BMO is leveraging Matterport's digital twin to streamline sourcing efforts across hundreds of locations and ongoing branch office projects.
“Following the acquisition of Western Bank, we realized the need for a tool to replace multiple branch visits, so we hired Matterport . Within months, we were able to virtually visit each branch. Initially, we planned to use digital twin 3D surround scans to assist with our rebranding plan; however, with the emergence of Matterport, other departments that needed information about branches could use the tool without having to visit in person.” – Lisa Near, Project Manager, BMO North America Physical Channels for Western Bank (BOTW)
result
• Saved over $500,000 in 15 months by reducing travel and on-site visits. • Recovered 6,000 hours of previously required research work. • Successfully restructured the 503BOTW branch.
• The increasing demand from various departmental teams for access to the digital twin platform. • Centralizing the repository of all BOTW assets to one location on the Matterport platform.
BMO is a leading North American bank with one goal: to boldly advance the good things in business and life. With 13 million customers and the eighth-largest bank in North America by assets, maintaining its physical infrastructure in innovative ways is more important than its 207-year history. In early 2022, BMO began acquiring 503 branches from BOTW. As part of BMO's plan to bring its brand to new markets, each location required a rebranding. Using Matterport 's digital twin platform reduced in-person visits, allowing branches to focus on serving customers and engaging the community during the transition. The physical channels team responsible for this work worked closely with the corporate real estate and technology teams to ensure that the branch project's multi-year roadmap brought the branch network to a standard in branding, modern design and furnishings, signage, and digitalization. The branch teams also focused on technology.
Previously, they relied on multiple site visits to each location to determine the scope of required design and technical updates. Key documents such as floor plans were frequently lost, creating obstacles in the early design phase. Typically, architects would be hired to go to the site, manually measure and sketch, then digitally draft the floor plans, a turnaround time of weeks or even months, before initial design work could begin.
Of particular note is that BOTW uses a distinctive green brand color, necessitating an assessment of the internal rebranding needs for each location. While cost savings were an objective, time and resource efficiency were paramount to ensure that properties reflected the BMO branding during the transition of back-end systems from BOTW to BMO, without disrupting customer service.
BMO had previously had limited experience with virtual travel products, so it sought a scalable, end-to-end solution from Matterport; it offered enterprise-grade security, an elegant interface, a global network of over 700 acquisition service technicians, design document export, and unparalleled 3D visual fidelity required by stakeholders.
Lisa Near, Senior Manager of Process Improvement at BMO, stated, "Following the acquisition of BOTW, our deadlines were very tight. By hiring Matterport to scan BOTW's branches at a lower cost, we eliminated multiple visits to branches by various teams and suppliers, saving time and resources."
The BMO team configured a set of tiered design packages to be assigned to each location. Some branches required a complete overhaul of their internal branding, while others only needed minor changes, such as painting green walls blue.
Lisa explained, "Design managers actually set up Matterports quite often, so if we're considering a proposed branch office design and the architect puts a digital screen on one wall, but we don't like the location, we go together to look at the Matterport and make a decision immediately: no, we don't want it here, we want it there."
The technical team also urgently needed to identify equipment and network dependencies, such as auditing all BOTW server rooms, telephone hardware, and computer stations. They could conduct these investigations through Matterport instead of sending people to the site. "In some cases, you can zoom in close enough to get asset tags, which is really exciting!" Lisa added.
BMO used Matterport's design file export service to create a complete asset supplement within a small fraction of the existing timeline. BOTW didn't have floor plans for every branch, but BMO could purchase one directly through their Matterport account for any branch they scanned. If commercial owners didn't have CAD files, they could now also obtain those from Matterport. Lisa said, "We could send an architect out to draw it, but why not just send Matterport to get the scans, floor plans, and CAD files? We made a capture service request, and within a week, Matterport had scanned and uploaded it. We got the floor plan files, and two days later we were back in the office. If we had done it the traditional way, it might have taken up to a month."
Each branch was scanned twice: once to capture the current state and again after the rebranding. While initially they thought they could only afford one scan per BOTW branch, they learned that, within their budget, they could scan each branch before and after, leaving enough surplus funds to scan traditional BMO branches. This affordability spurred an expansion, accelerating Matterport Digital Twin's project across its entire U.S. branch portfolio. "I think it surprised everyone," Lisa said.
As a team, the benefits of a fully physical environment with always-accessible remote sites had a significant impact on the project's success and supported BMO's corporate sustainability initiatives. All 500+ BOTW locations were secured within three months. The team eliminated redundant travel emissions from the BOTW footprint by reducing scheduling and travel time, as well as the number of disruptive branch office visits.
"The news about our amazing 360-degree tool spread quickly, and I'm telling you, people have already taken a liking to wood products," Lisa emphasized.
BMO used digital twins to replace multiple field visits, recovering approximately 6,000 hours of survey time across 503 sites, roughly 12 hours per branch. With BMO undertaking over 50 new branch projects annually, the value of Matterport's end-to-end solution, which saves them time, money, and carbon emissions, will continue to play a significant role.
Related products
👉 Matterport Pro3 3D Surround Scanner
👉 Matterport Pro3 3D Surround Scanner Bundle
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