Published on 17 Nov 2009
Validated on 07 Mar 2013
"METRO Group now has unprecedented transparency in its in-store meat processes of the real,- Future Storein Tönisvorst." - Dr. Gerd Wolfram, Head of CIO-Office, METRO AG
Customer:
METRO Group
Industry:
Retail
Deployment country:
Germany
Solution:
Green/Sustainability, Retail Store Solution, Smarter Planet
Smarter Planet:
Smart Products, Smarter Infrastructure, Smarter Solutions for Retail, Smarter Supply Chain
Overview
In Germany, there have been several incidences of moldy meat being sold by different meat wholesalers. Although this had not been a problem for METRO Group, customers were aware of fresh meat problems at other retailers.
Business need:
METRO Group’s retail store meat-tracking system was entirely manual. Expiration date monitoring was done visually, a time-consuming and error-prone process. With 800 to 1,000 meat trays inside the self-service counter of a single store at any given time, METRO Group needed to gain a better grasp of the inventory management of its meat products, while working to improve customer food safety.
Solution:
Working with IBM Global Business Services® in a first-of-a-kind project, METRO Group used IBM InfoSphere™ Traceability Server software as the backbone of its new meat-tracking solution. Meat trays are tagged with radio frequency identification tags. Each meat tray is visible during its complete in-store life cycle, from packaging to point of sale.
Benefits:
Improves inventory management with demand-driven forecasting, reducing overstocks and write-offs; increases consumer safety by sending system alerts for expired or nearly expired products, which can then be removed from inventory; is easily scalable and reusable, thanks to standardized interfaces, enabling METRO Group to deploy track-and-trace solutions in other sales lines as well
Case Study
Overview
METRO Group
Düsseldorf, Germany
www.metrogroup.de
Industry
• Retail
Products
• IBM InfoSphere Traceability Server
In Germany, consumers are increasingly demanding the highest-quality food. METRO Group wanted to take steps to ensure that it was consistently monitoring its meat products throughout the life cycle so it could offer its customers the freshest meat possible.
Challenge
METRO Group’s retail store meat-tracking system was entirely manual. Expiration date monitoring was done visually, a time-consuming and error-prone process. With 800 to 1,000 meat trays inside the self-service counter of a single store at any given time, METRO Group needed to gain a better grasp of the inventory management of its meat products, while working to improve customer food safety.
Solution
Working with IBM Global Business Services in a first-of-a-kind project, METRO Group used IBM InfoSphere Traceability Server software as the backbone of its new meat-tracking solution. Meat trays are tagged with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. Each meat tray is visible during its complete in-store life cycle, from packaging to point of sale.
Throughout the life cycle of the meat tray, readers continuously update the inventory management system. Data is stored by the IBM InfoSphere Traceability Server software, enabling improved inventory management and helping to ensure product and consumer safety. IBM Global Business Services provided process consulting, dashboards and the architecture for the solution, as well as customization.
Benefits
• Improves inventory management with demand-driven forecasting, reducing overstocks and write-offs
• Increases consumer safety by sending system alerts for expired or nearly expired products, which can then be removed from inventory
• Is easily scalable and reusable, thanks to standardized interfaces, enabling METRO Group to deploy track-and-trace solutions in other sales lines as well
"METRO Group now has unprecedented transparency into its in-store meat processes."— Dr. Gerd Wolfram, managing director, MGI
METRO Group Information Technology GmbH
Components
IBM products and services that were used in this case study.
Software:
InfoSphere Traceability Server
Service:
IBM Global Business Services
Legal Information
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2009 IBM Corporation 1 New Orchard Road Armonk, NY 10504 U.S.A. Produced in the United States of America November 2009 All Rights Reserved. IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, and Smarter Planet are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml. The information contained in this documentation is provided for informational purposes only. While efforts were made to verify the completeness and accuracy of the information contained in this documentation, it is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, express or implied. In addition, this information is based on IBM’s current product plans and strategy, which are subject to change by IBM without notice. IBM shall not be responsible for any damages arising out of the use of, or otherwise related to, this documentation or any other documentation. Nothing contained in this documentation is intended to, nor shall have the effect of, creating any warranties or representations from IBM (or its suppliers or licensors), or altering the terms and conditions of the applicable license agreement governing the use of IBM software. This document illustrates how one organization uses IBM products and services. Many factors have contributed to the results and benefits described; IBM does not guarantee comparable results elsewhere. References in this publication to IBM products or services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates. GBC03030-USEN-00