 A smooth flow of goods is only possible when retailers and manufacturers are able to transfer and process information quickly and accurately. This is why electronic data transfer is gaining in importance. The METRO Group uses the data pool MMS-CAT in order to ensure the efficient exchange of product data with its supplier. |
MMS-CAT – Managing Your Way through the Data Jungle
A strong range of products is one of the most important factors for success in the sales divisions of the METRO Group. This is why the group’s buying company puts together product assortments with great care. Assortment creation events are an important aspect of Assortment Planning. At these events, the selected suppliers introduce their products, such as textiles or household goods. The buying company of the METRO Group inspects the merchandise and selects products for an assortment. In the past, the management of Product Master Data was associated with a high level of administrative work, since product labels of suppliers – containing such information as product description, weight, material, color and price – were not standardized.
Standardizing Information and Storing it in a Central Location
The nonuniform labelling of merchandise made it very difficult for the buying company of the METRO Group to compare and select products and store information in the databank in a uniform manner. The group therefore made it a goal to standardize the data sets of its suppliers. In addition, all product data was to be controlled from a central databank, instead of exchanging it on paper or disk. This was the background against which the METRO Group developed MMS-CAT, the METRO Merchandise System Catalog.
Efficiently Managing Product Assortments
With the help of MMS-CAT, the METRO Group exchanges Product Master Data with its suppliers. The data pool is of central importance to Assortment Planning, since information such as product description and production characteristics can be sent faster and more easily from the supplier to the METRO Group, where it is administrated and updated on a regular basis. MMS-CAT supports the entire data management and simplifies the efficient creation of product assortments. It is the goal of the METRO Group to gradually standardize all master data.
Keeping and Maintaining the Flow of Data Electronically
Thanks to the new master data catalog MMS-CAT, the buying company of the METRO Group is able to collect and process all product information from a central location. This data can also be processed by an affiliated supplier, since manufacturing partners also have access to the data. Data administration is carried out over the intranet and the Internet, as well as on the basis of international Standards. This provides the METRO Group with a uniform pool of its assortments. The standards applied include numbering systems such as the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) - formerly EAN - and the Global Location Number (GLN) - formerly ILN. The GLN is used to clearly identify business partners and the GTIN is used for identifying products. For instance, bottles of a certain type of fruit juice from a single manufacturer always have the same GTIN.
Step by Step Optimization
The MGB, METRO Group Buying – the central purchasing company of the group – created MMS-CAT. Since the mid 90’s, the electronic master data catalog was gradually updated. Back then the METRO Group and suppliers primarily used fax, post and disks in order to exchange data. However, the MMS-CAT was gradually expanded and tailored to growing requirements and increasing volumes of information. Today the group displays a significant portion of its assortments in MMS-CAT. The goal is to eventually use the data pool throughout Germany. In the long term, MMS-CAT should also provide for smooth data management in the international subsidiary companies of the METRO Group. By the end of the implementation process, MMS-CAT will display the current assortment of all sales divisions of the METRO Group worldwide.
