 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. |
How is Data Exchange Conducted with MMS-CAT?
For Assortment Planning, suppliers provide the METRO Group with a multitude of Master Data. There are many ways to transfer this data to the data pool MMS-CAT. The goal of the METRO Group is to get as many suppliers as possible to use the external data pool SA2 Worldsync (
www.sa2.com) for transferring data. An additional possibility is bilateral data exchange. For this, the supplier uses a special Internet application, with which he can transfer his data online to the METRO Group.
It All Starts with Assortment Creation
The transfer of product master data to the data pool MMS-CAT begins with assortment creation. Here selected suppliers introduce their products from a certain group of goods, such as housewares. The buying company of the METRO Group inspects the goods and selects a fraction of them for assortments. In an ideal case, each product has a label with a standardized EAN bar code. The responsible staff members of the buying company just have to scan the bar code when they want to put a product into the new assortment. They document their product decisions and eventually enter the scanned product data into MMS-CAT.
A Voyage from Pool to Pool
Many suppliers of the METRO Group use the external data pool SA2 Worldsync (www.sa2.com) for transferring data to the METRO Group. Here they can supply their product master data. The METRO Group is able to download all necessary data at any time and import it into MMS-CAT. New or changed product data is automatically transferred to the METRO Group – for instance when packaging sizes change. This way the buying company of the group always keeps an overview of the current assortment and can further process data as needed. If necessary, MMS-CAT can also be connected with other external master data pools. However, the exchange over SA2 Worldsync is the preferred method.
Directly Wired to the Partner
Bilateral data exchange is an additional way to exchange data between suppliers and the METRO Group. For this the supplier logs onto a protected area of an Internet portal of the group and stores his data there. Inside the portal, he is able to process existing data, for instance when the characteristics of a product have changed. The pre-requirement for this is a Release of the relevant data, which is granted by the respective staff member of the METRO Group.
Back and Forth
The transfer of data is not only conducted from the supplier to the METRO Group, but also in the other direction. The METRO Group is also able to transfer information to its business partners via bilateral data exchange. For instance, it is possible to give suppliers a regular update on the assortment that they are currently supplying to the METRO Group. In this case, the group asks the supplier to provide changes in the master data and to send back the updated information. The supplier can enter new prices, product characteristics or the data of new products and erase outdated information. For the buying company of the METRO Group, this type of data administration saves a lot of work, since the supplier is active in keeping his data up to date.
Embedded in a Network of Databanks
The data pool MMS-CAT is integrated into a complex overall system. One important role plays, for example, the downstream databank of the sales divisions, which MMS-CAT supplies with article master data. The transfer of data to the various sales divisions and into the systems of the individual markets is completed over MMS-CAT. The individual sales divisions supplement the Master Data in their data bases with additional information, such as the current sales price. With each step, the data sets become increasingly detailed.
