering - in just four years, they went
from $20.6 million revenue, to $656.8 million in
December 2020. The Financial Times recognized
SmileDirectClub as one of the America’s fastest
growing companies in 2021.This pace of growth
placed tremendous pressure on everything from
organizational processes, to their technology
environment. They currently have 4,000+
employees, and a customer base spread around
the world, from North America, to Europe, to Asia
and Australia.
To help achieve this scale and provide the
technological and business foundation for hyper-
growth, Globant partnered with SmileDirectClub
in early 2019. Reflecting the rapid growth of the
company, we quickly ramped up operations -
going from zero to hundreds of Globers in just a
few months.
3
Reinventing a
traditional industry
SmileDirectClub brought a direct-to-consumer
approach to the oral care industry. Instead of
having the hassle of frequent in-person visits
to your orthodontist, individuals can complete
doctor-prescribed and monitored treatment from
the comfort of their own home - where in many
cases they can start to see the results of their
aligners in just 60 days.
To put this new customer-centric approach into
place, Globant and SmileDirectClub built a highly
consumer-friendly telehealth platform. With the
advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, this became
even more important - as it was a way to safely
receive treatment with limited contact.
And indeed, SmileDirectClub was quick to adapt
to changing consumer preferences during 2020
- implementing video chat for example, so their
dental team could talk directly with customers.
It has been incredible to work together with
SmileDirectClub to reinvent a traditional
industry, providing much needed oral care
to those who may not be able to afford it.
From evaluating the latest technologies, to
discussing business plans for the next year,
I’m exceptionally proud of how we’ve become
such close partners on this journey.
- Axel Abulaa, Executive Vice President, Globant
4
How Globant helped SmileDirectClub
achieve record breaking growth
Globant and SmileDirectClub have become close partners - working together
in almost all areas of the technology environment. Some of the highlights of
the partnership include:
Creating highly
customer-centric software.
We’ve worked together on the core customer
portal, where customers can register and
start their treatment.
This is the mobile application at the
heart of the customer strategy. Alongside
this, we’ve worked to build the customer
fulfillment application, which handles
the manufacturing of the aligners once a
customer makes an order (as a side note,
SmileDirectClub has one of the largest 3D
manufacturing facilities in the US).
Hacking the business.
“SmileDirectClub 2.0” is all about becoming
a more efficient and agile organization.
The experts in Globant’s Business Hacking
Studio have worked together to implement
key methodologies, such as OKRs and
unified workflows at scale. One key OKR for
2021 for instance is creating a customer’s
treatment plan for a treating doctor’s review
in an average of 20 minutes. We’re working
together to create a more data-driven
organization.
5
Building a digital culture and
upskilling personnel.
Globant University is providing the
capabilities, as well as specific courses,
to provide learning opportunities to
SmileDirectClub’s employees. As part of the
upskilling, we have been providing technical
advice and best practices to manage the
transition of legacy code.
Providing world-class platform
engineering.
Providing a robust technology infrastructure
is a core priority given SmileDirectClub’s
rapid expansion and international growth.
Globant has provided expertise around
the latest technologies, tooling, DevOps,
pipelines, and cloud services. The new data
platform that we are building will enable
self-service data integration, reducing
the need for data engineering teams to
build specific pipelines. We’re currently
creating the infrastructure to enable the
greater use of machine learning models in
SmileDirectClub’s business.
6
The impact of
automation and RPA
The automation of key processes has been
crucial to providing SmileDirectClub with
the business agility they need to act as a
massively scaled start-up. Globant’s Process
Optimization Studio has transformed how
SmileDirectClub handles its core processes.
For example, it now requires no manual
effort in order to create a customer order
ready for processing - dramatically reducing
the amount of time required.
Since this was implemented, to the time of
writing, we estimate to have saved more
than one year in working hours.
Globant’s Quality Engineering Studio has
implemented test automation practices
throughout the technology environment.
For example, the time it takes on average to
complete smoke testing has been reduced
to from 36 hours, to just one hour.
7
Conclusion
As a young startup, SmileDirectClub was
looking to scale rapidly, and build a digital-
rst organization. Together we put in place an
engineering organization that could meet their
needs in record time. Those capabilities became
the backbone for the company to become one
of the fastest growing companies in the US. We
jointly make key decisions and are proud of the
true partnership we have created - something for
everyone to smile about.
88
About Globant
We are a digitally native company that helps organizations reinvent themselves to
create a way forward and unleash their potential. We are the place where innovation,
design and engineering meet scale.
• We have more than 17,250 employees and we are present in 18 countries
working for companies like Google, Rockwell Automation, Electronic Arts and
Santander, among others.
• We were named a Worldwide Leader in CX Improvement Services by IDC
MarketScape report.
• We were also featured as a business case study at Harvard, MIT, and Stanford.
• We are a member of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord.
For more information, visit www.globant.com
DISCLAIMER
This report is intended for informational purposes
only, based on information available in public domain.
While the information provided has been obtained from
sources believed to be reliable, neither Globant nor any
of its affiliates, directors, neither officers nor agents
attests to its accuracy or completeness.
No representation or warranty, expressed or implied, is
made regarding the completeness, accuracy, timeliness
or suitability of any and all information and data
contained within any part of the report. Globant shall
in no case be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental,
special, consequential or exemplary damage or loss
(including, without limitation, loss of profit), which
may arise or derive directly or indirectly from use of or
reliance on the information contained in this report. All
information contained in this report is subject to change
by Globant without notice. Prior written approval of
Globant is necessary to reprint or reproduce in whole
or in part this report. All contents, text, images, data,
information and other materials displayed, including any
Globant trademarks or copyrights, are the property of
Globant or the designated owner and are protected by
applicable laws.
9
