Fortescue Zero uses customer insight to power growth

Born out of the Williams Formula E racing team in 2010, Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) made its name delivering cutting-edge electrification and energy storage technologies.

In 2022, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), one of the world’s largest mining companies, acquired WAE as part of its mission to decarbonise mining operations and drive Real Zero emissions. Recently rebranded as Fortescue Zero (FZ), the company was now set to deliver Real Zero technologies not just in motorsport, but heavy industry and mobility as well.

With a global ambition and world-class engineering, FZ now needed an understanding of what its customers truly wanted from their engagement with the company.

The challenge

While FZ had a reputation for technical brilliance, it needed to transition from a product-led innovator to a customer-led commercial business. To scale successfully, leadership recognised that customer insights had to shape everything from product development to delivery.

FZ brought in CGA Experience to create a comprehensive, actionable view of the customer journey, before, during and after the sale.

The solution

We conducted in-depth interviews with FZ’s key customers to capture not just satisfaction levels, but expectations, pain points, and priorities. Using our Heartbeat® methodology, we mapped the entire customer journey, identifying the moments that mattered most.

The insights were clear and compelling.

• FZ’s customers loved their engineering quality and innovation.
• However, communication was fragmented, programme delivery unpredictable, and account ownership unclear.
• Also, customers wanted a clear view of FZ’s innovation roadmap so that they could plan and invest with confidence.

The results

“CGA really understood what our business was lacking and turned it into a simple project plan with impactful deliverables.”
—Darcy Anderson, Head of Product Marketing and Intelligence

The insights became the backbone of a three-year CX transformation roadmap, with quick wins and long-term goals, aligned to both commercial strategy and operational delivery.

The roadmap included the introduction of clear points of contact and structured account management, as well as new communications processes for project updates, roadmap visibility, and proactive engagement.

New CEO Ellie Coates has created a Chief Customer Officer role, and the business has begun implementing customer-driven metrics alongside traditional KPIs. Now, customer insights will be at the heart of FZ’s commercial planning.

The project has been a strategic turning point for FZ. The company is now better equipped to deliver it ambition growth plans by understanding what its customers need.