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METRO GROUP : ANNUAL REPORT 2010 : BUSINESS
→ GROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT : 6. INNOvATION MANAGEMENT
As a retail and wholesale company, METRO GROUP does not
conduct research and development in the strictest sense of
the term. Rather, we develop and employ new concepts and
technologies within the framework of our innovation management
in order to better serve customers’ needs and address
their consumption patterns. In this way, we strengthen the
competitiveness of our sales divisions. Another central aim is
to make internal and external processes more efficient,
including programmes undertaken in connection with suppliers
and industry partners. By employing this approach, our
innovation management supports the aims of Shape 2012: a
stronger customer focus and greater efficiency for the entire
group of companies. Innovations thus secure the long-term
profitable growth of METRO GROUP.
Our innovation management is systematically organised: we
identify customer needs and market requirements as well
as relevant technological and conceptual innovations, drive
developments through joint work with internal and external
partners and implement pilot processes that also include
evaluation. Successfully tested innovations are introduced
into the Company’s operating business. within this context,
METRO GROUP provides sufficient resources that our companies
can use to develop needs-based solutions. This
includes for example testing facilities.
In terms of a Group-wide dialogue, employees responsible
for innovation at METRO AG and the internal IT service provider
METRO SySTEMS work closely with specialists in the
sales divisions. As a result, relevant knowledge and qualifications
can be created and shared within METRO GROUP.
Furthermore, it is assured that the innovations that are
developed address the customers’ needs and the specific
requirements of the segments. In introducing new concepts
and technological innovations, we conduct an open, constructive
dialogue with external partners. These partners
include consumer groups and labour unions. we are a
member of national and international organisations in order
to support the development of standards. For our employees,
we provide trainings that prepare them for the introduction
of new processes.
In 2010, we have carried forward projects already launched
and augmented them with other programmes from the sales
divisions. The goal continues to be to successfully introduce
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6. Innovation management new concepts into everyday business practices, to use innovative
technologies in stores and warehouses as well as
to expand their use in cooperation with suppliers and busi-
ness partners. The focal points of these efforts are cuttingedge
information and communication technologies (ICT) and
Radio Frequency Identification (RFId), through which products
and product movements can be registered without contact
in computer systems.
Working relationships with external partners
In 2002, we launched the METRO GROUP Future Store Initiative,
an alliance with currently 90 partners from the academic
world, the consumer goods industry as well as the
service and ICT sector. To address the operating challenges
faced by the sales divisions, we develop and test innovative
solutions within this context. These include new sales forms,
an appealing approach to customers, store and product
range design, the provision of product information and
accelerated processes. The focal point of the partnership,
which was successfully continued during the reporting year,
is always customers and their needs.
A central testing platform for the initiative is the
METRO GROUP Future Store in Tönisvorst, a city in the
German state of North Rhine-westphalia. The store is a Real
hypermarket in which the sales division has been testing the
practicality of new concepts and technologies with the assistance
of the partners of the METRO GROUP Future Store Initiative
since 2008. Innovations that prove themselves in the
Future Store are gradually introduced by Real. In 2010, more
than 100 of the sales division’s stores used the new technologies
and concepts developed at Tönisvorst, including
multimedia terminals and sales concepts like “The Butcher
Shop of Tomorrow” and “Freshness and Convenience” as
well as the newly conceived chemist area “beauty & more”.
Digital purchases
One of the critical challenges facing retailing concerns
changing shopping habits, which can partly be ascribed to
the growing impact of the Internet. METRO GROUP is
addressing this trend as part of its innovation management.
The aim is to combine the strengths of Internet shopping
with those of stationary retailing as a way of creating a
unique selling proposition by providing service, authenticity
and quality.