22/06/2023

IBM iX enables MarTech transformation of METRO

Technology Projects Retail and brands Retail & Consumer Goods Project

Dusseldorf, 22.06.2023 – The digital agency IBM iX is entering into a long-term partnership with the wholesale group METRO. Under the name “Project Fusion”, it is supporting the METRO.digital tech unit in implementing a completely new MarTech landscape. As part of the METRO digital growth strategy, the multichannel customer communication is to be optimised through automation and personalisation. With METRO, IBM iX is supporting a pioneer of digital transformation in the B2B wholesale industry in the DACH region.

Customer data platform for personalised customer communication

For the interaction with its customers, METRO wants to move from manually selected offers to fully automated and refined 1:1 campaign management based on real-time data interaction and hyper-personalisation. With the aid of a Customer Data Platform (CDP), data and information on customers is bundled and holistically analysed to deliver personalised, real-time brand experiences at all touchpoints along the customer journey.

“For our customer relations, it is of enormous added value that our customers see every interaction with METRO as individually tailored to their preferences and shopping behaviour – with data-driven product and service recommendations and via their preferred interaction channels. For the implementation of this project, we have a very experienced partner at our side in IBM iX,” says Marina Sverdel, head of the company-wide project at METRO.digital, METRO’s technology hub.

Data-driven use cases

From July to December last year, IBM iX supported METRO.digital in an initial inception phase in order to identify the business need and case for the new MarTech landscape and to select the right CDP and MarTech solution from a range of software vendors. In the subsequent consultancy phase, 17 new data-driven use cases were identified. These are now being developed, implemented and rolled out in 22 METRO countries as part of the “Project Fusion” initiative.

Integration of Adobe solutions

To realise METRO’s MarTech transformation, IBM iX will integrate Adobe RTCDP (AEP), Adobe Journey Orchestrator (AJO) and Adobe Target into METRO’s existing solutions over the coming years. In addition, the agency is also helping METRO to become a data-driven organisation and to build up the necessary skills and competencies internally to sustainably maintain and manage the new platform landscape.

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“METRO and METRO.digital will become industry pioneers in the wholesale environment in the next few years, as traditional B2B becomes B2P – Business to Person. A diffuse contact will become a personalised experience that excites the people behind the account and provides a hyper-personalised brand experience. In the context of this transformation, IBM iX will accompany METRO through to the market launch of the individual use cases, in addition to providing technical implementation and various data integrations. We will also advise on transformation processes and support training and enablement,” says Ajay Vageeswaran, Chief Sales Officer at IBM iX.

About METRO

METRO is a leading international food wholesaler specialising in the needs of hotels, restaurants and caterers (HoReCa) as well as independent retailers. METRO’s more than 17 million customers worldwide benefit from the wholesaler’s unique multichannel mix: customers can procure their goods both in one of the large physical stores and by delivery (Food Service Distribution, FSD) – all digitally supported and networked. In parallel, METRO MARKETS is an international online marketplace for the needs of professional customers which has been growing and expanding continuously since 2019. “Acting sustainably” is one of the company’s principles; METRO has been listed for many years in the sustainability indices and rankings FTSE4Good, MSCI, CDP and Dow Jones Sustainability Index, among others. METRO is active in over 30 countries and employs more than 93,000 people worldwide. In the financial year 2021/22, METRO generated sales of €29.8 billion.

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About METRO.digital

METRO.digital is the technology-product-oriented company of METRO, the leading international specialist for wholesale and food trade. With many years of experience in global wholesale, METRO.digital develops tailor-made IT services and products for all METRO countries worldwide. At its locations in Germany, Romania and Vietnam, METRO.digital’s employees are continuously working towards one goal: the digitalisation of wholesale.